My unforgettable connection to Oasis as they reissue 'Be Here Now'
October 17, 2016
Read Two Harbors' Chris Pavlich reflection on two moments that remind him of Be Here Now, which is the center of Oasis' third and final installment of their Chasing the Sun reissue campaign, then enter for a chance to win a deluxe Be Here Now box set and tickets to the new Oasis rockumentary Supersonic.
Be Here Now: a coke-fueled, bloated and massive-sounding record that was released in 1997. It was the No.1 selling record in the U.K. in a year that also gave us Urban Hymns (The Verve), OK Computer (Radiohead) and Blur's self-titled album. Noel Gallagher doesn't care for Be Here Now; brother Liam stands by it proudly.
Be Here Now is no Definitely Maybe or (What's the Story) Morning Glory, but it reflects the massive excess that followed those records – who doesn't love an eight-minute tune with 96 guitar tracks?!? I'm glad to see this record getting spiffed up after 20 years.
Over the years I've met Noel and Liam a few times. They are both simultaneously down to earth and larger than life. A couple of the most amazing moments I've had were introducing Noel to my son Noel, and flying to London a few weeks later to be in a photo shoot with Liam for his Pretty Green clothing range. But a couple of memories in particular stick out as Oasis reissues Be Here Now.
Wearing my heart on Be Here Now's sleeve
A couple years back, I got a text message from my friend and producer Ed Ackerson asking if I had the Oasis Be Here Now vinyl boxset. It was a limited edition release that was only available to members of the Oasis Fan Club. I don't have the box, but I do have a vinyl copy.
As I sat admiring the sleeve and reading through the liner notes, I came across a familiar line: "A microdot sleeve; Designed and Directed by Brian Cannon." He'd also done amazing sleeves for the Verve (including Urban Hymns) and several other bands. At the time my band, Two Harbors, had been putting the finishing touches on our most recent record, The Natural Order of Things. We had a recording session booked at Flowers Studio, a mastering session booked at Abbey Road Studios and needed to start kicking around a design concept for the sleeve.
I wondered if Cannon had a Facebook page and if he was still running things at Microdot. I grabbed my computer and, as luck would have it, he was. I sent him a private message, asking him if he would consider designing the sleeve for our forthcoming record. He quickly replied, asking to hear demos. I sent him several songs we had been working on, and he was really into the idea of collaborating. Be Here Now was the soundtrack to this magnificent exchange.
Be Here Now is hands-down my favorite Oasis sleeve, and I was thrilled that Cannon agreed to design a sleeve for Two Harbors. He shot all of the images for that record near his studio in Wigan, England, just up the road from where the Verve played their first gig. We've kept in touch ever since, and every now and again he'll send me a link to an amazing Ruttles video on YouTube at 3 a.m.
Noel's Tascam four-track recorder
Last year I was given a broken Tascam four-track recorder that belonged to Noel Gallagher. It had stopped working while he was performing in St. Paul and was too old to be repaired. I couldn't help but wonder how many of my favorite Oasis tunes may have been demoed on that machine, maybe even the highly anticipated "Mustique demos" which are included in the new Be Here Now reissue!
I caught up with Noel at a show in Chicago and thought it would be funny to have him sign the old, broken Tascam. I handed it to him, he looked at it, looked back at me and said, "Where in the fu*k did you get this?!?" I explained how I'd acquired it after he'd abandoned it in Minnesota a few years before. He scrawled his name and a message on it, and I told him I loved him like old people love chicken. We had a good laugh.
Giveaway
Use this form to enter The Current's Be Here Now giveaway between 2 p.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 17 and 11:59 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016.
One (1) grand prize winner will receive one (1) deluxe Be Here Now box set including a hardcover book, three CDs and one vinyl LP, plus two (2) tickets to a screening of Supersonic at the Lagoon Theater in Minneapolis on Oct. 26, 2016. Five (5) runner-up winners will receive (1) three-CD copy of the Be Here Now reissue, plus two (2) tickets to a screening of Supersonic at the Lagoon Theater in Minneapolis on Oct. 26, 2016. Three (3) back up names will be drawn.
Prize retail value: $170 (grand prize), $49 (runner-up)
We will contact the winners on Monday, Oct. 24, 2016. Winners must accept by 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.
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