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Heathen Chemistry

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Untitled

Heathen Chemistry is the fifth studio album by English rock band Oasis, first released in 2002.

The album was written and recorded with a back-to-basics album with a more rock feel to it; the more crude and simple sound differs from the musical grandiosity of Be Here Now.

Heathen Chemistry would prove to be last album to feature the band's longtime drummer, Alan White, who left in early 2004, with Noel Gallagher claiming White's commitment to the band wasn't up to scratch. He was effectively replaced with Ringo Starr's son, Zak Starkey.

Recording

Heathen Chemistry was recorded during 2001–early 2002 and is the first Oasis album to have significant writing contributions from members other than chief songwriter Noel Gallagher. Front man Liam Gallagher contributed three songs, and new bassist Andy Bell and rhythm guitarist Gem Archer contributed one song each as well.[1]

Although most of the song's instrumentation was complete by mid-to-late 2001, Noel indicated that the release date of the album was being needlessly delayed by Liam's apparent reluctance to lay down his vocal parts at recording sessions, and went on to state that he was "livid" at the lack of work being done:

"I was really happy with (the album) until recently, but I'm fucking livid now. I finished my bits three-and-a-half months ago, and then we handed it over to Liam, and in three-and-a-half months he's done nothing. Just concentrated on his drinking habit again. It's just drifting at the moment.

All the backing tracks are done and it's a fantastic album of instrumentals. Hand it over to the singer and it just slows down and becomes this one really long, drawn-out, painful process. So, to be honest with you, I don't know when it'll come out now. It's down to him." [2]

Despite the setbacks during the recording process, when the album was finally complete Noel was confident that it was the group's second best album to date, behind their debut Definitely Maybe.[3]

The title of the album, according to Noel, came from a t-shirt he bought in Ibiza which featured a logo reading, "The Society of Heathen Chemists". Similarly, the name of the first single, "The Hindu Times", originated from a logo on a t-shirt that read the same thing, which Noel saw during a photo shoot for GQ's 100 Greatest Guitarists edition. The name was given to the track when it was just an instrumental, as all the instrumentals of this album were given actual titles as opposed to "Instrumental 1", etc., and the name stuck once the track was finished.

Release

The release of the album was overshadowed by an Internet leak of all 11 songs almost three months prior to release, which was evident at a Las Vegas show the group performed where fans knew the words to several new songs before the album's release.[4] However, listeners of the commercially released album heard slight differences to two tracks, "Little by Little" and "Better Man."

The album has sold around one million copies in the UK, being certified triple platinum,[5] and 154,000 copies in the US.[6][7] Upon release, Heathen Chemistry went straight to number one in the UK, though it fared rather poorly in the US, only entering at number 23.

It spawned four singles, each of which made the top three in the UK charts: "The Hindu Times", their sixth number one single in the UK, "Stop Crying Your Heart Out","Little By Little/She Is Love", the double A-side sung by Noel Gallagher, and "Songbird", the first single written by Liam.

Reception

Initial critical response to Heathen Chemistry was mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 55, based on 22 reviews.[8]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Hindu Times"Noel Gallagher3:47
2."Force of Nature"N. Gallagher4:50
3."Hung in A Bad Place"Gem Archer3:27
4."Stop Crying Your Heart Out"N. Gallagher5:03
5."Songbird"Liam Gallagher2:07
6."Little by Little"N. Gallagher4:55
7."A Quick Peep" (Instrumental)Andy Bell1:19
8."(Probably) All in the Mind"N. Gallagher4:04
9."She Is Love"N. Gallagher3:11
10."Born on a Different Cloud"L. Gallagher6:11
11."Better Man"L. Gallagher4:19
Hidden Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."The Cage" (Instrumental)N. Gallagher4:43
Japanese Bonus Track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."(You've Got) The Heart of a Star"N. Gallagher4:51

Personnel

Oasis

Additional musicians

Preceded by UK number one album
13 July 2002 – 19 July 2002 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon. "Oasis Turn to Heathens, Hedonism for Inspiration on New LP". mtv.com. April 3 2002.
  2. ^ "Noel 'livid' as Liam delays new Oasis album", NME Online, October 11 2001
  3. ^ Downey, Ryan J. "Oasis Set Up U.S. Tour Whether Liam Likes It Or Not". mtvnews.com. May 16, 2002.
  4. ^ Goldner, Jonathan. "Oasis Badger 'Thieving' Fans At Las Vegas Gig". MTV.com. April 29, 2002.
  5. ^ Heathen Chemistry certification. British Phonographic Industry. Accessed on January 25 2009.
  6. ^ Cohen. Jonathan. "Oasis Pledges New 'Truth' In May". billboard.com. March 7, 2005.
  7. ^ Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: "English Beat". billboard.com. January 23 2009.
  8. ^ "Oasis:Heathen Chemistry (2002): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
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