I'm on the road again working through the static that business brings - and looking for balance. The weather has gotten much warmer in the north but it's still a different vibe. I'm looking for balance.

So here's one from Noel and one from Liam. And I've got to say that I much prefer Liam's voice on this version of 'Up In The Sky'. Back before it went all nasally, growly and gravelly. Back when his singing had a lightness of touch. It's so weird to compare his voice then to his voice now. Listening to this early take, he sounds kind of innocent. Kind of vulnerable. And it all seems so effortless. And I guess that's the difference between confidence and arrogance.

The Noel track is from a few years later. And it sounds so good. Like an old Oasis b-side. Just Noel and his acoustic. The transitional period where the balance began to tip from confidence over towards arrogance. By this point they'd become tabloid fodder and were getting lazy. Believing their hype rather than justifying it. They'd moved beyond living the rock and roll dream and begun to sink into it's cliches. From the celebrity weddings to the shedding of original band members to the ridiculously Spinal Tap-esque stage props of the 'Be Here Now' tour. Everything got bigger and bolder. Including the production. Aside from the fact that it sounds remarkably similar to 'Wonderwall, listening to this acoustic version of 'D'Ya Know What I Mean' always make me think that more recent Oasis songs would sound so much better if they weren't so over produced. This version sounds so much better when Noel plays it like this. So much lighter and defter. So much fresher than the lumpy leaden sound the band produce these days. There are some goods songs on all of their recent albums but I reckon if someone could stripped Oasis back a bit, they'd sound so much better.



Up in the Sky
You know what I Mean