FEATURE:
Oasis’ Definitely Maybe at Thirty
Ranking the Tracks
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EVEN if Oasis’…
IN THIS PHOTO: Tony McCarroll, Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan in 1994/PHOTO CREDIT: Michel Linssen/Redferns
debut album, Definitely Maybe, was a hugely promising start that was not necessarily sustained for too long, it was a really important album. Released on 29th August, 1994, you can get the album here. I am going to get to a sample review for Definitely Maybe. I am also going to rank the eleven tracks from Definitely Maybe. One of the best debut albums of the 1990s, it firmly introduced Oasis to the world. With the songwriting of Noel Gallagher and the vocals of Liam Gallagher, it is small wonder Definitely Maybe resonated. I think that the directness of the songs and the energy throughout captured a spirit and need of the time. When Grunge and darker sounds from the U.S. were more popular, Oasis wanted to create an album that was more jubilant, rousing and uplifting. They did that with Definitely Maybe. You can hear a brilliant podcast here that charts the rise and fall of Oasis. There is depth and detail about Definitely Maybe and the way it was reacted to by critics and fans. It was an exciting time. I will get to the tracks in a minute. First, in 2014, TIME looked inside the amazing Definitely Maybe:
“Despite the fact that they already thought of themselves as “the next Beatles” and made no bones about wanting to be one of the biggest, most successful bands in the world, Definitely Maybe was not a game-changer in making music the way Nevermind was or OK Computer would be. I firmly believe that Blur was the far more creative, technical, and original band of the two (especially after learning from the mistakes of their debut, Leisure), but when it came to making pop music that could find a footing on both sides of the pond, Oasis had it nailed down — for a few reasons.
The first was that in spite of Oasis being a firmly British band (their demo tape was a Union Jack image swirled), they didn’t let that consume them or become an identifying factor for the group, at least not in a way alienating to non-Britons. Oasis used British imagery as part of their schtick, but it didn’t dominate the music. Blur made no qualms about wanting to pursue a distinctly British feel on their albums, and they did so very successfully…in the UK. But like the Jam before them, one of the most important and influential bands post-‘76/’77, their devotion to their homeland would fail to resonate with the Yankees overseas, and as a result would fail to sell records in the numbers they were used to at home.
The second and perhaps main reason was the group’s use of guitars. It may not seem like much, or may seem too obvious to rest a lot of the band’s success on the guitar, but think about when Radiohead first appeared. There was such a lack of guitar-based rock in the UK at the time that the only thing people would talk about was how Radiohead had three guitarists, as if that was completely unheard of (which, at the time, it kind of was).
A third reason for Oasis’ success overseas, both in general and over Blur, could be tied to having to sign to Sony for worldwide distribution due to issues securing an American contract through their label, Creation, who actually had to pay license to Sony to distribute the band in the UK. So, in addition to the creative marketing that the band used at home, they also had the long reach courtesy of Sony. But, as that was out of the band’s actual control, as opposed to their image and music, this might very well be chalked up to being at the right place at the right time.
As implied in the beginning of this piece, 20 years ago also lands us in the middle of grunge and all that is associated with it. And, in the US at the time, grunge (and maybe G-funk) was the only thing that seemed to matter. Oasis’ ability to blend in the elements of psychedelia (both from the ’60s and the updated versions associated with baggy), the swirling haze of dream pop and shoegaze, the melodic tendencies of a dozen other bands, and the crunch of guitar (though certainly not as abrasive as grunge or post-grunge) let Oasis slip nicely into what was happening in both countries. In the UK, kids weaned on Manchester’s continually evolving sounds would feel right at home listening to a track like “Up in the Sky” (a song that, when slowed down, would probably fit nicely on Ride’s Nowhere) just as much as an American kid might gravitate towards the crunchy feedback-laden guitar work in a track like album opener “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”.When Definitely Maybe dropped in August of 1994, it wasn’t out of the blue. Oasis had steadily been releasing singles for a few months prior, beginning with “Supersonic” on April 11, 1994, six days after Cobain’s suicide. Though “Supersonic” was the first official single released by Oasis (and it even charted in the UK Top 40), the group had been passing around a ‘white label’ demo of their track “Columbia” for a few months prior, but with little interest generated. With the deluxe reissue of Definitely Maybe, that white label demo version has been included, as well as an alternate mix of “Columbia”. Not only does it show that the band was on to something, but also how easily the band could have been written off (especially when listening to the third version of the song included on disc three).
Usually I am not a fan of overloaded box sets with all sorts of multiple versions of songs that barely differ, but in this case I actually find it somewhat interesting to go back and hear what Oasis sounded like before they got a proper producer. For the most part, the demos represent a band that had good ideas and were on the right path, but that something was just not quite all the way there. In John Harris’ book Britpop!, Creation Records label head Tim Abbott summed it up perfectly: “[We] had a great sesh, and we listened to it over and over again. And all I could think was, ‘It ain’t got the attack.’ There was no immediacy.” Consider the two versions of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, the album version and the demo. Though it is still filled with swagger, the demo lacks the braggadocio of the finalized product, yet in a weird twist, actually highlights Liam Gallagher’s voice better. I have never been one to idolize Liam or his style. In fact, I think his voice is rather lackluster, minimal in range; and though he has been heralded as a cross between John Lennon and John Lydon, he’s far more nasally than either (and when you consider how Noel stood in successfully for his brother during the group’s Unplugged performance, it almost relegates Liam to desired but not necessary for the band’s success). But listening to Liam on these demos, dare I say that there is a bit of range in his singing? It almost begs the question as to what happened to it in mixing.
The most obvious thing taken away from the demo versions of these songs is that though Noel had the songwriting chops and vision, he was missing the objectivity that comes with an outside producer, in this case Mark Coyle, Dave Batchelor (a friend of Noel’s from his days working with Inspiral Carpets), and Owen Morris, an associate of Johnny Marr and an engineer-turned-producer trained in the ways of Phil Spector and Tony Visconti. It was Morris who would be instrumental in putting the balls on Definitely Maybe. In fact, it would be fair to say that without Morris, there would be no Definitely Maybe; at least not in the way we’ve come to know. One of the first things he did was effectively ego-check Noel when he stripped off all the guitar overdubs that Gallagher had layered over the album’s material, and as John Harris stated, “remoulded [the album] into something positively pile-driving.” Morris would go on to produce the first four Oasis albums.
Think about the band’s third single, a song described by Noel as “the tune that changed everything,” and the first that really woke people up to Oasis’ potential: “Live Forever”. In addition to cutting out part of Noel’s guitar solo to tighten things up and make it sound less like what he described as “Slash from Guns n’ Roses,” Morris excised the demo’s acoustic guitar intro to give the song a bit more weight, and instead had drummer Tony McCarroll play a beat that not only solidifies the song but helps give it a boost in becoming the monumental track it would eventually become known as. It’s almost a twisted irony that McCarroll played a part that almost immediately identifies the song but was later fired from the band by Noel for not having the skills to do the job.
In spite of Noel’s objections to an album having five singles, if one were to include both the white label release of “Columbia” and the US single for “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, Oasis plucked six songs out of 11 from their debut album, four of which were released before the album, and three rather successfully. And that certainly does not suggest that the non-singles were not worthy of release. “Slide Away”, the last rocker on the album, and a love song on par with “Wonderwall” but with more “grr” and less “ahh,” was originally slated for release until Noel objected. Easily one of the strongest tracks on the album, it has gone on to become a fan favorite and I can only imagine that it’s amazing live. Every time I hear Liam wail that refrain, I see pyrotechnics going off all around.
In spite of everything that Oasis would become on record, on stage, in the tabloids, Definitely Maybe stands above it all. It came before the drama and the bullshit that fed into the media’s desire for conflict. Be it the interpersonal conflict between the brothers Gallagher or the inter-band conflicts with Blur and others, this album remains unscathed. Yes, the brothers fought prior to and during this album’s creation, release, and tour, but not to the point that it was overwhelming or distracting to the fans. That would come later. As would the “Battle of Britpop,” so labeled by the press when Blur’s label intentionally released their single “Country House” the same day as Oasis was set to release “Roll With It”. (Blur may have won the battle, but Oasis most certainly won the war.) And of course, the press’ obsession with the band’s antics, especially Liam’s, rather than the group’s music, wouldn’t overtake everything for another couple of albums. At the time of Definitely Maybe, there was nothing but hope and promise for Oasis. For a band that set out to take over the world and be the greatest rock and roll group since the Beatles, they were well on their way”.
Of course, all of the tracks on Definitely Maybe at great. There are some stronger and more renowned than others. Eleven interesting and worthy songs, I did want to order them. The classics from those who warrant more listening and attention. I am taking from Billboard and their song-by-song feature from 2014. I know that:
ELEVEN
“Married With Children”: Although “Definitely Maybe” is a distinctly British record, it ends with an acoustic tune inspired by American sitcom heroes Al and Peg Bundy. As Noel told the NME, he was thinking about the travails of cohabitation when “Married With Children” happened to pop on the TV. “It’s another song that anybody could relate to,” he explained, “because if you live with a girlfriend or just a flatmate, there are always pretty things that you hate about them, and the song’s just about pettiness”.
TEN
“Digsy’s Dinner”: If Noel doesn’t woo you with his melodies or his winning personality, there’s always plan C: his totally amazing lasagna. Liam stretches the vowels like they’re strands of mozzarella, and yet despite the playful down-stroked guitar and music-hall piano, “Digsy’s” isn’t as cheesy as it seems. “These could be the best days of our lives,” Liam sings, “But I don’t’ think we’ve been living very wise.” Maybe the domesticity he disses two songs later isn’t such a bad thing”.
NINE
“Bring It On Down”: On the disc’s grungiest track, Liam takes aim at some loathsome “you” that sounds an awful lot like himself: “You’re the outcast / you’re the underclass / but you don’t care because you’re living fast.” Drummer Tony McCarroll gets a lot of gruff for being a rudimentary player, but it’s his bashing that anchors Noel’s wanking and turns this rather tuneless song into something memorable”.
EIGHT
“Up in the Sky”: Whether Liam has a clue what the lyrics are about, he sings each line with the same electricity heard in Noel’s scorching psych-rock guitar riff. Liam’s fired up by the mere idea of saying something profound, and when you’ve got a singer that keen, any old mumbo-jumbo will do”.
SEVEN
“Columbia”: Buried in the thick swirl of psychedelic guitars is one of the disc’s most honest lines: “I can’t tell you the way I feel / because the way I feel is oh so new to me.” Rather than try to articulate feelings he doesn’t even understand, Noel pours all of his energy into creating music that makes his confusion sound sexy”.
SIX
“Supersonic”: “No one’s gonna tell you what I’m on about,” Liam sings, and again, that hardly matters. From the opening drumbeat and moody guitar arpeggio, “Supersonic” is another terrific mix of youthful posturing — “I need to be myself / I can’t be no one else” — and pure nonsense. The line about “a girl called Elsa” who’s “into Alka Seltzer” refers to a farting dog, and the whole thing reportedly took 10 minutes to write”.
FIVE
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”: The ambition was there from the start, though Liam isn’t just singing about making loads of money and shagging supermodels. Music represents an escape from the monotony of the city, and if you can make a big glorious noise like this — check out the cacophony around the 4:00 mark — you’re at least halfway to a better life.
FOUR
“Shakermaker”: The Gallaghers may be rip-off artists, but at least they swipe from multiple sources at once. Here, they nick the verse melody from the 1971 Coca-Cola jingle “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)” — a bit of thievery that cost them dearly in court — and borrow the word “plasticine” from “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds,” an obvious reference point for this goofy neo-psychedelic pastiche. The characters of “Mr. Clean” and “Mr. Soft,” meanwhile, come from Jam and Cockney Rebel songs. Noel was lucky he only faced one lawsuit. There were grounds for a class action”
THREE
“Slide Away”: Similar in sound and feel to “Live Forever,” “Slide Away” is the album’s only real love song. It’s more “us against the world” rhetoric, though Noel says more with his soaring guitar licks — composed on a Les Paul borrowed from Johnny Marr — than he does with his lyrics”.
TWO
“Cigarettes and Alcohol”: You can’t go wrong with a T. Rex groove or lyrics about drugs and booze, and this song has both. It also has something resembling a political message: “Is it worth the aggravation / to find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for?” The short answer: no. Crack a can, light a match, bang a gong, get it on”.
ONE
“Live Forever”: If “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” is a late-night affirmation — something to scream at 2 a.m. after a few gin and tonics — “Live Forever” is the sober early-morning corollary. No one thinks of the Gallaghers as optimists, but here, Liam does a fine job of selling Noel’s “wanna live, don’t wanna die” hopefulness. It’s about young outsiders chasing immortality, and it’s Britpop’s national anthem”.