Songoftheday 1/24/21 - Cold and frosty morning there's not a lot to say, about the things caught in my mind...

 

 

"Don't Go Away" - Oasis

from the album Be Here Now (1997)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart

Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #35 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 5

Today's song of the day comes from the British pop band Oasis, who had landed a pair of big hits from their sophomore effort (What's The Story) Morning Glory?,with "Wonderwall" reaching the top ten in the U.S., and "Champagne Supernova" making it to the radio airplay top-20 in the spring of 1996. The group, led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, returned the following summer with their third release, Be Here Now. Lead track "D'You Know What I Mean" was promoted to radio in the U.S. without being released as a commercial "single", and stalled just above the halfway mark on the airplay chart in the summer of 1997. Their follow-up in the U.S. also wasn't released physically as a single, presumably to goose sales of the album. "Be Here Now", written by Noel, is a by-the-numbers stay with me ballad with their usual Beatle-esque touches in harmony and chord progressions. Excellently produced with flourishes of strings coming in at the swell of the song, the lyrics themselves are a little weaker, with the chorus' rhyming of "away" with "stay", "say", and "day" all together seems a tad childish in nature, especially with Liam's droning voice which tries his best here. Still, it's leaps and bounds above the competing Britpop product at the time...

Since "Don't Go Away" wasn't released as a physical single in America, it wasn't able to place on Billboard magazine's official pop Hot 100 chart. However the song got more radio love than its predecessor, entering the top-40 of the airplay component of the chart in November of 1997. It was a big rock radio hit, going to #5 on Billboard's Alternative Rock chart and #38 at Mainstream Rock stations, and climbed to #27 on the Adult Top-40 format. Internationally, the single made the top-40 in Canada (#15) and Iceland (#24) (it also wasn't released as a single in the UK either). The Be Here Now album, released in August of 1997, went to #2 on the Billboard 200 sales chart in the U.S.. It was their highest rank on that list, but it ended up selling a quarter of what Morning Glory did in the States.

Instead of "Don't Go Away", Oasis released "Stand By Me" as the second single from Be Here Now. It was quite a hit there, peaking at #2. (It's a stronger song, I have to say.) At the start of 1998, "All Around The World" was promoted to radio in the U.S., making it to #15 on the Alternative Rock radio chart, and released as a single internationally, where it scored their fourth British #1 hit, and also topping the chart in Ireland and making the top ten in Sweden at #7 and topping at #20 in Canada. That song's video also earned Oasis their third Grammy nomination for Best Music Video, which Madonna won for her "Ray Of Light".

After a tour and the release of a "B-sides" compilation called The Masterplan that went to #2 on the UK Albums chart, the band dropped into a bit of turmoil, with their guitarist getting sacked and bassist leaving, with the Gallaghers taking on extra roles before taking on two replacements, Andy Bell and Gem Archer, during the recording of their next studio set Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants. While it continued the band's streak of consecutive #1 records in 2000, spinning off a trio of top-5 single in the UK, only one, the British #1 "Go Let It Out", making any dent in the States, going to #14 on Billboard's Alternative Rock chart, while the album itself peaked at #24 in the U.S.. Two year later, the same thing happened with their next album, Heathen Chemistry, which went to #1 in the UK and churning out four top ten hits there with "The Hindu Times" reaching #1, but this time nothing made the charts in America. At this point, the group was more known for their legal troubles and antics than their music, and the sole non-Gallagher veteran member Allan White left the band. They stumbled on for their next release, Don't Believe The Truth. Lead single "Lyla" put them back on American rock radio, climbing to #19 on the Alternative Rock chart in 2005, and nearly making the Hot 100 pop list, "bubbling under" at #108. Meanwhile they were still red-hot in Britain, going to #1 with the album, "Lyla", as well as its follow-up "The Importance Of Being Idle". Oasis' seventh and to date last album Dig Out Your Soul was released in 2008, and again they claimed their seventh #1 album in the UK, a perfect record, while returning them to the top ten on the Billboard 200 sales chart at #5. First single "The Shock Of The Lighting" rose to #3 in Britain, while hitting the American Alternative Rock radio chart at #12, and popped into the Hot 100 chart at #93. The third single from the set, "Falling Down", went to #10 in the UK and "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #106.

By then, however, Liam and Noel had completely become at odds with each other. With the other members revolving in and out, Noel closed down shop in 2009 after a bunch of no-shows from Liam. Each went to start their own bands, with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds scoring a trio of #1 albums in the UK, as well as four top-40 singles there, with "The Death Of You And Me" doing the best at #15. Another song from him, "If I Had A Gun", hit the Alternative Rock radio list in the U.S. peaking at #25 in 2011 (in the UK, that one only went to #95). Meanwhile, Liam's Beady Eye, which included Archer and Bell, produced a pair of top ten albums, and a single top-40 hit with "The Roller" at #31 in 2011. He went it alone in 2017, and his two solo albums and a live release all went to #1 in the UK, and he racked up four British top-40 hits in the process, the most recent being this past December with the charity single "All You're Dreaming Of", which peaked at #24. Also in 2020, Noel released an old newly-found Oasis demo, "Don't Stop...", which popped on to the British singles chart at #80.

(6.5/10)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

 

Here's the band appearing on Letterman to promote the album...

 

Next up, live in concert in 1997...

 

And lastly, Noel alone and only with his acoustic guitar on MTV in 1998...

Up tomorrow: Swedish pop wonder wants romantic demonstration.