The OASIS Time Team

[Rob McCow]

Definitely Maybe (1994)



(What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)



Be Here Now (1997)



Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000)



Heathen Chemistry (2002)



Don't Believe the Truth (2005)



Dig Out Your Soul (2008)

Oasis on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis_(band)

Handy You Tube Search

[Rob McCow]

Definitely Maybe (1994)

Rock 'N' Roll Star
Shakermaker
Live Forever
Up In The Sky
Columbia
Supersonic
Bring It On Down
Cigarettes & Alcohol
Digsy's Dinner
Slide Away
Married With Children

[Dino]

Well I've gone and bought the sodding things, so I may as well review them!
I'll make a start tomorrow.

[Rob McCow]

Good chap!

I'll probably do 'Deffo Maybo' on Friday.

[Philipnet]

Well, I ought to join for the first two (at least ; )

[SiHart]

Come on Phil- do them all!

[Philipnet]

I'll have to see which ones I remember.

95/96 was around the time when I was doing GCSE's/A-Levels and my friends at school were into Britpop/Oasis/Kula Shaker/Pulp/Blur/Seahorses/etc.

But by 2000, I was at Uni, I had different friends and Britpop was a bit outdated
(there was Post-Britpop and I liked Travis)

[Rob McCow]

Definitely Maybe

Right, let's go!

In 1994 I would have been in my third year at Secondary School, so I'd have just started listening to music proper. At the time though it would have been New Order, Joy Division and maybe The Velvet Underground, so I wasn't really in touch with mainstream music. I was more-or-less aware of this album, but the big band that the 'Cool Kids' were into at school was Troublegum by Therapy?. On reflection, the 'Cool Kids' at Watford Boys' Grammar weren't particularly cool.

Rock 'N' Roll Star
Oasis are born with a bit of guitar noodling - then the song kicks in proper. And it's pretty good.

There are a few general comments I'm going to make here that apply to pretty much every song on the album, because Rock 'N' Roll Star sets out the Oasis stall perfectly. Where Oasis excel is in their energy and their overall sound.

They've got a big rock sound, with three or more guitars playing at once, so there's a risk that it could sound muddy or dirge-y without a clear melody. What's effective though are their changes in tone and rhythm. There's usually a strong hanging chord to push you into the chorus.

There needs to be a strong vocal line to sit on top of the morass of guitar playing and Liam's sneering voice is perfect for it. Shame Noel can't write lyrics for toffee, the ones where the words aren't too awful are generally regarded as the classics.

It's a huge lager-fuelled stomp of a song and they'd be fools not to open every concert with it.

The ending of Rock 'N' Roll Star is an absolutely dreadful load of crap and they should have faded out after three minutes. But then they wouldn't have been Oasis, would they?
7/10

Shakermaker
At the other end of the scale, we have Shakermaker. The lifting of the melody from 'I'd Like To Teach The World To Dance' is so blatant, so awful and naff that it's a wonder that no-one told Noel what an arrogant sod he was and kicked him out of the band right there. Coupled with that, the lyrics are some of the most cringe-worthy he's ever penned. You could sing along with this one live, but you'd probably feel like a complete plonker.

The guitar line is decent enough, but the rhythm is plodding, dull and totally lacking in the energy of the previous track.

I note from Wikipedia that the single narrowly missed the Top 10, though I wouldn't have been surprised if it failed to enter the Top 40.
2/10

Live Forever
Which brings us to the best song on the album. This one works exceptionally well, with a really strong, clear melody. Good to sing along to.

It encapsulates what Oasis are about, saying that 'You and me are great and special but everyone else is a w**ker'. Fine if you're one of the special ones. Given that this album has sold 2.1 million it's pretty inclusive. Not so great if you're somebody that Noel wants to punch in the gob, like a Pouffy Southerner.
9/10

Up In The Sky
More execrable lyrics from the Des'ree book of rhyming, but a great pace and some good changes. The break to the 'You need assistance' bit is superb.

I know the lyrics don't mean very much, but what is he on about 'How does it feel when you're inside me'? Is he gay or what?
7/10

Columbia
A great churning song with absolutely no crappy lyrics to derail it. I like the harmonies on this one. It feels like a later-Stone-Roses rock out, which is cool.

Although... 'Am I confusing you?' what... sexually? 'This is peculiar we don't want to fool you' How gay is this album?! I thought all their songs were about cocaine?
7/10

Supersonic
'Supersonic... what a joke' said Michael Stipe. Well, it's a bit more than a joke. It's another decent rock number - what more do you need?

This is the kind of song that should have encouraged a new generation of kids to pick up the guitar. Musically, it's simple and direct. It's clever (though not that original) that the guitar solo sort-of reflects the vocal line but goes in another direction.

But then Oasis weren't about being original were they? They were about taking their favourite bits from the past and making them fresh and exciting for a new audience.
7/10

Bring It On Down
A great, heavy, thundering intro for this stomper of a song. The vocals are almost totally buried in the mix, plus he uses distortion on his voice so you can't tell what he's saying. Great idea! If only they'd done that for Shakermaker. No-one will be singing along with this one live, but they'll certainly be jumping up and down.
6/10

Cigarettes & Alcohol
Noel was an accidental genius. Nicking other people's riffs and burying them under a couple of extra guitar lines means that songs like Cigarettes & Alcohol are already vaguely familiar when you first hear them. An anthem for the downtrodden classes of the UK - probably making sure that they stay downtrodden and addicted to coke for the rest of their lives because they make it sound great, but who cares, it's only rock n' roll.

At this point I'm really struggling not to give every song seven out of ten. They're all decent rockers but lack that extra punch of something special.
7/10

Digsy's Dinner
Fortunately, I can give Digsy's Dinner one out of ten for lack of effort. The music is decent-standard fare, but the unbelievably naff singing about lasagne absolutely devastates the song's chances.

AND because the FIRST VERSE was SO GOOD, they have it AGAIN as the SECOND VERSE!!!
1/10

Slide Away
A bit of a different tone for Slide Away, a more yearning and mournful song. It does sound very much like The Verve from around the same time. There's more heart in the lyrics too which must earn this song points. This should definitely have been a single over Shakermaker.
8/10

Married With Children
Tagged on at the end and completely different is Married With Children. I suppose this is like The Beatles including 'Her Majesty' at the end of Abbey Road. The vitriol spat out in this song saves it from being a dull acoustic number. In fact it's Oasis's first comedy song, isn't it? And it ends the album with 'Goodbye I'm going home'. Always a good way to inform your listener that the album has ended.
6/10

In my opinion this is far from the greatest debut album ever made, but I can't decide whether it's 'Consistent' or just 'Samey'. Probably both.

[Dino]

1. Rock 'N' Roll Star

The riff that started a dozen 90's documentary and features about... "The North"!
I'd left School, dropped out of College, regret nothing! (At the time..)
I love the "Stars In Their Eyes" reference. Pleasant enough groove. Soon to be trademarked as "My First Indie Band" to some. Get stoned, go out, get drunk, come home, get more stoned to cancel out the drunk effects (And it did as well!) Put younger sister's CD on to see what the fuss is about. There's a musical theatre experience to be weaved out of the clattering ending that fades away and leaves a whistling, like someone alone in a factory.

2. Shakermaker

My favourite Oasis song. First heard it back in the day when I used to occasionally listen to Radio 1 more. Hadn't heard anything like it. (This was before I'd got the CD in the house) Love the sunset in the video. As I hadn't heard of Teenage Fanclub, this was all impressive stuff. It hasn't aged that well, but a lot of stuff from the 90's hasn't either. And then the song stops, what a perfect three minute song... oh wait! There's more! You shouldn't have!

3. Live Forever

Written in response (apparently) to Nirvana's "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die" (which never actually appeared with that title) this anti-Nirvana band had no problems using moving images of Kurt in the American video to this song! A song that's not bad. Still unable to break out of the pace they seemed to be locked into. It's as if a scrolling message should be projected along your walls reading "Faster Guitar Bands With Less Generalised Lyrics Are Available" as you listen to it. Runs out of ideas at the end though.

4. Up In The Sky

A faster pace! I think I've isolated the problem. It's the drummer, man! Stick a rocket up him! He can barely catch up! I can imagine this got dropped from their live sets quickly as even Liam can be heard struggling to keep up with the lyrics before the middle 8. But Liam! The song rhymes "Be" with "Be"! You need assistance?

5. Columbia

Back to the plod which dulls the mood the FX pedals were creating. Not much happens in this song to be fair. It goes on. If this had been a single it would have killed off, or seriously damaged their attempts to be world champions.

6. Supersonic

I love the video of them being bored and black and white on top of a Manchester shopping centre. I can see why this would be the first single. Big Issue reference or not, the lyrics are a bit of nonsense. I think I could play this one when I jammed with someone I used to know.

7. Bring It On Down

Yes! Fast drumming! But I think the guitarist is standing too close to the amps to be recorded properly... Sounds like it could be used for an advert for a product that nobody needs. And a chorus of "underclass" to be used as a badge of honour. Really my sort of target, but it falls short.

8. Cigarettes And Alcohol

I'm not that a big fan of T.Rex as is, this used to be good to hear in nightclubs, played through distorted speakers at a volume a bit quieter than how I used to play it at home! But in the cold, sober light of day... It's not that bad. But not that great or as clever as it thinks it is. Bit like drunks!

9. Digsy's Dinner

Has it really been twenty years of the most skipped track of the album? No. It just feels like that. The chorus again suggests a musical theatre experience in the making. Shoot the piano player this time though!

10. Slide Away

Is this a reprise? It's the same song more or less as the first couple of tracks on the album. Depth attempted, but ran aground. Can it's chorus save it? Just about. Pretty foreshadowing though! But who would know in 1994 that a year later they'd rewrite this, but make it even slower. Maybe by next year another band would come along to replace Oasis?

11. Married With Children

Bloody Beatles fans... The album would have been a never ending electric hazy (Slow) party, that would only end when you turned the CD off... until they dropped this song at the end. An attempt to make the listener laugh with, instead of laugh at. Country music for people who hate country?

Verdict:

I used to say this album was their best, but I was going on my cheating memories. Now... I found listening to it a struggle. (And I have six more of their albums to go, de Sade fans!) Yeah, it was passable and you could really get into it when you were off your face. But what happens when you sober up? What happens when the benefit office cut off your money? For a macho wurking class band, this album is offering a pregnant Fairy Godmother waving a broken wand, promising a wonderland of "Rock'N'Roll"*. But what happens when you see the strings? What happens when you see the Fairy Godmother's cheeks are painted with cheap chalk and other people's blood? No matter... Oasis are a release. Forward they surge to sweep people up onto their coattails. I'll wait here thanks. Getting homophobic abuse and assertions thrown at me by checked shirt (Ugh! Remember these?) wearing folk who's legacy is doomed loveless marriages and wrongly diagnosed as ADHD children named after the lead singer and living next door but one to me.
"All aboard, boys and girls!" the Fairy Godmother shrieks. "Relive or squander your teenage years through me!" and forward they charge, too out of it to notice the Fairy Godmother's dead eyes and fangs.

I'll give it 7 out of 10 though!

*=The last gasp of a phrase to be murdered and bought back as a Zombie from here (1994).

[SiHart]

Nice review- you make a lot of good points, especially about them being all about the dream of being a rockstar. They made it seem a possibility, and a glamorous, wonderful one at that.

I'll be reviewing it sometime this week

[Dino]

I've finally got around to listening to their last album "Dig Out Your Soul" and while it hasn't got the hunger of the first album, it's pretty good.
You can see where the dull Beady Eye spawned from. But Liam's song actually work.
And Gem should never have been allowed to have songs on their albums!

But that's getting ahead a bit... I was worried this thread would have died in case people thought it was a hatchet job on them!