Missing Oasis

First the bad news. The Brian McKnight concert with Lani Misalucha scheduled on Dec. 5 and 6 this year at the Araneta Coliseum has been cancelled. Brian might instead return on Valentine’s Day 2003. This is the second big show by a foreign act to be cancelled in less than two weeks. First to go was the one-night Aaron Carter gig set for tonight. Those of you who have already bought tickets to the Aaron Carter and Brian McKnight shows, please call Ticketnet 911-5555 for refunds.

Before these cancellations, the British group Oasis also backed out of its scheduled show at the Big Dome last Oct. 23. This certainly disappointed a lot of fans of the controversial band. And I can honestly say there are a lot of them in this country. Besides, I really thought that having Oasis in town would have set off some interesting fireworks in a music scene already mired in the bland musings of Blue, a1 and other boy bands.

There have been a lot of not-so-nice things said about Oasis but this group can never be bland nor dull. Oasis’ music is multi-textured and definitely colorful. Prime mover and songwriter Noel Gallagher has a penchant for taking on tested formulas but the results, though at times pretentious, always make for good listening. Then there is his brother Liam who is angry, pouty, uncompromising and whose snarling vocals never hold back on anything.

Oasis was an instant success with the release of its first album Definitely Maybe, in 1994. Bigger hits like What’s the Story Morning Glory? Be Here Now, The Masterplan, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants and followed by the two-volume live recording Familiar to Millions. While all these albums were being produced and the hit tunes came one after another, Oasis was also constantly in the news because of feuds, brawls, tensions and other similar incidents among the brothers, the other members and even other groups. Things have been sort of quiet for a while in the Oasis front and it looks like their differences have been patched up. I am happy to note that this period of peace has resulted in what may be the best Oasis album ever. Heathen Chemistry glows with the usual explosive stuff but shows great ease and confidence. These guys are now experts at what they do and certainly know how to dish out potential hits.

Fans will surely love the power ballad Stop Crying Your Heart Out, which sounds like it will be the big song out of this album. The ’70s-inspired Born on a Different Cloud written by Liam may take a while to take off but is the kind that stays in the mind. Probably All in the Mind is the waker-upper of the set. It shows that though Oasis has in a way mellowed, their music has definitely not. Other cuts included are The Hindu Times, Force of Nature, Hung in a Bad Place, Songbird, Little by Little, A Quick Peep, She is Love and Better man.

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Fans of Harry Potter reacted with shock to the news of the death of actor Richard Harris, who plays the venerable wizard Dumbledore in movies Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and the upcoming Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. But there was even greater shock in the reaction of some friends who only now made the association that this Richard Harris was the same guy who popularized the pop classic MacArthur Park.

Harris recorded and made a huge hit out of the Jim Webb composition in 1968. Though the words of the song still remains a mystery to many (they sound good but what the heck are they saying?). MacArthur Park, which was also recorded with much success by Donna Summer, Waylon Jennings and even our very own Rico Puco, continues to have a big following. Harris recorded other songs by Webb like Didn’t We and If You Must Leave My Life. He also did an entire album of Gibran Kahil Gibran’s The Prophet, and starred as King Arthur in the movie version of the musical Camelot, where he got to sing the title track plus other songs.

The British actor died last Friday, Oct. 25 at the age 72. He starred in films like A Man Called Horse, Cassandra Crossing, This Sporting Life and others. Despite many acclaimed performances, he will forever be remembered as Dumbledore and for MacArthur Park.