217. Oasis, "Definitely Maybe"
You are Noel Gallagher and you have arrived back in Manchester after being a roadie for Inspiral Carpets on their 1991 American tour to find that your stupid brother Liam is singing with his dumb little band the Rain. Now, you have been writing absolutely cracking songs for years while on the clock for British Gas and you immediately sense an opportunity. Join up with Liam's crew of knockabouts and punters and make a real go of it. And so you tell your idiot brother that you'll join his band if you get to write all the songs. Liam readily says yes and Oasis is born. Finally your genius will be brought forth to the world.
Your first single was "Supersonic," track 6 on this album, written in a day in the studio in Liverpool. It's the prototypical early Oasis song; slightly Beatlesesque chords but run through a Manchester filter and pumped up with just a touch of glam, with Liam's snotty oi voice over the distortion. The song is a hit, going to #31 in Britain.
Recording this album is not a smooth process. Of course, you've written most of the songs, but getting them recorded the way you want is not easy. Finally you insist on just recording everything live, which seems to do the trick. There's so much guitar - your guitar - and everyone needs to hear it. Any fuckups can be fixed in the mix.
And guess what? It works. The very first track, "Rock 'n' Roll Star," absolutely sets the tone, a massive crunch of guitars, a completely catchy melody, and just good enough musicianship to pull it all together. But every song on the album is memorable in some way or another; it's like you took the melodies of the Beatles and smashed the Manchester sound over their head like a gin bottle and told grunge to fuck off and stop being so fucking sad. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is like a motivational speech for a waster!
Or have I finally found something worth living for?
I was looking for some action
But all I found was cigarettes and alcohol
To spend your days in the sunshine
You might as well do the white line
Cos when it comes on top...
Right, innit! But you've got range, mate! A song like "Columbia," with that soaring chorus and driving beat! Who gives a proper fuck if none of the lyrics mean anything? It's the sound, mate! Then you've got "Digsy's Dinner," another song that you just popped off, that's a great little pop gem dressed up with the usual crunchy guitars and a little piano.
You're gonna get your dream of being a rock n roll star, even if it isn't the smoothest ride, what with Liam fucking it up every step of the way. In fact, in a couple of years, you're gonna put out an even bigger album than this one. We'll get to that.
Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Yes, but not this high. Oh shit Noel, not with the pint glass, wait, let's talk
Would you look at that. A discussion of Definitely Maybe without even a mention of Live Forever!
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry. Here you go:
Delete"Live Forever" is also a pretty good song.