History
The album's title was taken from the words made famous by Sir Isaac Newton: "If I can see further than anyone else, it is only because I am standing on the shoulders of giants". Noel Gallagher saw the quote on the side of a £2 coin while in a pub and liked it so much he thought it would be a suitable name for Oasis' new album. He then wrote the name on the side of a cigarette packet while drunk. When he awoke in the morning, he realised he had written "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants".
Due to the departure of Alan McGee and two original band members, Bonehead and Guigsy, while the album was still in production, their parts had to be re-recorded for legal reasons. Thus, the album only features the Gallagher brothers and Alan White, and the sleeve of the album also features them.
Noel decided to drop the equipment used in the three previous albums and instead buy "loads of really weird pedals, old guitars, and small amps", as the lack of deadline to deliver the album allowed Gallagher to "take quite a few days just messing around" and attempt new musical sonorities.
Read more about this topic: Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“the future is simply nothing at all. Nothing has happened to the present by becoming past except that fresh slices of existence have been added to the total history of the world. The past is thus as real as the present.”
—Charlie Dunbar Broad (1887–1971)
“In every election in American history both parties have their clichés. The party that has the clichés that ring true wins.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)