Lesser-known Oasis album still splits fans' opinions 20 years on from release

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Oasis released their sixth studio album on this day 20 years ago - and it still splits fans on whether it is a quality release, with some fans calling it an underrated gem
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, a lesser-known Oasis album still divides fan opinion. Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher are gearing up for a series of sold-out gigs around the globe later this year.
The brothers' first joint gig in 16 years will see them hitting stages at London's Wembley Arena, Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium, and Manchester's Heaton Park. Although the Gallagher's are reuniting onstage after such a long hiatus, debates continue among fans regarding the merits of their less celebrated album. Whether tracks from this album will feature on the upcoming tour remains to be seen. Fans remain split on the quality of the album, though.
Don't Believe the Truth, released on this day, 30 May, in 2005, still stirs up divided opinions amongst fans over its excellence. The album raced to become one of the UK's fastest-selling records and was met with critical approval when it dropped.
Oasis enthusiasts have been voicing their thoughts on the r/Oasis subreddit, debating whether the album holds up, with some critiquing its "filler" tracks as "boring and bland."
A subreddit user posed the question: "Opinions on Don't Believe the Truth? What are everyone's thoughts and opinions on Don't Believe the Truth? I've only listened to the album start to finish once and it really bored me. It's an album I really want to like and I'm considering giving it another chance, should I?"
The album remains contentious amongst listeners, with some arguing that it doesn't quite live up to the praise it received from critics back in the day.
One fan was unimpressed by the album's lesser-known tracks, remarking: "Singles are very good but fillers are boring and bland, Heathen Chemistry is a better album overall despite having some weak moments. I still prefer Don't Believe the Truth singles to those on Dig Out Your Soul though."
Another Oasis enthusiast chimed in with their concerns over the production quality: "I love the album, but I just think it suffers from poor production. The songs are good, but they all sound muffled and don't have that wall of sound the first two albums did."
A third devotee saw things a bit more positively, applauding the album among the band's later efforts: "It's the best one of the last three albums.
"It did feel like a 'return to form'. Importance of Being Idle was massive, and had a spark of clever and original songwriting again."
Criticism emerged over the production choices for one particular track: "A Bell Will Ring had that Beatles 'up in the sky' vibe.
"The retro production, stripped back to just support the songs, was a revelation after the dreary, distortion dad rock-by-numbers approach of HC imo. However, it has aged extremely badly.
"The production sounds like muffled sh** now, the backing elements added to each tune are laughable and sound terrible (like the backing vox on Love Like a Bomb) and Liam is doing a Liam caricature throughout. In retrospect it feels like it was all a bit of a con job, the title quite apposite."
Echoing the sentiment regarding the album's lack of timelessness, another user professed: "I think this album is the most dated of any Oasis album tbh, it's just totally unremarkable for the most part.
"The songs are fine but not spectacular and Dave Sardy's production style of this album is just dreary (much like Noel's first solo album). Any life the songs had is sucked out by Sardy's chosen approach."