First, I'm not quite sure what the last reviewer was talking about when he said a generation of fans hailed this as a masterpiece of some sort. Fans it may have, yet ne'er but a few have sung uncritical rhapsodies to it.
Now, second, I can't say anything to anyone who's pondering purchasing BHN except you'll most likely either love it (with time) or hate it (some beans aren't magic after all). Nevertheless, I was frightened away from this album by the intensity of the negative reviews, and by the time I bought it I was already so critical of it that it never had a prayer. One day, at any rate, (always one day...), I put it on because I wanted to hear some Oasis I didn't know by heart, and it hit. I got it. This album became, we'll say, my cup of tea. Why?
Benefits: Liam truly sings his a** off on this album. I mean song after song after song(and they are songs with a capital L)
he lays his voice on the dicing board. The production is very solid--if you like Oasis that is--and don't let anyone dissuade you of that, though again it will take time to get a feel for the body of these tracks--like Magic Pie for instance, which I personally hated forever, but just all the sudden realized I loved it. This album is like that. In short, don't be misled by the brutality of some of these lacerations heaped upon the album; it's classic Oasis here, but with that sort of vibrating in place that keeps each album different than the last and exciting for us die hards.
Costs: Of course, the songs are immense, mammoth, titanic jeremiads (in hindsight at least) to the waning of the Oasis empire--both long in running time and tall on brio. Then again, thats only a drawback if you loathe that sort of thing. I, personally, find it a truly singular aspect of this CD. It's like the odd-cousin of the other albums, and sticks out of the five either like a gold nuggett or a nasty splinter, depending on where you're coming from.
Well, thats all. Love it or hate it, this album is a product of insanity, and for that it is worth your every penny.

Unbridled arrogance, excess, and obnoxiousness. Also known as, the essence of rock 'n' roll! This amazing album is larger, longer, and louder than life. It's almost too much to take in all at once; I can understand why so many people just can't get their heads around it. But give "Be Here Now" a chance and you will find smart songwriting, great melodies, and stellar musicianship. The arrogance is justified.

"D'You Know What I Mean?" is an absolute monster, a swaggering psychedelic epic so huge it leaves you almost too exhausted to continue. Definitely one of the coolest album openers ever and one of my personal all-time favorite songs. But that's just the beginning.

"My Big Mouth" is the sound of 24 blazing guitar tracks all turned up to 11, with drums and vocals fighting furiously to catch up for the 5-minute running time (and it's one of the shorter tracks!). "Magic Pie" is the album's second 7-minute epic, featuring a soaring chorus, an excellent Noel Gallagher vocal performance, and a long found-sound coda. "Stand by Me" and "I Hope, I Think, I Know" are anthemic stadium rockers that keep the adrenaline level high.

From here the album dips back into '60s psychedelia for "The Girl in the Dirty Shirt" and the epic (see how that word keeps coming up?) "Fade In-Out." "Don't Go Away" finally scales back the guitar pyrotechnics for some tender acoustic plucking and a beautiful, wistful melody backed by bombastic strings and horns. The title track, "All Around the World," and "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)" return to blisteringly loud guitars and huge, anthemic choruses. Finally, "All Around the World (Reprise)" takes us out with an orchestral restatement of the song's outro and the sound of a door closing. (Between the song proper and the reprise, that's almost 12 minutes of "All Around the World." Wow.)

This record has certainly taken a beating over the years, but it really doesn't deserve the bad reputation. Take another listen to "Definitely Maybe" and "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?"-- isn't the bombast and brashness part of the charm? "Be Here Now" just takes that musical philosophy beyond the limits of common sense, to its lunatic extreme. Sometimes bigger actually is better, and "Be Here Now" is as big as rock music gets.

For a long time it was impossible for people to take an objective view of Oasis. They were either the greatest band in the world or a joke, depending on who you asked. I think grunge had trained a lot of people into thinking it wasn't cool to like partying, acting stupid, and just rocking --- which is really what Oasis were about. In this sense they were more like Guns n Roses than the Beatles. And just like GNR their career basically imploded following their third, bloated album.

But in retrospect "Be Here Now" was everything Oasis was meant to be from the beginning--- totally over the top. Like others here have mentioned, the reversal of critical opinion regarding "Be Here Now" was striking. Having ignored the first two Oasis albums (which turned out to be seminal), the music press rushed to proclaim "Be Here Now" a great album upon release. But the problem was that Oasis had fulfilled their destiny in becoming drugged out, over-produced, groupie shagging rock stars. Like many bands that were huge in Britain, Americans just didn't seem to get it. There was really no where left for Oasis to go. Opinion of the album accordingly shifted.

Having watched Oasis flounder with "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" and "Heathen Chemistry," and regroup with this year's "Don't Believe the Truth," it's easier to judge "Be Here Now" in context. It's a sprawling, out of control record that has a life of its own.

I don't think any band could purposefully set out to make a record this audacious. "Be Here Now" is a product of a band that was too high and wrapped up in their own fame to believe they had limits. When you listen to it now it sounds overblown in the best way possible-- like T.Rex's "The Slider" or the "Use Your Illusion" records.

The sound is huge, arena rock. The songs last too long. The album as a whole lasts too long. The cover art is ridiculous. The lyrics are ridiculous. It's almost a parody. But beneath it all, the songs are good. It's loud. It sounds great when you're drunk. There are a couple of good ballads that might even cause the drunk girl next to you to drunkenly make-out with you. In short, this is what rock n roll is supposed to be.

When it was released, Be Here Now was greeted by rapturous reviews and unbelievable sales (885,000 copies sold in Britain that week, the equivalent of 4-5 million copies in a week here). Within a couple of months (largely due, in my opinion, to the comparative brilliance of OK Computer and Urban Hymns) Be Here Now was reviled as a cocaine excess and Oasis' short reign as the biggest group in the world was over. Oasis certainly has never recovered. But this is a great album, full of long, loud songs that never forget the importance of a great tune. Sure, the lyrics are naff but who cares when they're being sung by the best singer of his generation, Mr. Liam Gallagher (except for Magic Pie, a top song despite the absolute worst, most pretentious lyrics ever). I'm not going to go through the strengths and weaknesses of each song (others have done it better) but let me just point out three songs:
1. Do You Know What I Mean? A massive, massive song, the first new Oasis song to follow the trailblazing Morning Glory album. This song is so 1997 but still conjures up a feeling of companionship, the idea that we're all in this together. Just awesome.
2. Fade In-Out: Not everyone loves it but this song really is the missed opportunity for Oasis, their chance to truly become the Stone Roses of the nineties. But Oasis zigged when they should have zagged, going mellow when it was time to rock out. But at least we have this song. The scream three minutes into the song is one of the most exciting moments in rock and roll.
3. Don't Go Away: I'll never understand why this one didn't strike the same chord as Wonderwall. If it had gotten the airplay it deserved, this album wouldn't be considered such a flop. Beautiful with Liam's voice keeping it from being too sentimental (a problem in the last couple of Oasis albums where Noel's decided to take on more of the singing duties).

Remember 1997? Oasis were at their zenith, Be Here Now was about to go on sale and the hype machine went into overdrive. Be Here Now quickly went onto break records becoming the fastest selling British album of all time and peaked at number 2 in The States. So where did it all go wrong?

On the albums release, the music press at large universally praised the album. However, with the passing of time, the album, the crowning glory of Brit Pop, was dethroned by capricious critics. The media backlash begun, Be Here Now was critically plundered and lost beneath a tidal wave of hype.

BE HERE NOW EXHUMED, RESPUN AND EMBRACED. Be Here Now possesses depth, exuberance and swagger in abundance. There simply isn't a weak track on the album. `Stand By Me' is ultimate pub rock, `Dya Know What I Mean' is dark, brooding Rock at its triumphant best. `All Around The World' is celebratory and uplifting.

Be Here Now is the ultimate fans favourite. So much so a petition, signed by hundreds in its opening week, has been promoted across the web to be presented to the band later this year. Fan's are campaigning to restore tracks from this "lost classic" to the live set.

THE BE HERE NOW PETITION - ITS GETTING BETTER (MAN!!!)

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