Heathen Chemistry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Heathen Chemistry | ||
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| Studio album by Oasis | ||
| Released | 2002-07-01 (UK) 2002-07-02 (U.S.) |
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| Recorded | 2001 - 2002 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 47:53 76:52 (with hidden track) |
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| Label | Big Brother, Epic | |
| Producer(s) | Oasis | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Oasis chronology | ||
| Familiar to Millions (2000) |
Heathen Chemistry (2002) |
Don't Believe the Truth (2005) |
Heathen Chemistry is the fifth studio album by English rock band Oasis, first released in summer 2002. It sold over 1 million copies in the UK, ending up in the top ten best selling albums of 2002, and about 3.5 million worldwide as of 2005.[citation needed] However, the critical reception was not as strong.
The album was recorded during 2001 - early 2002, and was the first studio album written and recorded with the two new members, bassist Andy Bell and rhythm guitarist Gem Archer. Bell and Archer wrote one track each, and Liam Gallagher contributed three, thus, the album signalled the end of Noel Gallagher songs dominating Oasis albums (though Liam had contriubted "Little James" to Standing on the Shoulder of Giants). This trend was continuted on the band's next album, Don't Believe The Truth, with Noel again only contributing just under half of the songs on the album.
Heathen Chemistry was received more warmly than the previous Oasis album by both fans and critics alike. It spawned four singles, each of which made the top 3 in the UK charts: "The Hindu Times", their 6th number one single in the UK, "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", a song made famous as it was played on the BBC when the English football team were knocked out of the World Cup, the Double A-Side, sung by Noel - "Little By Little / She Is Love" - and "Songbird", the first single written by Liam. A section of "Hung In A Bad Place" was used in Victoria's Secret television advertisements in the United States.
This album was the last one to feature the drumming of their longtime sticksman Alan White, who left in early 2004, with Noel Gallagher claming White's commitment to the band wasn't up to scratch. He was effectively replaced with Ringo Starr's son - Zak Starkey.
The release of the album was overshadowed by an internet leak of all 11 tracks almost three months prior to release. However, listeners of the commercially released album heard slight differences to two tracks, "Little By Little" and "Better Man".
The title of the album, according to Noel, came from a t-shirt he bought in Ibiza which featured a logo reading, "The Society Of Heathen Chemists". Similarly, the name of the first single "The Hindu Times" originated from a logo on a t-shirt that read the same thing, which Noel saw during a photo shoot for GQ's 100 Greatest Guitarists edition. The name was given to the track when it was just an instrumental, as all the instrumentals of this album where given actual titles as opposed to "Instrumental 1" etc, and the name stuck once the track was finished.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "The Hindu Times" (Noel Gallagher) - 3:49
- "Force of Nature" (Noel Gallagher) - 4:51
- "Hung in a Bad Place" (Gem Archer) - 3:28
- "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" (Noel Gallagher) - 4:59
- "Songbird" (Liam Gallagher) - 2:07
- "Little by Little" (Noel Gallagher) - 4:52
- "A Quick Peep" (Andy Bell) - 1:17
- "(Probably) All in the Mind" (Noel Gallagher) - 4:02
- "She Is Love" (Noel Gallagher) - 3:09
- "Born on a Different Cloud" (Liam Gallagher) - 6:08
- "Better Man" (Liam Gallagher) - 38:02 (actual song ends at 4:20)
- Contains a hidden track at 33:13: "The Cage" - 4:49
[edit] Band
| Liam Gallagher | Vocals |
| Noel Gallagher | Lead Guitar, Vocals |
| Alan White | Drums and Percussion |
| Andy Bell | Bass Guitar |
| Colin "Gem" Murray Archer | Rhythm Guitar |
[edit] Singles
| Cover | Information |
|---|---|
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The Hindu Times
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Stop Crying Your Heart Out
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Little By Little / She Is Love
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Songbird
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[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Billboard 200 | 23 |
| 2002 | Top Canadian Albums | 5 |
| 2002 | Top Internet Albums | 23 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Little by Little" | Canadian Singles Chart | 2 |
| 2002 | "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" | Canadian Singles Chart | 6 |
| 2002 | "The Hindu Times" | Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| 2003 | "Songbird" | Canadian Singles Chart | 2 |
[edit] Release details
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2002-06-26 | Sony Music Japan | CD | EICP 111 |
| United Kingdom | 2002-07-01 | Big Brother | LP | RKIDLP025 |
| CD | RKIDCD025 | |||
| United States | 2002-07-02 | Epic Records | CD | EK86586 / 6 9699-86586-2 2 |
| Oasis |
| Liam Gallagher | Noel Gallagher | Gem Archer | Andy Bell | Zak Starkey |
| Tony McCarroll | Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs | Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan | Alan White |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Definitely Maybe | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? | Be Here Now | Standing on the Shoulder of Giants | Heathen Chemistry | Don't Believe the Truth |
| Compilations: The Masterplan | Stop the Clocks |
| DVDs: Live by the Sea | …There and Then | Familiar to Millions | Definitely Maybe – The DVD |
| Films: Lord Don't Slow Me Down |
| Related articles |
| The Rain | Britpop | Owen Morris | Creation Records | Big Brother | Awards and nominations |
