Track Listing

1. The Hindu Times,
2. Force Of Nature,
3. Hung In A Bad Place,
4. Stop Crying Your Heart Out,
5. Songbird,
6. Little By Little,
7. A Quick Peep,
8. (Probably) In My Mind,
9. She Is Love,
10. Born On A Different Cloud,
11. Better Man

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2325 in Music
• Released on: 2002-07-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Heathen Chemistry, is the fifth studio album from Oasis (sixth if you include The Masterplan), and sounds like an album completely devoid of history and expectations--it is light and breezy and blissfully unaware of anything outside its (notably short) running time. The legendary Gallagher songwriting gland seems to have got stuck on cruise control since the late 1990s--and is focused on quality more than quantity now. There are some classic Oasis tunes here (the simple but effective "Stop Crying Your Heart Out"), yet the only song that wouldn't sound out of place on their 1994 debut is the playful rock growl of "Hung In a Bad Place", ironically written by new boy Archer. This poses a problem--what exactly defines an Oasis song now? Written by Noel? Sung by Liam?

Fortunately, Heathen Chemistry also features some overdue Noel Gallagher numbers--the more insightful, acoustic based songs such as the standout "Little By Little" (which contains the fantastic bridge "I didn't mean, what I just said / But my God woke up on the wrong side of his bed"). Nobody, really, does it better. Least of all his brother--"Songbird" is a startlingly good acoustic pop ditty, complete with trademark handclaps that, along with the voodoo spirit of Hendrix haunting his "Better Man", shows that his songwriting has improved tenfold since his last effort, but he still has much to learn. Where Noel Gallagher really excels, however, is in the production. For the first time, an Oasis album sounds clean and crisp--not musically, but in its sonic presentation--it's a technical achievement that elevates the album significantly.

Assured without being arrogant, heartfelt without being insincere--Heathen Chemistry will delight and repel in equal measures. It's a heroic return to form--hard as nails on the outside, yet soft and romantic on the inside--like every hero should be. --Ben Johncock

CD Description
Fifth album from the former kings of Britpop, following 2000's 'Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants'. Moving away from the psychedelic touches of that album, this set of epic rock 'n' roll marks a return to the Beatles-influenced sound of their first two records. Produced by the band, it includes the singles 'The Hindu Times' and 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out'.

Customer Reviews

Grim
Far worse than Be Here Nob, Oasis here reveal their total lack of ideas and complete inability to move on/progress. Musically and lyrically backwards, this is half-baked, sub-standard drivel. Avoid!

The reason Noel left Oasis is that he couldn't work with his brother. Everyone else realised that five albums ago.

Heathen Chemistry is right, Oasis make another great album
The heathen Gallagher brothers with their amazing love-hate chemistry (hence the title) have made another superb album. This is probably their best since Definitely Maybe, but really is the combination of all their albums. The rawness of Definitely Maybe is captured in the rockers like "The Hindu Times", "Hung In A Bad Place", "(Probably) All in the Mind" and "Better Man". Then there is the great craftmanship and flow to all of the songs like What's the Story Morning Glory, with notable standouts like "Stop Cryin' Your Heart Out", the "Champagne Supernova" of nowadays and the love song to Noel's new flame with "She is Love". The hard knocking and fun, but lyrically slight ineptitude with the catchy "Force of Nature". Finally, there is the sense of maturity started with "Standing On the Shoulder of Giants" with "Little by Little", and "Born on a Different Cloud". It's all there, and all Oasis. I wouldn't say it's a comeback, because they never really left. But, this album really should blow the other summer releases pending out of the water. Noel is at his finest, the new members Gem Archer and Andy Bell contribute to better music parts and good songs, and Liam is proving he will be a songwriting force to be reckoned with. Not a bad song on it, even the instrumental is fair. The album endures repeated listens and even improves with each listen rather than burning out. The only disappointment will be the wait for the next album!

Oasis Losing its Way
I am a great fan of Oasis, however, this album - apart from Stop Cryin Your Heart Out and Little by Little - is extremely dissapointing. They appear to have lost all sense of direction in this album. Something that seems to finally be retained in their newest release Don't Believe the Truth.
If your an Oasis fan who has the first two albums but is looking for more material try The Masterplan.