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Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

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This article is about the Oasis album. For the metaphor, see Standing on the shoulders of giants. For the Tribe of Gypsies album, see Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (Tribe of Gypsies album).

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
Studio album by
Oasis
Released28 February 2000
RecordedApril–August 1999
StudioOlympic, Supernova Heights
(London, England)
Wheeler End
(Buckinghamshire, England)
Château de La Colle Noire
(Montauroux, France)
GenreAlternative rock, psychedelic rock
Length47:53
LabelBig Brother, Epic
ProducerMark "Spike" Stent, Noel Gallagher
Oasis chronology
The Masterplan
(1998) 		Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
(2000) 		Familiar to Millions
(2000)
Singles from Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
  1. "Go Let It Out"
    Released: 7 February 2000
  2. "Where Did It All Go Wrong?"
    Released: 29 February 2000
  3. "Who Feels Love?"
    Released: 17 April 2000
  4. "Sunday Morning Call"
    Released: 3 July 2000

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is the fourth studio album by English rock band Oasis. It was released on 28 February 2000. The album was Oasis' first release on their record label Big Brother Recordings. It is the 16th fastest selling album in UK chart history, selling over 310,000 copies in its first week. Standing on the Shoulder of Giants has been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry[1] and has sold around 208,000 copies in the US.[2][3]

In 1999, the year preceding the final release of the album, Alan McGee closed Creation Records and Oasis had lost two founding members (Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan) and hired new producer Mark "Spike" Stent to replace Owen Morris.

The album is a modern psychedelic record complete with drum loops, samples, electric sitar, mellotron, synthesizers and backward guitars, resulting in an album more experimental with electronica and heavy psychedelic rock influences. Songs such as "Go Let It Out", the Indian-influenced "Who Feels Love?", and the progressive "Gas Panic!" were a departure from the band's earlier style.

Background

The album's title is a misquote of an expression said by Sir Isaac Newton: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".[4] Noel Gallagher saw the quote on the side of a £2 coin while in a pub, and liked it so much he thought it would be a suitable name for Oasis' new album. He then wrote the name on the side of a cigarette packet while drunk, and when he woke up in the morning, he realised he had written "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". He had also accidentally written "a bum title" on the packet instead of "album title".[5]

Noel decided to drop the equipment used in the three previous albums and instead buy "loads of really weird pedals, old guitars, and small amps" as the lack of a deadline on the album allowed him to "take quite a few days just messing around" and experiment with new musical landscapes.[6] Noel was forced to play nearly all the instruments on the album, with help of some additional musicians;[citation needed] due to the departure of two founding band members (guitarist Bonehead and bassist Guigsy) while the album was still being recorded, their parts were re-recorded for legal reasons.[7] The album therefore only features Noel and Liam Gallagher alongside drummer Alan White, who are also the only ones depicted on the sleeve of the album.

In a 2011 interview with Grantland, Noel disowned the album:

We should have never made Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. I'd come to the end. At the time, I had no reason or desire to make music. I had no drive. We'd sold all these fucking records and there just seemed to be no point. Liam, to his credit, was the one who was like, "We're going to make a record, we're going into the studio next month, and you better have some fucking songs written." We should have gone to wherever it is the Rolling Stones disappear to, wherever the fuck that is. Rent a boat and sail around the Bahamas or whatever. But I went ahead and did it, even though I had no inspiration and couldn't find inspiration anywhere. I just wrote songs for the sake of making an album. We needed a reason to go on a tour. But at the time, I wasn't thinking like that. We all thought the song "Go Let It Out" was good. I was off [illegal] drugs, but to get off those I had to go on prescription drugs, which is fucking worse because they come from a doctor. It's just uppers and downers that replace the cocaine and booze. But after that, Gem [Archer] and Andy [Bell] joined the band, and we started to split up the songwriting duties because they wanted to write songs too. I'd slowed down as a writer and didn't feel like I could keep writing 20 songs every two years.[8]

Album cover

The album's artwork features the photo of the Manhattan skyline taken from the rooftop of 500 Fifth Avenue (5th Ave/W 42nd St). Some famous buildings can be seen here, for example the Empire State Building is seen in front and the former World Trade Center is seen in the back. To create the cover photo, the photographer captured the same frame every half an hour in 18 hours during the whole day's course; the photos were digitally composited into the final picture. All of the singles released from this album contained artwork that was based on the album artwork; the shot used for "Go Let It Out" can be seen above one of the buildings at the front, which depicts five men playing football. This shot was taken from the roof of a football stadium, and the footballers from the car park were edited onto the rooftop on the final cover.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Alternative Press3/5[10]
Entertainment WeeklyB[11]
The Guardian[12]
Los Angeles Times[13]
Melody Maker[14]
NME6/10[15]
Q[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Spin[18]

The album initially received generally mixed reviews but was more warmly received when Q Magazine gave it four stars out of five. The B-side to "Go Let It Out", "Let's All Make Believe", was featured in Q's top 500 lost tracks, who also said that if "Let's All Make Believe" were on the album, "it probably would have carried the album to another star." However, Q later included the record at number 46 in their list of the 50 worst albums ever made.[19]

Despite its lukewarm critical reception, both Liam and Noel Gallagher have praised certain aspects of the record. During a radio interview with Gary Crowley in 2002 Liam said "Some people reckon the album is shit, but I think it's a great album ... it's just a bit different", whilst Noel Gallagher has stated that he regards "Go Let It Out" as "up there with some of the best things that I've done." He also stated in a 2005 interview with Rock Profiles that he thinks "Fuckin' in the Bushes", "Go Let It Out", "Gas Panic!", and "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" are "real pieces of music". Noel has also praised the sounds and production of the record.

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants spent 29 weeks on the UK album chart,[20] the fewest for any Oasis studio album. It was the ninth biggest selling album of 2000 in the UK.

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 in the US, selling about 55,000 units in its first week,[21] but sales slumped its second week and fell to #84 with a 64% sales drop.[22] The album received a huge sales hike following the VH1 airing of the group's Behind the Music in April 2000, jumping from #194 to #113 on the Billboard 200 the week following the episode's airing.[23] In March 2000, the IFPI certified Oasis for selling one million units of the album in Europe.[24]

Eleven years after its release, Noel Gallagher said he regretted releasing the album, saying he was not feeling inspired as a composer, particularly for going off his drug addiction with prescription drugs, "which is fucking worse because they come from a doctor." This was partly a motivation to delegate the songwriting to the other bandmembers in later albums, as Noel considered "I'd slowed down as a writer and didn't feel like I could keep writing 20 songs every two years."[25]

Controversy

The album was banned by Walmart due to their objection to the song "Fuckin' in the Bushes".[26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Noel Gallagher, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Fuckin' in the Bushes"3:18
2."Go Let It Out"4:39
3."Who Feels Love?"5:44
4."Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is"4:27
5."Little James" (Liam Gallagher)4:15
6."Gas Panic!"6:08
7."Where Did It All Go Wrong?"4:26
8."Sunday Morning Call"5:12
9."I Can See a Liar"3:13
10."Roll It Over"6:30
Japanese bonus track[27]
No.TitleLength
11."Let's All Make Believe"3:51

Personnel

Oasis

  • Liam Gallagher – lead vocals, tambourine
  • Noel Gallagher – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" and "Sunday Morning Call", additional vocals on "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is", bass guitar, keyboards, production
  • Alan White – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

  • Paul Stacey – keyboards, additional lead guitar on "Fuckin' in the Bushes", backwards guitar on "Who Feels Love?", bass on "Who Feels Love?", "Gas Panic!", "I Can See a Liar" and "Roll It Over", additional acoustic guitar on "Where Did It All Go Wrong?", guitar solo on "Roll It Over"
  • P. P. Arnold – backing vocals on "Fuckin' in the Bushes", "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" and "Roll It Over"
  • Linda Lewis – backing vocals on "Fuckin' in the Bushes", "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" and "Roll It Over"
  • Mark Coyle – electric sitar on "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is", twelve-string acoustic guitar on "Little James"
  • Mark Feltham – harmonica on "Gas Panic!"
  • Tony Donaldson – Minimoog and Mellotron on "Gas Panic!"
  • Charlotte Glasson – flute on "Gas Panic!"

Production

  • Mark Stent – production, engineering
  • Paul Stacey – engineering
  • Wayne Wilkins – assistant engineering
  • Paul "P-Dub" Walton – assistant engineering
  • Aaron Pratley – assistant engineering
  • Howie Weinberg – mastering
  • Jan "Stan" Kybert – programming, Pro Tools
  • Steve "Rambo" Robinson – studio assistant

Charts

References

  1. ^ Standing on the Shoulder of Giants certification. British Phonographic Industry. Accessed on 25 January 2009.
  2. ^ Downey, Ryan J. "Oasis Set Up U.S. Tour Whether Liam Likes It Or Not". mtvnews.com. 16 May 2002.
  3. ^ Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard: "English Beat". billboard.com. 23 January 2009.
  4. ^ Letter from Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke, 5 February 1676, as transcribed in Maury, Jean-Pierre (1992) [1990]. Newton: Understanding the Cosmos. ‘New Horizons’ series. Translated by Paris, I. Mark. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-30023-7.
  5. ^ http://www.oasisinet.com/site.php?site=bandview&idx=14
  6. ^ "Interview with Noel Gallagher". Guitar One. Harris Publications. October 2002. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  7. ^ "Interview with Noel Gallagher of Oasis: Is There Life After Drugs? (NY Rock)". Newyorkrock.com. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  8. ^ Klosterman, Chuck (20 September 2011). "Noel Gallagher After Oasis". Grantland. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants – Oasis". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Oasis: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Alternative Press (140): 71. March 2000.
  11. ^ Browne, David (3 March 2000). "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  12. ^ Cox, Tom (4 February 2000). "Oh, do shut up". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Appleford, Steve (27 February 2000). "Oasis, 'Standing on the Shoulder of Giants,' Epic". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Oasis: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Melody Maker: 46–47. 29 February 2000.
  15. ^ Cameron, Keith (26 February 2000). "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". NME. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  16. ^ Pemberton, Andy (March 2000). "Oasis: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Q (162): 96–97. Archived from the original on 21 November 2000. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  17. ^ Kot, Greg (16 March 2000). "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  18. ^ Marchese, David (October 2008). "Discography: Oasis". Spin. 24 (10): 76. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  19. ^ "The 50 Worst Albums Ever!". Q (238). May 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  20. ^ "Oasis / Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  21. ^ Weiss, Neal. "Santana's 'Supernatural' Fights Off Strong Debuts By Bone, Pumpkins". yahoo.com. 8 March 2000.
  22. ^ Boehlert, Eric. "My, how the Giants Have Fallen: Oasis, Pumpkins Suffer Huge Sales Slides In Second Week". rollingstone.com. 15 March 2000.
  23. ^ Skanse, Richard. "Big Pun Can't Shake 'N Sync, Santana". rollingstone.com. 12 April 2000.
  24. ^ Shoulder to Shoulder, Billboard
  25. ^ "Noel Gallagher After Oasis". Grantland. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  26. ^ "Wal-Mart bans new Oasis album". Chart Attack. 4 February 2000. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  27. ^ "Oasis (オアシス) - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". hmv.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Oasis Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  33. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  34. ^ "Oasis: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  35. ^ "Lescharts.com – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  36. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  37. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Oasis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  38. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  39. ^ "Charts.nz – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  40. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  41. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  42. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  43. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Oasis – Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  44. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  45. ^ "Oasis Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  46. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  47. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2000". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
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