Oasis – Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants
****1/2
Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants is, in retrospect, something of a transitional album for Oasis.  After the unpopular excesses (both musical and otherwise) of previous LP Be Here Now, Noel Gallagher went back to basics to a certain extent whilst also embracing his love of English psychedelia.
But who is playing on the album?  Noel, brother Liam and drummer Alan White are certainly present though founder band members Bonehead and Guigsy left during the recording of the album.  The liner notes are unclear as to when they are playing though most of the bass, a few guitar parts and virtually all of the keyboards are played by Paul Stacey whose major contribution to the album’s sounds appears to be often overlooked.  In particular, Stacey’s organ, mellotron and keys give many of the best tracks a rather lovely extra psychedelic layer.
Not that it’s all trippy keyboards though as the albums begins with the fantastic, menacing  rifferama and spoken sample spectacle that is F**kin’ In The Bushes.  FITB is strongly influenced by Primal Scream though the other more uptempo tracks on Standing On The Shoulder are amongst the weakest most clichéd songs on the LP.
Much better are the more psychedelic numbers including Lisa’s first songwriting effort for the band Little James.  Much ridiculed for its slightly juvenile lyrics, I think LJ is a rather sweet song and  is much better musically than its writer’s more celebrated Songbird (from 2002's Heathen Chemistry LP).  Further psychedelic highlights include the brilliant Sunday Morning Call, Who Needs Love? and the album’s opening single Go Let It Out.
Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants is a transitional album for Oasis both in terms of personnel and musically as the band enter the underrated second phase of their career.  An overlooked gem, it is my favourite of their albums and highly recommended.  Sweet psychedelia indeed!
Released:  2000
Acquired by me:  8.07 – Borrowed (Library)

Ocean Colour Scene – Marchin’ Already
***1/2
In my video vault, I have a fantastic clip of Ocean Colour Scene playing Hundred Mile High City live on Top Of The Pops with guitarist Steve Craddock superbly playing several different styles on one guitar in the course of the song.  I then turn to the studio version on Marchin’ Already and it’s still very good though the excitement of the live version is lost somewhat amidst the over-arrangement and over-production.  This is a fault symptomatic of the album overall.
Several of the songs on Marchin’ Already are weakened by over-fussy arrangements though, to be honest, some of them aren’t terribly good tunes to begin with.  The melodies and playing aren’t particularly memorable with a bizarre penchant for over-sugary 50s melodies hampering things further in places.
Having said this, there are some fine moments, most notably Travellers Tune which was number one on my playlist for a couple of weeks after acquiring the album and has been a regular play since.  It features a fine performance by Simon Fowler, one of the most soulful white singers of the Britpop era even though his vocals often don’t quite reach their considerable potential.  Better Days, Get Blown Away and the Mod-ish instrumental All Up are among the other better tracks on the album.
Marchin’ Already is a reasonable Britpop album whose appeal is lessened by its overtly fussy arrangements and production.  I would only really recommend it to major Ocean Colour Scene devotees.  For most others, an OCS compilation which should include most of the best tracks on MA anyway, will suffice.
Acquired by me:  Borrowed – Late Summer 2007 (Library)

Obtained by me:  2007 – Borrowed (Library)