REVIEWS:
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(Robert Grazer's review)
HIGH POINTS: Live Forever. LOW POINTS: Shakemaker
Definitely Maybe is a much different Oasis from what people who only know them from Morning Glory?. It's a slightly humbler Oasis, an Oasis that are actually making an attempt a their own sound and not stealing one that's been abandoned for a few decades. The problem is that, honestly, not too many of the songs here grab me AT ALL. They just sort of come and go. They're catchy, they're melodic, but they're empty. They come, they go. I eventually yawn. The only really offensive track on the album is "Shakemaker", which for some reason annoys me in nearly every way possible. I suppose I should be more specific than that, but that would require listening to the song again, which I'm not willing to do. Elsewhere, I dunno, "Columbia" has got a cool chorus, but the solo goes on forever, and even the acclaimed "Supersonic", aside from the great catchy chorus, still sounds tired.
They eventually just end up sounding the same, I swear opening the riff in "Cigarrettes and Alcohol" has been used in at least half of the other songs on this album. And "Digsy's Diner" almost defines the word generic. On the up side, though, "Slide Away", despite following the same formula as everything else on here, seems to follow it at least better than most of the other tracks on here. Unfortunately it has that nasty Oasis habit of relying too much on repeating the song's title for the last two minutes and becomes so repetitive that I can't list it as a highlight.
What I CAN list as an absolute highlight, something that seems far far too great to be on such and otherwise mediocre album, is, yep, "Live Forever". Not only does that dwarve everything else here, it surpasses even the best cuts on the next album, and I don't have much more Oasis than that, but I'm still just gonna say that it's probably their best song ever. I mean, come on, how do you top that chorus? "Maybe I just wanna fly, wanna live I don't wanna die", even spoken straight out it sounds good. And even the high falsetto or whatever of "You and I are gonna live forEVER" doesn't annoy me at all. In fact, I kind of like it.
What it is that made every British critic (and even some American) critics go completely nuts over this and name it the greatest thing in 1994 is far beyond me, since there were quite a few other albums that were more on the cutting edge and stronger in nearly every way, even in the mainstream (Dummy... Dummy...). Though the first time I listened to Definitely Maybe, I did like it. But I was using it solely as background music. Once you put this album on for a serious listen and, you know, expect something from it, you'll find youself disappointed greatly. I know I did. I think there's more than a little bit of a reason that Oasis didn't breakthrough into America until the next album. And I know I'm being kind of harsh with the score, but "Shakemaker" is so bad that it almost cancels out "Live Forever", and I'm getting very, very sick of listening to mediocrity.
HIGH POINTS: Live Forever, Slide Away, Supersonic, Rock ‘n’ Roll Star. LOW POINTS: Bring It On Down, Shakermaker.
The Gallagher brothers are more often than not portrayed as Beatle maniacs who fight a lot and nick riffs from the Beatles. While in their later work one can see that as being not too far from the truth, I’m not seeing it with Definitely Maybe (the “Beatle maniacs” part not the “fighting a lot” part). Noel Gallagher claimed in an interview that this album “must be the loudest album since The Who Live at Leeds.” Oasis really just recorded their set list live in the studio a couple of times, chose the best one, and that was that. This “volume way up capture the moment” mentality works very well on some songs. However, it doesn’t work on all of them. Some songs could have benefited by a more experienced producer than Noel Gallagher in the studio. Nevertheless some songs are good enough that they rise above these factors.
The album gets off to a first-rate start with ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.’ It is a prime example of how live production can really capture the energy of a band. Oasis attacks with so much enthusiasm, you’ll be grabbing the nearest tennis racket and singing along to “tonight, I’m a rock and roll star!” What is better than a song with “rock and roll” in the title that delivers on that promise? Before you roll down your window and start to let the good times roll, I’ll warn you that “Shakermaker” follows this. It is not as bad as some will tell you, but it is as mediocre as other people will tell you. But this is a debut right? I can deal with a few bland songs then. This and the former “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” seem to be more influenced by the then defunct “baggy” early 90s/late 80s Ma(d)nchester scene than by the Beatles. Both ‘Shakermaker’ and the later ‘Columbia’ share in that vaguely druggy sound. Not druggy as psychedelic guitarscapes, but more as in long, repetitive, extended guitar driven fade-outs. It’s just that some songs might have some hooks hidden in there, but they are all successfully covered by slipshod production and a droning sound. This kind of sound bogs down a few pieces like the two I mentioned. Oasis’s first single “Supersonic” is definitely a better song than the previous “Columbia” and it shows. The lyrics are nonsensical but great fun. “I know a girl named Elsa, she’s into Alka Seltzer.” There are times on this album where Noel’s knack for a pop song shines through all this mess. He has some great catchy riffs on this album, and some of the best are on ‘Supersonic.’ In my opinion, he’s an underrated songwriter. His guitar licks carry all the songs on this album, and make even the more boring songs here interesting.
By far the best song on the first half is ‘Live Forever.’ It’s a classic Britpop song and a great one in its own right. Liam’s voice, the guitars. Everything just gels together. “Cigarettes and Alcohol” was a hit single in the UK. Boring tune, but you have to admire their gusto. However it is when the feedback is turned down and Noel’s songwriting is allowed to shine through, that we get some of the best moments on the album. “Slide Away” is the second classic we have here. It embodies everything that’s great about Oasis. Catchy guitars, Liam’s voice, and lyrics that are full of longing yet nostalgic at the same time. Closing the album is a pleasant little acoustic number. “I don’t care no more so don’t you worry, goodbye I’m going home.” Noel’s songs work much better in this setting than in the more rocking numbers. I could complain about how the album is uneven; because a good few songs are uninteresting and it’s easy to be indifferent towards them. Plus, I can count the number of standout tracks on a few fingers. Then again, I can count the number of really friggin’ good tracks on a few fingers as well. If I’m having a good day this might get a 7.5. Youthful enthusiasm? Check. Now try writing a more accomplished set of songs. Don’t get me wrong, there are a couple of terrific pop gems on this album that are definitely worth hearing. Later Oasis albums would sacrifice the energy present here for more developed numbers. Now if only they could have combined the energy with the great songs. What’s that? You want energy AND great songs from a band. Well if that’s what you really want, go listen to any of Oasis’s numerous influences. Notice the heading at the top of the page says “Oasis” and not “The Who.”
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(Robert Grazer's review)
HIGH POINTS: Wonderwall, Hello, Don't Look Back In Anger, Champagne Supernova, Morning Glory. LOW POINTS: The Untitled tracks, Cast No Shadow.
Don't judge a band for anything besides their music. You see, it's obvious that after a huge success in Definitely Maybe, becoming the biggest British band since The Stone Roses (or, more specificaly, replacing The Stone Roses as the biggest British band), the Oasis boys developed a little bit of an ego problem. Sure they were stuck up before, but it was now, when they broke through to America as well, that they developed the whole 'we are the new Beatles' mentality. And it's true, the music here is even more Beatles inspired (or copied) than the previous album, which you could get away calling just a Brit-pop album. This is so ripped from the Beatles that there's little way to deny it. I mean, come one, "Roll With It"? That's not an attempt at being John Lennon? Yeah, right.
This essentially raises three problems and flaws that you have to address when reviewing this album. First of all, we are dealing with a bunch of cocky Brits now. It's ovious that Liam or whoever is now got an ego to dwarve most others but... so? What does it mater what an artist thinks of themselves? I mean, if we addressed the size of an artist's ego as a criterium for reviewing, there would never ever ever be another positive review for any Prince album. And even John Lennon got a wee bit big headed when the Beatles were the biggest thing in rock histroy. You know, "We're bigger than Jesus Christ" and all of that sort of thing. Then again, the Beatles were. Oasis only came close. In Britain at least.
But the music is still derivative. But come on, this has long been one of the traits of Britpop. From the earliest reaches of the Kinks and Beatles through The Stone Roses and Blur and The Verve and here Oasis, everyone's been ripping off this and that for this song or that song. The problem is that Oasis didn't really make very good choices of who they lifted pieces of their music from. They should've picked some riffs and melodies that were, I dunno, more obscure. I mean, come on, are people not supposed to connect "Don't Look Back In Anger" and "Imagime"? Sure. So they're kinda dumb every now and then, but who isn't? At least they didn't trust the Hell's Angels to do the security at one of their concerts.
But lastly, it's not just a stolen melody here and there that pisses people off. It's that this is, in sound, lyrical style and spirit, a Beatles album. But what the hell have people been wanting since 1970? Oasis gave people what they wanted: a new Beatles' album. Enjoy it. They do a good job of it. The only thing you've got to accept is that the Beatles didn't do it. But face the facts, they ain't going to do another album. So put in (What's The Story) Morning Glory? when you've worn out Revolver, and, if you try really hard, you can almost enjoy it half as much.
There still are some flaws that I can't get over, though. In some places, the lyrics really suck. In fact, they suck all over this album. And some of the choruses repeat themselves too much, and I'm not talking about "Champagne Supernova" here. It's "Cast No Shadow" that really annoys me on that note. Over and over and over again toward the end the song, "He cast no shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadooooooow", it really ruins an otherwise decent tune. And then there's the two untitled tracks, which really are quite pointless filling tracks. It would be a lot nicer just to not have them there at all, I think.
Other than those, though, you get a set of catchy and melodic Britpop tunes. We open with "Hello" which is a fantastic rocking tune, with an ending the I love. "Hello... hello..." Admittedly the vocals aren't that great, but you get used to them after awhile. Though on "Roll With It" you got an attempt and Lennon-style vocals that does kinda get overdone at the beginning, but the melody makes up for it. Plus there's the big American breakthrough track here, "Wonderwall", and I know it's clichè to call this track near-perfect, but hey? What can I do? It IS a fantastic song. The "and all the roads we have to walk" vocal melody being among my favorites. "Don't Look Back In Anger" never made it big in the U.S. (or not that I heard), but it should have despite the little thing with "Imagine".
The second half of the album is weaker, from the bore of "Cast No Shadow" to the rather generic intro "Some Might Say" (even though "Some Might Say" does become quite a worthwhile tune in the end) but I love both the title track (with a friggin' awesome riff) and "She's Electric" (despite the really stupid title). But I'm also one of the people who isn't bored for a second by "Champagne Supernova", all seven minutes of it. I know I shoudn't, but hey, I can't help it. It's just that sort of spaced out drug song that you can sorta lose yourself in for seven minutes.
So be content. An 8 is a tad bit generous of me, but (What's The Story) Morning Glory? is a really great album, so I can squeeze it by. Sure it's got it's flaws, and some critics did go a wee bit overboard naming it the best (or best British) album of the year or the decade but forget them. What do they know? So Morning Glory? may not really be all that diverse, as eventually you sink into the sound they've got going, nor is it all that original, which goes without saying really, but it is enjoyable, and that's all I'm here to tell you.
See, this shows that I CAN be objective as a reviewer. I loathe this band. Wait, thats not correct. Rather, I hate the Gallagher brothers, which make up 2/5 of this group. I'm sure the other three are pleasant enough fellows, but who the hell knows? The greedy, moronic, dumbass, pompous fools known as Noel and Liam Gallagher hog all of the spotlight this band is afforded. And they're not even satisfied with that! Liam, in particular, throws tantrums like a 5-year old when he isn't the center of attention. Witness the bands 1996-1997 tour, where at one show Baby Liam got pissed at the band and spent the night in a balcony sucking down booze while the four other members (including his brother) played on. If this were a perfect world, Axl Rose and the Gallagher brothers would be herded into an incinerator on live TV. I'd be cheering all the way!
However, hatred notwithstanding, Oasis are halfway decent songwriters. But don't think just because I caved and gave this album a 7 that it must be phenomenal. Rather, I was in a pretty giving mood while writing this, so the rating is about right for everybody. Like I said, they are OK songwriters. Certainly not Beatles-quality, which the Gallegher bros.are fond of saying they are BETTER than. But they write some good tunes. And this is their only album that remotely interests me.
Sure, almost all the tracks are Beatles-ripoffs, but they're GOOD ripoffs. My favorite song would have to be "Don't Look Back in Anger". Great song. Other notable tracks include "Wonderwall", "Champange Supernova", "She's Electric" and "Roll With It". None of the other songs are really bad, but they aren't that great. Which is what it all comes down to. This is NOT the greatest album of the decade like so many overexcited reviewers would have us believe. Hell, it's not even the greatest British rock album of the decade. That honor would go to Radiohead's OK Computer, a far more consistent, and enjoyable album, from a less-conceited band. Pretty good effort from the Gallagher schmucks, although they didn't interest me before Morning Glory, or since that release. By the way, "Morning Glory" is the British term for that delightful stiffness us guys get in the morning. Geez, these guys are perverts too?
Oasis' second album is generally considered to be their best album, and judging from what I've heard, it is. The group can still be unbearably pompous at times, but approximately 3 times out of 5, it's compensated by good melodies. The best example of this is the awesome opener, the pounding, hard rock "Hello", which has those patended Liam Gallagher whiny vocals and big, self impotant lyrics, but the tune is AWESOME! The chorus bit is nearly perfect. This is proof that, given the opportunity, these guys really COULD write songs as good as they said they could. There are more highlights here, though. The big hit "Wonderwall" is really really pretty. Liam's whine is always kinda annoying, but the tune is just so lovely that I can't knock it. Not at all. How about the title track? That damn song ROCKS! Layered, distorted guitars that manage to really pull off this disjointed, disillusioned feel. Ballads? How about "Don't Look Back In Anger", which starts as a blatant "Imagine" rip off before turning into a really cool, very pretty, pleasant tune. It's almost gorgeous!
The rest of the material doesn't quite get there, though. They range from "pretty good" to "just barely passable", which pulls the record down a bit. For the "pretty good" tunes, you have your "Roll With It" and "Hey Now!", both of which have catchy moments and are quite listenable, but aren't really vital for anyone. Moving into more mediocre territory, you get the goofy stomp of "She's Electric" and the quasi-stately "Some Might Say", both of which are fun, but if you aren't in the mood, you'll yawn. Digging deeper, we finally hit the boring but listenable "Cast No Shadow" and the just-barely-not-awful "Champagne Supernova", which drags and drags and drags for what seems like ages. The tune is ok, I guess, but it doesn't come close to being worth 7 minutes. And it was the biggest hit! Yoinks! There are also two brief, untitled instrumentals, but they aren't even really worth mentioning. So, if you liked the hits somewhat (except "Champagne"), give this album a go, as there are some gems on it. Steer clear of the filler and you've got yourself a really good album here.
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COMMENTS
This is the band's best album, bar none. Honestly, after listening to the much better-produced-but-undeniably-boring Heathen Chemistry, I came back to this album and fell in love (again). It's just beautiful. Sure, it's repetitive, sure it's pompous, egotistical, and has lyrics aimed at love-lorne fourteen year olds, but SHIT MAN, this album SOUNDS gorgeous.
The obligatory feedback on most of the songs fits right in with the catchy, yet mature, riffs of "Hello", "Hey Now" and the title track. "Cast No Shadow" is an awesome song, very catchy and easy to listen to. I'd pin the title of 'worst lyrics of the decade' on it, but since the song's so pretty, I can let that pass. My favourite part, the chorus, uses a beautiful overlay of voices, contrasting highs and lows effortlessly. And I do love "...as they took his soul, they stole his pride." Just such a pretty song.
"She's Electric", while goofy, is fun and upbeat. I love the stupid lyrics; it's the only song on the album where the words stick out over the melody. The only dud would be "Some Might Say", which sounds generic and veiled. The feedback takes over the vocals and sounds punchy. Not my type of sound. And the chorus is just awful. Enough said about that.
I agree with Robert: "Champange Supernova" is a trippy, fun drug-fest. It's chilled and is a perfect closer to the poppy album. Just an incredible song. "Wonderful" is a perfect song. It appeals to every type of music fan. And it embodies a characteristic that ensures its long life: it's timeless. It's going to sound great in twenty years, and in sixty years. It's just nice to listen to.
So, this is by no means a perfect album, but it's brilliant and easily listenable. By far their best LP.
-Trounce
(reviewed by Mike Bryant)
HIGH POINTS: Don’t Go Away, Stand By Me, The Girl In The Dirty Shirt, I Hope I Think I Know. LOW POINTS: My Big Mouth, Magic Pie, Fade In-Out, It’s Getting Better (Man!!!
How did Oasis follow up an overblown record that sold millions? They made a record that was even more overblown. It is my belief that this 71 minute (!) long record encapsulates everything that people hate about Oasis. And do you know what that is? Ego, ego, ego, ego, ego, ego, and boring songs. What is even worse is that the songs are so long! The shortest two are 4:23 and 4:48 (fittingly these are the best songs on the album. Not counting the short reprise of “All Around the World” which is good because it is short), and all the others easily surpass the 5 minute mark. “All Around the World” is 9:20! Now I can think of many 9+ minute long songs that rule (“Starless” anyone?) However Oasis are not prog rockers. They are decent pop rockers. And a major way to ruin a decent pop/rock song is to stretch the thing out for nine minutes. Not only are these pop/rock numbers lengthy, a good number of them are not even decent songs to begin with.
Now a few songs on Definitely Maybe were around 7 minutes, and this was because of extended fade-outs. The songs themselves were not that pretentious, so the long endings were pretty much forgivable. On Be Here Now though, nearly all of the songs scream out, “Feel the wrath of my bombast!” Rarely do Oasis’s songs work when they are bombastic (they did manage to make “Champagne Supernova” work though). Oh wait, did I say rarely? Well I meant never, at least on this particular album.
It would have been nice if Oasis had kept the songs around the optimal 3 ½ minutes in length. Even if they had done this, the songs still would not have been that great and certainly would not have measured up to the songwriting standard of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. Instead of well-written imitations (but still pale imitations) of Beatles songs, we have bland and uninspired generic rock. Nevertheless, there are a few catchy songs that are not fully ruined by the length and production. Ah yes, the production. The production on Definitely Maybe was terrible (yet a few songs managed to shine through), and the production on Be Here Now sounds exactly the same as Definitely Maybe. The difference is that Definitely Maybe had some good unassuming songs on it, while Be Here Now does not. Except for a handful of tracks in the middle of the album, guitar feedback is constantly reverberated forming a muddled and chaotic wall of sound. It’s like a sonic waste dump. I can picture Noel in the studio yelling, “Throw in some more guitar noise so I can successfully drown out my stolen riffs!” When listening to the album on headphones, you have to concentrate wholly on Liam’s vocals to keep from having nausea. Therefore the first few songs rely completely on Liam’s vocal take. Fortunately on opener “D’You Know What I Mean?” the vocal melody is very catchy. It is almost 8 minutes long and predictably drones on during theses 8 minutes. What saves it is how catchy the vocal melody is. The chorus is arena friendly and likable, “All my people right here, right now, d’you know what I mean?” Never mind how shallow the lyrics are, people don’t listen to Oasis for the lyrics anyway. But that surging chorus (you can almost feel the energy) makes the song. Just don’t listen to it on headphones.
Following this is “My Big Mouth”, which might have resembled an appealing song when Noel first wrote it. But when stretched out and fleshed out, the only thing it resembles is mediocrity. Because most of these songs are not horrible, they are just relentlessly average and banal. The song is not as fun as “D’You Know What I Mean?” nor as anthemic. Try singing along with “Who’s gonna take the blame for my big mouth, and my big name. Who’ll put on my shoes while they’re walking slowly down the hall of fame?” Humility is not Oasis’s forte. Plus, the song is given that same old production treatment. The production on Be Here Now sounds like they took the production on Definitely Maybe and stretched it out (and maybe added some more feedback for good measure). Oasis are undeniably not masters of feedback. What they are is writers of catchy pop songs, and the catchy pop songs are located in the middle of the album. I will grant the song (and album) that it’d probably sound great booming out your car stereo. But when you really concentrate on the album, its hard to listen to more than once all the way through There is also the lyric, “Down the long and winding road… back home to you.” Beatles Reference No.1
“Magic Pie” starts out with an acoustic guitar (thank God) and is mildly catchy. Of course it is too long and repetitive to actually be a good song. Towards the end, it rambles along aimlessly then turns out an interesting jazzy coda on piano. This coda is 16 seconds long but is more remarkable than the entire 7:19 long song itself! They should have taken that coda and turned it into a song, now that would have been cool. Then again, Noel would have ruined it with bad production.
The album progresses on to a rather satisfying middle section which has 4 good songs in it. “Stand By Me” is a pleasant love song (not as good as “Wonderwall” but I won’t hold that against it), and “I Hope I Think I Know” is an extremely fun and energetic rocker. While “The Girl in the Dirty Shirt” stands out because it sounds a bit different from the rest of the album, and is pretty catchy and fun also. Had Oasis taken these three songs along with the lovely ballad “Don’t Go Away” (“don’t go away, say what you say, but say that you’ll stay”) and maybe 6 top notch B-sides, they would have had a pretty good album. Oasis have some great B-sides by the way, but that’s another review. They could have got rid of the awful “Fade In-Out” (there might actually be a catchy riff in there but it is successfully drowned out by the production. The worst thing is that it tricks you into thinking it might be a good song. It starts out sounding like it was off a soundtrack to a Western movie, then reverts back to the same old same old) and the boorish 4 tracks that end the album. “All Around the World” might have worked as a 3 ½ minute pop song, but it doesn’t work as a 9 minute epic. The vocal melody “take me away, cause I just don’t want to stay” is admittedly beautiful but the song just drags on forever. And there’s a two-minute reprise of it to end the album out. Was the song worth 11:20 worth of album space? Oh, and Liam says “helter skelter” in the title track. Beatles Reference No. 2.
Well, Oasis’s ego finally caught up with them to the detriment of their songs. For good reason, Oasis received critical backlash and virtually lost all of the success (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? had earned them (at least in America). The album is not all that bad; it’s just that most of the songs are mediocre and are made worse by bad production and self-importance. I’ll maintain that Oasis had the makings of a good record had they just used some of their excellent B-sides instead of the boring songs on here. Only Oasis fans will want this album. If you’re not a huge fan, then I wouldn’t touch it with an eleven and a half foot pole. Unless you find one of the singles for cheap somewhere. Because Be Here Now is the musical equivalent of your overweight uncle coming to your house, sprawling out on your side of the couch, and never shutting the hell up.
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(reviewed by Mike Bryant)
HIGH POINTS: Acquiesce, Talk Tonight, Going Nowhere, Fade Away, Half The World Away, Stay Young, Headshrinker, The Masterplan, Underneath The Sky. LOW POINTS: Swamp Song.
This is a b-sides collection, and the state of the b-sides collection in today’s corporate world is usually an album aimed at hardcore fans in order to make a quick buck. These are songs left off the actual albums so how could they be any good, right? Well, back in the vinyl age bands would actually make an effort to have good B-sides. The shining example of this is the Beatles. Such great tracks as “Rain” and “Revolution” were B-sides back then. Knowing Oasis’ Beatles obsession, they probably would have tried to make sure their B-sides were great as well. Yet also knowing the quality of Oasis’ actual albums, one wonders how good the b-sides really could be. Here in lies the biggest mistake of Oasis’ career. Their b-sides are much, much better than the album tracks (excepting most of the a-side singles, but not always). I would think that a band would always put their best songs on their albums, but Oasis did not. The reason is ego. They wanted everyone to listen to their b-sides, realize how great the songs were, and think, “Wow! If their b-sides are this good, then the actual albums must be awesome.” Except that they aren’t. Oasis relegated these songs to b-side status at the expense of the actual albums, which will cause me to point out every time they should have used the b-side instead of a song on the studio albums throughout the rest of the review.
I’ll start with the rockers. “Acquiesce” kicks off the album in fine fashion and rivals “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” in its anthemic rock and roll goodness. Noel’s soaring chorus is easy to sing along with while the guitars are catchy as well. And you can actually make out the guitar riffs because they’re not drenched in reverb and feedback! Plus, it easily betters its A-side, “Some Might Say.” Even better is the surging, freewheeling “Fade Away.” This one is supremely catchy and memorable, and the coda is tasteful unlike other Definitely Maybe-era songs. Should this have been put on Definitely Maybe? Good God, yes! It’s one of the best things Oasis has ever done (while that statement may not seem to carry a lot of weight, it really is a wonderful song). The lyrics are surprisingly downbeat and wistful, “while we’re living, the dreams we had as children will fade away” but you would never have guessed it from the listening to the actual music. I think the reason I like this album so much better than the studio albums is the improvement in the lyrics department. Instead of shallow bravado, many of Noel’s lyrics are tinged with nostalgia and longing. The charming, vaguely psychedelic “Underneath the Sky” talks about a traveling storyteller and how “all he needs his life in a suitcase, it belongs to a friend of a friend.” On world-weary tracks, from the “Rockin’ Chair” to “Half the World Away”, lines such as “It’s all too much for me to take, when you’re not there” and “I’m trying to make my way back home” betray a much more personal and humbler Gallagher brother.
Another thing about these B-sides is the remarkable amount of them with Noel on lead vocals. Liam sings most of the rockers while most of the ballads are sung by Noel. Those who tire of Liam’s whine will appreciate this, which most likely occurred because Liam was too knocked up to sing. But this album’s too good for remarks like that from me. There are some less than stellar songs here, but then again this is a b-sides collection. “Swamp Song” is a pointless live jam notable only for a Paul Weller guest spot. “Listen Up” suffers from the Way-Too-Long Syndrome synonymous with tracks from Definitely Maybe. There’s a live rendition of “I Am the Walrus” with a subtly sinister psychedelic vibe; it sounds like John Lennon could have written it in 1967! All joking aside, it’s a pretty decent all-guitars, no-strings cover even though it drags a bit towards the end. There’s a cool guitar solo in there though.
Finally we get to the Be Here Now b-sides, which are head and shoulders above that album entirely. “Stay Young” is another anthemic, raucous rocker and is the antonym to “Fade Away” lyrically as Liam employs us to stay young and invincible. It’s easily better than all of the songs of the same nature on Be Here Now. What’s amazing though is “Going Nowhere.” It makes use of horns and violins, but doesn’t suffer from the pretentiousness that Be Here Now suffered from. This song proves that Oasis could have made Be Here Now work had they come off their ego cloud for a while. The lyrics are full of yearning for the good life and leaving home to find fame, but then concedes that, “here am I going nowhere on a train, here am I growing older in the rain.” Man, is this song great. No matter how cynical you are about Oasis, this song is impossible not to like. And the production is top notch also. Another strings-laden song yet much more ambitious, the title track is an epic in the vein of “All Around the World” and “Champagne Supernova.” But it works very well and, again, is much better than the so-called “epics” on Be Here Now (granted the song was a b-side to Wonderwall, but it’s much more similar to songs off Be Here Now). Another “Wonderwall” b-side is “Headshrinker” with an opening riff that sounds a bit too close to the opening riff from “Start Me Up” but is a fine song regardless. And that about rounds out the songs on this most excellent collection.
Besides the high quality of the songs, another thing that makes them so much better than the album tracks is the production. The production is never detrimental to the songs, probably because Oasis thought; “these are b-sides so we don’t really need to concentrate too much on how they’re produced.” And therefore, Noel was not given a chance to screw them up with bad production. Also, Oasis seems a lot fresher and looser on these songs giving them a chance to really shine. Because there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure to get the songs “right”, Oasis seems to have been freed up quite a bit. But the fact of the matter is, the actual studio albums suffered as a result of these songs being b-sides. Furthermore Oasis had lost much of its audience by now because of the backlash against Be Here Now, so these songs were not heard by that many people in the U.S. And these songs deserve to be heard. If your experience with Oasis has soured over the years (or was sour to begin with), you should at least give this album a listen. As it is, The Masterplan embodies everything that is good or should have been good about Oasis. Here in the history of rock is the rare occurrence of a b-sides collection that is better than the studio albums themselves (and yes, I do like it a bit more than Morning Glory). This makes it hard for me to concentrate on what this album is, as my mind always wanders to think of what could have been.
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