Album: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
Year: 2000
Perhaps Oasis most overtly-psychedelic song, chalk full of backwards tapes and featuring a slow, languid, druggy beat, “Who Feels Love?” is my favorite song on Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.
And because it was sequenced third on the record, just after “Go Let it Out,” it also made me pretty fucking excited for the rest of the record. If they could somehow do a whole album with songs as good as this — and keep them under epic length — then that would have been some kind of return.
Alas, however, it was not to be: it was instead a case of frontloading an album with the best songs, something that Oasis had never really had to do before — remember that they stuck “It’s Getting Better (Man!!)” at the end of Be Here Now — so it got dire after this song. But I really love this song.
Opening with burbling sitars and tablas, and featuring a languid beat anchored by a bright snare, “Who Feels Love?” is a reminder that Noel Gallagher is a helluva song architect. I particularly love the stacked vocal harmonies on the opening verse.
Found what I’d lost inside
My spirit has been purified
Take a thorn from my pride
And hand in hand we’ll take a walk outside
Then after that, Liam is at his most sincere as he sings the chorus with an uncharacteristic melancholy ache in his voice:
Thank you for the sun
The one that shines on everyone
Who feels love
Now there’s a million years
Between my fantasies and fears
I feel love
As always, this is a little bit silly, but amazingly gorgeous: their prettiest song since “Champagne Supernova” or “Wonderwall.” And more so, with all of the weird overdubs and backwards instruments, there’s something going on around every single corner.
“Who Feels Love?”
“Who Feels Love?” live on Jools Holland, 2000
“Who Feels Love?” acoustic MTV, 2000 (Noel singing)
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