just another look at one of my (most recent) gifts of christmas, look you see, and indeed at, or of, some new vibes. well, "new" as in newly released, for this would be vibes what got recorded some 25 years ago, or if you like a quarter of a century before now, yet only got released now.
what this concerns, then, is the (relatively) recent release (at time of writing) of Knebworth 1996 off of Oasis. a band what is rather famously, or infamously, no longer with us as a going concern. i am going to go right ahead and suggest, or state, that i am not alone in being a Dad what got one of the variations of this release for christmas off of their kids. which feels insane and crazy, how is it that i am here, we are all here, where Oasis are a thing so far from the past that our children are going "oh that's that band what our parents liked, that will do as a gift". blimey.
so, for a brief history of time, what (exactly) is Knebworth 1996, and why is it a big deal release? essentially it's the band going, in a time span not too north of two years, going from playing a few clubs and sounding promising to being able to sell out any size venue you like, ten to a hundred times over. making it all the more astonishing (it was at the time, but in particular looking back) was that it was all fan driven. no huge marketing or plugging, no manipulating of things like "streaming" (for such did not exist), just us, music lovers, embracing the incredible songs and pure rock and roll antics. all things must pass, this time has passed, we really shall, with the way all music works now, never ever get this again. which is a shame for old f***s like me, but if the kids dig what they get now that's cool, it's all rock and roll man.
alarm bells kind of rang when i saw the cover for Oasis Knebworth 1996, mind. presented here in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, everything about the cover says it was designed in less than thirty (30) seconds and has a "that will do" feel. sure, yes, the cover features an iconic image of Liam doing his thing in a parka. which means it's not actually an image from either of the Knebworth gigs, for he was (in)famously in the midst of his "i am become Lennon" phase, wearing white for each of the nights. oh.
live albums are something often discussed here, and indeed in other areas of the internet. quite a few bands, and fans, dismiss them, viewing it all as either "a bit" of a con, or a handy way to meet contractual obligations with a record label. true, every now and then there's a really great, classic live album, such as (of course) Live At Leeds off of The Who, and of course Frampton Comes Alive. also, quite by accident (it feels) at least one of the six (!!!) live albums issued off of the Bowie Estate turned out to be a masterpiece.
for Oasis, a reality was seen one Oasis gig, seen every Oasis gig. predominantly they just stood there, no theatrics or show, performing the songs pretty much exactly as one heard on the records. sure, Liam would change some lyrics to swear words, and indeed randomly swear at people, and Noel would take a few moments to remind everyone in attendance how brilliant Noel is and what a genius Noel is. yet an unmistakable energy exists in them live, an undefined extra element. maybe not so lacking in definition, actually. how fans, if not the world, embraced good to great songs and turned them into iconic anthems with their reaction, elevates it all.
the real "win" with this set, as good as it is to hear the two (2) CDs which recreate the set list with the best performances off of each night (also two), is the film what comes with it. whereas i had no interest in the blu ray that presents each gig in full (as in three hours of Liam, Noel, Bonehead et al stood there), the film is quite different. whatever irreconcilable differences exist between Liam and Noel do not exist so far as their knowing, understanding, appreciating and loving the fact that it was music fans, the people who heard the songs and bought them in abundance, that elevated them from "good band" to rock legends, a place in history secured alongside all the bands they, just a few years before Knebworth, were humble fans of.
of this, i am unsure i have ever seen a better music documentary film than the one on the DVD here. it is superb. for the most part it tells the story of the gigs - from ticket announcement to people going home after the last night - via the fans. interviews recorded at the time and reflections from some who were there narrate it all, with a decent amount of snippets of each song, too. sure, now and then Liam, Noel and of course Bonehead will chip in with a comment, but mostly it's the fans telling it all, whether at the gig or too young to be there so taping it off of the radio. it's brilliant. to echo what i just wrote, no matter how brilliant Noel believes he is (and he's not entirely wrong), no matter how arrogant Liam comes across (and if you've gone and done it how arrogant is it being), at no stage, no matter how bloated or inflated egos had become, did they for a second doubt that the only reason they were up there on that stage was the people who had come, far and wide, to put them there.
nothing lasts forever, of course. whereas two (at the time) new songs featured, mostly this was all stuff from the first two albums. two untouchable, great albums that sold millions and probably now "stream" billions. further huge success followed, but it was "never the same" after the summer of 96. a third, somewhat bloated but nowhere near as bad as some recall album followed in 97, of course. as did a few number one singles, when people had to actually buy the records to get it to chart, and not rely on the record labels mysteriously ensuring enough streams happened for it to get to the top spot.
i would be reluctant to get too philosophical about Oasis, but oddly Noel accidentally summed up the turning point that Knebworth would become, some time before it did. of that great, exciting singles chart battle, the one of Blur vs Oasis (here), Noel pointed out that in no way, shape or form were Blur the "competition" Oasis were worried about. as far as he was concerned, the bands they were taking on were U2 and REM, easily (and by some distance from all others) the two biggest, active bands on the go in the nineties. and he was right. once Knebworth happened, that was it. no more were they simply the biggest selling band out of the astonishing set of brilliant British bands, they were an indelible part of rock legend. nothing wrong with that, for why even bother doing it if you are not going to try and sell as many records, fill as many concert venues as you can? but still, also, the definite end of an era.
certainly, truly, this set is recommended. either as the 2 CD set, or the deluxe one what the boys kindly got me, with this brilliant documentary thrown in. should the blu ray of the two gigs feature the documentary as well (i have not looked), not a bad option to consider.
be rock and roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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