The Dark Knight broke about sixteen million box office records when it came out, and understandably so – the online marketing campaign was arguably the best ever put together, and the hype surrounding Heath Ledger’s joker (which was already bubbling before his untimely death, and went into orbit after) was always going to lead to a big run for the film. It’s since made several “Best of 2008” lists and Ledger’s performance has earned deserved plaudits and a posthumous Oscar for the actor.
However, a review I saw of the film described it as “not only the best Batman movie ever made, but the best comic book movie ever made”. I take issue with this statement, because I think there is one movie that outdoes it in both categories, and that film is Batman Begins, Bale’s first outing as the caped crusader.
The main reason that I hold this opinion is that while The Dark Knight is on a much bigger scale, with a much better villain, it has serious flaws and major problems that do not plague its predecessor, not to mention the fact that it could not exist without Begins having been made when it was and how it was. In fact, after careful thought, I cannot think of anything I would change about Batman Begins – but there are at least 4 things I would chop off from TDK before I considered it a perfect film.
Although the plot of any film in which a grown man dresses as a bat to fight criminals will always stretch the limits of realism, Batman Begins marks the first genuine attempt to show not only what made Bruce Wayne into Batman but how he did it. Origin films are notoriously difficult to convincingly pull off, but so detailed is the back-story of Bruce’s teenage and early adult years (almost completely ignored in every other film to date) that the audience buys into it completely and it seems utterly plausible. The end result of this is that the film is a personal, emotional journey set against the backdrop of a crime-fighting superhero. I’ve always loved the idea of looking deeper into Batman’s psyche, and that’s why the first film with Michael Keaton was long one of my favourite films of all time, and it’s something that was promised but not delivered by The Dark Knight.
To highlight this journey, Batman Begins is fairly limited in its use of characters. There are three villains, none of whom outstay their welcome. Tom Wilkinson is excellent as Carmine Falcone, but never on screen long enough for us to tire of him, and the same can be said of Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow and Liam Neeson’s Ras-al-Ghul. All three are characters from the original comics but steer clear of the more predictable options that have been tired out before, with not a Catwoman, Riddler, or Penguin in sight and only the merest hint of the Joker at the end – itself a brilliant touch.
The film concentrates on Bruce’s journey and Nolan could not have picked a better actor than Christian Bale for this. Bale is an excellent actor, so we shouldn’t be surprised that he turns in such a great performance here, however I think that his Bruce Wayne in this film has to go down as one of the great storytelling performances, not just in this genre of film either. The inner turmoil that drives his Bruce is played to perfection, and his Batman is as terrifying as he is heroic.
The Dark Knight, on the other hand, is positively teeming with characters that, in my opinion, drag the film down. Whereas Begins picks a plot device and sticks to it, The Dark Knight seems to have tried to fit two films into one. Given the quality of the two leading actors in the film, the entire movie could have just been an extension of the interrogation scene and my instincts tell me we would have been in for a treat. However, the Hong Kong visit (visually incredible, but only tenuously related to the plot and not actually needed in the film), the very existence of Coleman Reece’s character (an interesting idea, and played well for some comic effect but not actually needed in the film), Jim Gordon’s faked death (not really very suspenseful since he isn’t Commissioner at the time so we know he’s not really dead, and it doesn’t actually help or change the plot in any way and isn’t actually needed in the film) are all surplus to requirements and only serve to add to a feeling of disjointed hesitancy in the movie.
One major problem, in my opinion, is the decision to include Harvey’s transformation into Two-Face, and then seemingly play out his entire character arc in 15 minutes. Now, the rumours are abounding that he might be back in the next film, but even if he is, we are talking about a character that Batman has to battle despite knowing that he is the man who was suppose to save Gotham. Given Bale’s predilection for playing characters suffering from turmoil to a high level of brilliance, and Aaron Eckhart’s more-than-accomplished performance as Harvey Dent, the promise for a third film concentrating on the battle for Gotham between these two seemed almost too good to be true. But this potential has surely been snuffed out by the cluttered and rushed ending to the film. Controversially, I want to mention another troublesome issue with the film, which is the performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker.
First things first, I am all too happy to leap onto the bandwagon supporting Ledger’s portrayal of this old villain as a cinematic revelation. However, the sheer magnetism that Ledger brings to the role leads to some inbalance within the film. Ledger, while undoubtedly incredible, overshadows the performances of the other actors on show to such a degree that their talents are all but wasted. Bruce Wayne hardly ever appears in the movie, and when he does the story is never really about him, he is just a pre-amble to Batman’s next appearance. Gone are the doubts and troubles that clouded the young man in the first film, and in their place comes a kind of playboy bravado childish attitude which ill-becomes the character and the man who plays him. And as for other scenes in which Ledger does not appear, the audience are simply left wishing that he did. Michael Caine, superb in a role which has traditionally offered little for the actor inhabiting it, is relegated to a few comic asides and technological lackey for Wayne’s somewhat convoluted comb through the records of the Gotham Police.
Then there is the still-troubling character of Rachel Dawes. Created specifically for the first film, Christopher Nolan had two films and almost 4 hours of screen time to convince us that she brought something to the series, and he never quite pulled it off. People have criticised Katie Holmes’ performance in the original film, but I think that’s just symptomatic of people’s desire to criticise Katie Holmes. I liked her in the first film, and I think Maggie Gyllenhall does an acceptable job following her in the second, but I’m still not convinced of the character’s importance or relevance. Certainly we don’t feel our world caving around our ears as we realise she is doomed the way we would have about Basinger’s Vicky Vale. Certainly for the time being, Michelle Pfeiffer’s crown as the cream of the crop of Batgirls is safe.
Other characters then fill out the film. A nice enough but unnecessary return for Murphy’s scarecrow, Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni (again, an original character from the film and a crucial one in Harvey’s story, but not really used to any effect here) and Nestor Carbonelli’s mayor never really makes any kind of substantive difference to the movie’s plot, good though he is. Lau is relevant to the story, although it would have been easier not to include him, and far too much time is spent on him, and even Gamble is used just enough to count, but not enough to really make a difference.
There are plenty of other issues with the film. Most notably, if the Joker really is a guy without a plan, how come he managed to anticipate every move made by his adversaries and plan ahead to ensure that everything worked with military precision? Why include Bat-Sonar? Why, why why? It’s convoluted, ridiculous, and could easily be overcome by having a CCTV system that Lucius could tap into. When the convoy is diverted by the burning fire truck, why go onto Lower 5th, why not just drive down the other side of the road, since no cars are on it anyway? Who are the 5 people that Harvey killed and are 2 of them actually cops? And how does Gordon know about it anyway?
Not that Begins is without its problems of course, no film is, but there is considerable time and effort invested in the plot and the character arcs within it to ensure that the film works on just about every level. The emotional intensity of the later encounters is set up through a slow process at the beginning and this is something which never happens in TDK. It starts big and fast, and it stays big and fast throughout, which means we never really get a chance to digest anything, thus compromising our reactions later.
I felt it on the first night I watched The Dark Knight, and now, 5 viewings later, my mind is still not changed – the film has much to recommend it (most of it being Ledger, who is simply brilliant) but it tries too hard and as a result never really accomplishes anything to a satisfactory level. Perhaps the third film will come to the rescue and tie up the loose ends, but when it comes to handing out the “best Batman movie ever” awards, I think that Batman Begins should be head, shoulders and cape above the rest.
Thursday 3 September 2009
Wednesday 2 September 2009
The 5 best Beach Boys songs you’ve never heard of.
The Beach Boys are famous for a number of things. Most obviously creating that West Coast sound of summer that is indelibly burned into all our brains, I think – but most notably for natives of California, the sunshine state – for whose identity and legacy the band will always be the soundtrack. Then in 1966, they suddenly turned “arty”. They, in this case, being Brian Wilson, the musical genius behind their biggest hits – who created Pet Sounds, often considered one of the most influential and best albums of all time.
So, a few good-time summer driving tunes, Good Vibrations, Pet Sounds and then a seemingly light-speed decline into drugs, changing band members, mental illness, in-fighting, bad songs and eventually becoming their own tribute band through a number of nostalgia tours. What was once arguably the most creative band in the world was slowly driven into the ground by Mike Love and his completely addled belief that the band could somehow remain relevant to the ever-changing world by simply re-hashing songs about being teenagers in the late 50s/early 60s in California. Various points in their career have been described as their absolute nadir; Smiley Smile in 1967 – rescued from the aborted SMiLE project that eventually sent its creator into a destructive downward spiral from which he arguably never recovered; 1988’s “Kokomo”, from the soundtrack to the film Cocktail, and any album they released after Dennis Wilson’s death in 1981, but my personal choice for this award would have to be the album “The Beach Boys Salute NasCar.”
God help me, I wish I was joking.
But anyway, in between re-defining youth culture and Americana, completely overhauling the method by which pop albums were a) made and b) judged and then ending up literally re-recording a load of songs as 60 year old men singing about taking young girls out in their little deuce coupe (urgh), they actually came up with the odd song that wasn’t half bad. Mind, they didn’t half put out some gash as well during the decade between 1967 – 1977 but there are some in there that are well worth listening to. As with the worst Beatles songs, I have constructed a shortlist and will now pick the best Beach Boys songs that you’ve never heard of. They won’t exclusively be from the decade noted above but most of them probably will be. There are about fifteen thousand “Best Of” compilations, and so I have tried to pick songs that don’t feature on any of them – but obviously I may not have covered absolutely all the bases there. It’s a shame, because songs like Good Timing, Sail on Sailor and Please Let Me Wonder have to be left off, although they’re still not well known.
The shortlist.
1. You Need A Mess of Help To Stand Alone (Carl and the Passions/So Tough, 1972)
2. Marcella (Carl and the Passions/So Tough, 1972)
3. Darlin’ (Wild Honey, 1968)
4. It’s About Time (Sunflower, 1970)
5. Forever (Sunflower, 1970)
6. Time To Get Alone (20/20, 1969)
7. This Whole World (Sunflower, 1970)
8. Our Sweet Love (Sunflower, 1970)
9. Disney Girls (1957) (Surf’s Up, 1971)
10. The Night Was So Young (Love You, 1977)
The top 5.
5. This Whole World
This is only a couple of minutes long, but it harks back to the Beach Boys’ heyday, largely because of the brilliant backing vocals and airy lead vocal. It’s very simple, lyrically, but the music is interesting and complex, with a number of key changes sounding – as per usual – as if they were the only natural way to progress through the song. Brian was heavily involved in both the writing and recording of this song, and that tends to be a hallmark of a successful venture for the Beach Boys – despite the amount of musical talent in the band, there’s no denying that without Brian at the helm, they lack a certain degree of icing on the cake. This is probably the best song from the Sunflower album, which is itself the best album they made after Pet Sounds – but no more Sunflower excerpts on this list. But go and check out the album, it’s a cracker.
4. Marcella
The Beach Boys were never a great rock band – but this song does break the mould somewhat, it’s a fairly simple pounding rock song, but the melody and of course the vocal arrangements make it a stand out track. Brian Wilson still performs this live, and I can vouch from experience that it is a brilliant part of the set. The Carl and the Passions album is often dismissed as having been quite poor, but in fact there are two stand-out tracks on an album of very decent songs – the only album that can make that claim without having had Brian at the desk.
3. You Need A Mess of Help to Stand Alone
Why this wasn’t a bigger hit is a mystery to some people, but not to me – and probably not to those people either if they thought about it. It’s a really good song, no doubt, but at the time of release, the band were arguably at their all time low in terms of public perception, their credibility and relevance both shot to hell by a number of poor commercial decisions and albums that were below average in both performance and quality. Appearing in the video like a load of North Sea fishermen who have got lost on shore somehow, the group no longer radiated Southern Californian charm and carefree youth no longer abounded. I've included this video from Brighton pier, in case you want to see how accurate my description was....
Here's the actual song.
But taking all that into account, this is a really good song – and if chart performance was based purely on the quality of the song in question, it would have done a lot more business.
2. The Night Was So Young
By the time “Love You” came out in 1977, the band had arguably reached breaking point, and some would say too late. For those of us who can’t see what harm would have been done by the band having broken up 10 years earlier, the decade after Pet Sounds reads as a massively frustrating and creatively ramshackle period in the life of what had once been a truly great, and important, band. In 1977, Brian decided (or was persuaded) to take the reins again at the desk and produce an album. The finished product is often called the Marmite of Beach Boys records – you either love it or hate it. I don’t really fall into either camp. Some of it is absolutely awful, but there are moments when you are reminded just why Wilson was once held in such high regard by just about anyone who had ever had anything to do with music, and this is one such moment. Although the lyrics are not his best (although he was never a great lyricist anyway), the music, mood, harmonies and Carl’s delivery of the vocal all contribute to make this a stand-out moment in a decidedly topsy-turvy album.
1. Disney Girls (1957)
It pains me to select a Bruce Johnson song as the best “hidden-gem” of the Beach Boys catalogue, as he wasn’t an original Beach Boy, although given the numerous people who have performed under the banner, and the considerable cheapening of the name, he’s as close to an original as anyone. But the other reason is that he tends to contribute the most sickly-sweet cheesy compositions to their work. For instance, he wrote “I write the songs” for Barry Manilow, which just about says it all, and for those Beach Boy aficionados amongst you, you will already be aware of things like The Nearest Faraway Place, or At My Window, Deirdre and Tears In The Morning – all of which are drenched in gorgonzolic mawkishness. Still, at least he didn’t write Take A Load Off Your Feet –probably the most ear-offendingly terrible dross that you’ll hear on a Beach Boys record. Well, no, sadly that isn’t true – but it’s morbid none the less. Anyway, he did write this, and while it is just as sickly sweet as his other work, it is fitting a genre that suits the style, i.e. the nostalgic 50s trip down memory lane. It’s a beautifully written song, both musically and lyrically, and on an album that is ostensibly about the fading of past glories (whether the band realised it at the time or not, it is) it finds its home particularly well here. There’s nothing particularly epic about the song, in fact, the way that it is relatively stripped down does wonders for it, and the feelings it invokes and the emotions it stirs are powerful and moving. Added to a melody that is simply gorgeous, and chordal structure that is complex and yet never forced, this song stands out, not only on the album, but in the entire catalogue of Beach Boys songs as one of their best.
PS. Just out of interest, here’s a quick reason why most Beach Boy fans hate Mike Love. This isn’t the only reason, by any means, but when I talked about still trying to be relevant – look at how he dresses, listen to how he speaks, and listen to the way he talks about cheerleaders. It is just embarrassing. On the flip side, listen to Brian Wilson’s “Lucky old Sun” album, to see how it should be done. It’s cringe-worthy, but still worth watching if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
PPS. In case that didn’t do it for you, and it should have, this should do it.
Please remember, that this guy sang lead on some of the most important rock and roll songs of all time and was part of a group that redefined the identity of an entire state – some would say the nation. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
PPPS. When Brian does Christmas songs – this happens.
You can’t fake class like that.
So, a few good-time summer driving tunes, Good Vibrations, Pet Sounds and then a seemingly light-speed decline into drugs, changing band members, mental illness, in-fighting, bad songs and eventually becoming their own tribute band through a number of nostalgia tours. What was once arguably the most creative band in the world was slowly driven into the ground by Mike Love and his completely addled belief that the band could somehow remain relevant to the ever-changing world by simply re-hashing songs about being teenagers in the late 50s/early 60s in California. Various points in their career have been described as their absolute nadir; Smiley Smile in 1967 – rescued from the aborted SMiLE project that eventually sent its creator into a destructive downward spiral from which he arguably never recovered; 1988’s “Kokomo”, from the soundtrack to the film Cocktail, and any album they released after Dennis Wilson’s death in 1981, but my personal choice for this award would have to be the album “The Beach Boys Salute NasCar.”
God help me, I wish I was joking.
But anyway, in between re-defining youth culture and Americana, completely overhauling the method by which pop albums were a) made and b) judged and then ending up literally re-recording a load of songs as 60 year old men singing about taking young girls out in their little deuce coupe (urgh), they actually came up with the odd song that wasn’t half bad. Mind, they didn’t half put out some gash as well during the decade between 1967 – 1977 but there are some in there that are well worth listening to. As with the worst Beatles songs, I have constructed a shortlist and will now pick the best Beach Boys songs that you’ve never heard of. They won’t exclusively be from the decade noted above but most of them probably will be. There are about fifteen thousand “Best Of” compilations, and so I have tried to pick songs that don’t feature on any of them – but obviously I may not have covered absolutely all the bases there. It’s a shame, because songs like Good Timing, Sail on Sailor and Please Let Me Wonder have to be left off, although they’re still not well known.
The shortlist.
1. You Need A Mess of Help To Stand Alone (Carl and the Passions/So Tough, 1972)
2. Marcella (Carl and the Passions/So Tough, 1972)
3. Darlin’ (Wild Honey, 1968)
4. It’s About Time (Sunflower, 1970)
5. Forever (Sunflower, 1970)
6. Time To Get Alone (20/20, 1969)
7. This Whole World (Sunflower, 1970)
8. Our Sweet Love (Sunflower, 1970)
9. Disney Girls (1957) (Surf’s Up, 1971)
10. The Night Was So Young (Love You, 1977)
The top 5.
5. This Whole World
This is only a couple of minutes long, but it harks back to the Beach Boys’ heyday, largely because of the brilliant backing vocals and airy lead vocal. It’s very simple, lyrically, but the music is interesting and complex, with a number of key changes sounding – as per usual – as if they were the only natural way to progress through the song. Brian was heavily involved in both the writing and recording of this song, and that tends to be a hallmark of a successful venture for the Beach Boys – despite the amount of musical talent in the band, there’s no denying that without Brian at the helm, they lack a certain degree of icing on the cake. This is probably the best song from the Sunflower album, which is itself the best album they made after Pet Sounds – but no more Sunflower excerpts on this list. But go and check out the album, it’s a cracker.
4. Marcella
The Beach Boys were never a great rock band – but this song does break the mould somewhat, it’s a fairly simple pounding rock song, but the melody and of course the vocal arrangements make it a stand out track. Brian Wilson still performs this live, and I can vouch from experience that it is a brilliant part of the set. The Carl and the Passions album is often dismissed as having been quite poor, but in fact there are two stand-out tracks on an album of very decent songs – the only album that can make that claim without having had Brian at the desk.
3. You Need A Mess of Help to Stand Alone
Why this wasn’t a bigger hit is a mystery to some people, but not to me – and probably not to those people either if they thought about it. It’s a really good song, no doubt, but at the time of release, the band were arguably at their all time low in terms of public perception, their credibility and relevance both shot to hell by a number of poor commercial decisions and albums that were below average in both performance and quality. Appearing in the video like a load of North Sea fishermen who have got lost on shore somehow, the group no longer radiated Southern Californian charm and carefree youth no longer abounded. I've included this video from Brighton pier, in case you want to see how accurate my description was....
Here's the actual song.
But taking all that into account, this is a really good song – and if chart performance was based purely on the quality of the song in question, it would have done a lot more business.
2. The Night Was So Young
By the time “Love You” came out in 1977, the band had arguably reached breaking point, and some would say too late. For those of us who can’t see what harm would have been done by the band having broken up 10 years earlier, the decade after Pet Sounds reads as a massively frustrating and creatively ramshackle period in the life of what had once been a truly great, and important, band. In 1977, Brian decided (or was persuaded) to take the reins again at the desk and produce an album. The finished product is often called the Marmite of Beach Boys records – you either love it or hate it. I don’t really fall into either camp. Some of it is absolutely awful, but there are moments when you are reminded just why Wilson was once held in such high regard by just about anyone who had ever had anything to do with music, and this is one such moment. Although the lyrics are not his best (although he was never a great lyricist anyway), the music, mood, harmonies and Carl’s delivery of the vocal all contribute to make this a stand-out moment in a decidedly topsy-turvy album.
1. Disney Girls (1957)
It pains me to select a Bruce Johnson song as the best “hidden-gem” of the Beach Boys catalogue, as he wasn’t an original Beach Boy, although given the numerous people who have performed under the banner, and the considerable cheapening of the name, he’s as close to an original as anyone. But the other reason is that he tends to contribute the most sickly-sweet cheesy compositions to their work. For instance, he wrote “I write the songs” for Barry Manilow, which just about says it all, and for those Beach Boy aficionados amongst you, you will already be aware of things like The Nearest Faraway Place, or At My Window, Deirdre and Tears In The Morning – all of which are drenched in gorgonzolic mawkishness. Still, at least he didn’t write Take A Load Off Your Feet –probably the most ear-offendingly terrible dross that you’ll hear on a Beach Boys record. Well, no, sadly that isn’t true – but it’s morbid none the less. Anyway, he did write this, and while it is just as sickly sweet as his other work, it is fitting a genre that suits the style, i.e. the nostalgic 50s trip down memory lane. It’s a beautifully written song, both musically and lyrically, and on an album that is ostensibly about the fading of past glories (whether the band realised it at the time or not, it is) it finds its home particularly well here. There’s nothing particularly epic about the song, in fact, the way that it is relatively stripped down does wonders for it, and the feelings it invokes and the emotions it stirs are powerful and moving. Added to a melody that is simply gorgeous, and chordal structure that is complex and yet never forced, this song stands out, not only on the album, but in the entire catalogue of Beach Boys songs as one of their best.
PS. Just out of interest, here’s a quick reason why most Beach Boy fans hate Mike Love. This isn’t the only reason, by any means, but when I talked about still trying to be relevant – look at how he dresses, listen to how he speaks, and listen to the way he talks about cheerleaders. It is just embarrassing. On the flip side, listen to Brian Wilson’s “Lucky old Sun” album, to see how it should be done. It’s cringe-worthy, but still worth watching if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
PPS. In case that didn’t do it for you, and it should have, this should do it.
Please remember, that this guy sang lead on some of the most important rock and roll songs of all time and was part of a group that redefined the identity of an entire state – some would say the nation. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
PPPS. When Brian does Christmas songs – this happens.
You can’t fake class like that.
Tuesday 1 September 2009
My YouTube clips of the week.
Here are some YouTube clips that I’ve found that I thought people might like.
1. All the Single Ladies.
I despise Beyonce and Destiny’s Child with a passion, so much so that it might even form the basis of a future blog, and her recent song “Single Ladies” is just as awful as most of the tripe that she brings out. BUT – mix it with the theme tune to the Andy Griffith show, and watch as it’s magically transformed into a whistle-along classic. I defy any of you not to whistle along with this...
2. Runnin with the Beatles
I’ve already espoused how much I love the Beatles, but is there a way you can make one of their classic songs even better? Of course there is – by mashing it up with Runnin with the Devil by Van Halen. Shouldn’t work, but really does.
3. Stairway to a Hard Day’s Night
Another Beatles Mashup here – well, almost. This is the Australian band Beatnix performing a special re-writing of Stairway to Heaven, and is absolutely fantastic.
4. *apply sunglasses*
David Caruso is really a self-parody now, and the fact that he (and the rest of the CSI Miami team) are so aware of it and happy to play up to it makes this all the more enjoyable...
5. Real tough guys
Not many things are funnier than this video.
6. The Welsh Wonder
It’s easy to forget just how devastatingly brilliant Ryan Giggs was back in the day. Here’s a reminder. The writing in green is a bit sycophantic but the video clips speak for themselves.
7. Don’t Look Back In Anger
Oasis have become a bit of a circus in recent years, but there was a time when they were literally changing the face of British rock and roll and the lives of young boys up and down the country who wanted to play the guitar and had no contemporary idols to worship, me included. Here they are at Maine Road, a gig that I watched so much I wore the VHS out.
1. All the Single Ladies.
I despise Beyonce and Destiny’s Child with a passion, so much so that it might even form the basis of a future blog, and her recent song “Single Ladies” is just as awful as most of the tripe that she brings out. BUT – mix it with the theme tune to the Andy Griffith show, and watch as it’s magically transformed into a whistle-along classic. I defy any of you not to whistle along with this...
2. Runnin with the Beatles
I’ve already espoused how much I love the Beatles, but is there a way you can make one of their classic songs even better? Of course there is – by mashing it up with Runnin with the Devil by Van Halen. Shouldn’t work, but really does.
3. Stairway to a Hard Day’s Night
Another Beatles Mashup here – well, almost. This is the Australian band Beatnix performing a special re-writing of Stairway to Heaven, and is absolutely fantastic.
4. *apply sunglasses*
David Caruso is really a self-parody now, and the fact that he (and the rest of the CSI Miami team) are so aware of it and happy to play up to it makes this all the more enjoyable...
5. Real tough guys
Not many things are funnier than this video.
6. The Welsh Wonder
It’s easy to forget just how devastatingly brilliant Ryan Giggs was back in the day. Here’s a reminder. The writing in green is a bit sycophantic but the video clips speak for themselves.
7. Don’t Look Back In Anger
Oasis have become a bit of a circus in recent years, but there was a time when they were literally changing the face of British rock and roll and the lives of young boys up and down the country who wanted to play the guitar and had no contemporary idols to worship, me included. Here they are at Maine Road, a gig that I watched so much I wore the VHS out.
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