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London, Astoria, 10.05.2005 (Quelle: mirror.co.uk)
SNEERLY BACK TO THEIR BEST
Oasis - Astoria, London
Gavin Martin
A DECADE after emerging as rebel saviours of Britrock Oasis have a lot to live up to.
The Gallagher brothers have presided over line-up changes, walkouts, bust-ups and too many inferior albums where druggy indulgence and substandard hack work threatened to finish them off.
After last year's disastrous misfiring comeback at Glastonbury a drastic rethink was in order.
All the evidence at this warm-up show for a series of summer outdoor spectaculars suggests they have, finally, come to their senses.
Highlighting new album powerhouses such as Turn Up The Sun and Lyla alongside old favourites Morning Glory, Cigarettes And Alcohol and Champagne Supernova, Oasis lived up to claims that the new album Don't Believe The Truth is their most consistent in a decade.
The presence of Beatles offspring Zak Starkey on drums seemed to confirm the band as also-ran second generation rockers. But in knee-length shorts and white tracksuit top Liam Gallagher is still a one-off.
Only the terminally deluded would expect quantum progress from Oasis this far into their career.
But the belligerent anthem Bring It On Down reasserted their core strength. Three songs in and the crowd was a sea of cheerful thirty-somethings hailing their heroes.
The finer points of the new material may have been overlooked, but Noel's solo slot The Importance Of Being Idle boasted a ferocious stomp and an ode to Seventies influences Slade.
These days they may be motivated as much by costly divorce settlements as by their early desire to escape working class obscurity - but after too many years of failing to live up to early promise Oasis are back in rude health and ready to deliver.
London, Astoria, 10.05.2005 (Quelle: mirror.co.uk)