Oasis

[lost highway]

I have a musical question: I was recently sitting in front of a cover band. They were playing lots of crowd pleasers and it seemed to be as inoffensive and pleasant as a cover band might be. Then they started playing "Wonderwall" by Oasis. You could feel the place light up. So this is all to say, what's the deal with Oasis? Why were they so good? Why were they a single band more than an album band? Why didn't they last longer? I should hate that band. Many people do. The Gallagher brothers seem like complete wankers.... this only intensifies my question. What's the deal with Oasis?

[brownie]

Oasis were great because they had some great songs.  Maybe not original, but they were great.  And they had a singer, Liam, who sounded like no one else and had a heck of a lot of charisma.  To this day, I remember the first time I heard Wonderwall.  It came on the radio one morning when the clock radio went off and I literally sat up in bed thinking “What IS this?”. I hadn’t heard such a wonderful sound in years.  Their first two albums and the associated b-sides were fantastic.  I saw them many times over that first couple of years.  One of my favorite shows of all time was the first time I saw Oasis at the Paramount Theater in NYC.  The vibe was electric and the band was fantastic.

 

But then they got rich, took too many drugs, started to believe they could do no wrong (particularly Noel), and the song quality on subsequent albums took a steep nosedive.  The brothers never really got along, and at some point their relationship fell apart completely, although by that point, their music was no longer very good anyway.

[remphish1]

Oasis were great because they had some great songs. Maybe not original, but they were great. And they had a singer, Liam, who sounded like no one else and had a heck of a lot of charisma. To this day, I remember the first time I heard Wonderwall. It came on the radio one morning when the clock radio went off and I literally sat up in bed thinking “What IS this?”. I hadn’t heard such a wonderful sound in years. Their first two albums and the associated b-sides were fantastic. I saw them many times over that first couple of years. One of my favorite shows of all time was the first time I saw Oasis at the Paramount Theater in NYC. The vibe was electric and the band was fantastic.

 

But then they got rich, took too many drugs, started to believe they could do no wrong (particularly Noel), and the song quality on subsequent albums took a steep nosedive. The brothers never really got along, and at some point their relationship fell apart completely, although by that point, their music was no longer very good anyway.

I agree almost 100% however don’t believe the truth was a great later day oasis album. It came down to the swagger, attitude and timing of the music in my opinion. First two albums as mentioned were unbelievable!

[Boss_Tweedy]

I loved Oasis in the mid-1990s, especially after the first two albums as has been mentioned. Unfortunately I never saw them live. I was living in London for a semester in 1995 when they were taking off. 

[Chez]

Blur was better.  

[brownie]

I would also add that early Oasis songs were so absolutely life-affirming.  Who can’t relate to the idea behind Live Forever?  I was already in my mid-30’s when that came out, and it still struck a chord with me.  It still does, to this day.  A combination of the lyrics and the soaring music, perhaps, but when I listen to that song (listening now), I totally relate.  Even now.  THAT is what you need for a timeless song - the lyrics and the music to support them. Noel was the master of that, 25 years ago, and Liam was the perfect voice for it.  Oasis was the first band I ever traveled overseas to see.

[calvino]

I was never much of a fan of Oasis during their hey day (never owned any of the music) - that being said, I really enjoy Liam's last two solo records - have them both on vinyl. I am not familiar with any of Noel's material.

[remphish1]

Blur was better.

I agree however I enjoy them both

[lost highway]

Blur was better.  

 

I feel more comfortable with my appreciation for Blur. Oasis is like some charismatic, handsome kid that goes to your highschool who's kind of narcissistic and a total dick sometimes, but is randomly friendly to you and you feel all charmed and hate yourself for it. My love of Oasis is kind of like that.

 

Blur has better albums, but not a better single.

[uncool2pillow]

I love the first to Oasis LPs. I love that the Minnesota United MLS team has embraced Wonderwall as their victory theme.

[Albert Tatlock]

I wasn't listening to much music in the early/mid 90s, but as a Brit they definitely captured the zeitgeist of Cool Britannia and it was a fun time to be living in the UK.

Apart from a couple of energetic singles, I always looked on them as a derivative band who copied and pasted banal predictably rhyming lyrics together, but on the other hand very much appreciated having some proper rock'n'roll characters in the mix even if they were acting like t***s a lot of the time. At least they liked Weller and the Beatles. They probably lost it from the point Bonehead left, since up to then they had that stereotypical lads together making it from nothing to the big time thing going for them.

One thing I really do like is Noel's straight talking - I find him very entertaining these days in interviews as opposed to his musical output. I enjoyed the Supersonic doc and the 'Reel Stories' BBC interview he did not so long ago.

[Oil Can Boyd]

I would also add that early Oasis songs were so absolutely life-affirming.  Who can’t relate to the idea behind Live Forever?  I was already in my mid-30’s when that came out, and it still struck a chord with me.  It still does, to this day.  A combination of the lyrics and the soaring music, perhaps, but when I listen to that song (listening now), I totally relate.  Even now.  THAT is what you need for a timeless song - the lyrics and the music to support them. Noel was the master of that, 25 years ago, and Liam was the perfect voice for it.  Oasis was the first band I ever traveled overseas to see.

I remember seeing them play Live Forever on Letterman and thinking how great it was.  

[Albert Tatlock]

FYI as mentioned above https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tof_nKrFtc

[Analogman]

I was never much of a fan of Oasis during their hey day (never owned any of the music) - that being said, I really enjoy Liam's last two solo records - have them both on vinyl. I am not familiar with any of Noel's material.

 

For some odd reason I spent time everyday watching interviews with him on Youtube a while back. I am not really interested in any new music anymore - but I like some of the songs off his last two albums. 

[Winston Legthigh]

My 7 year old recently discovered them (following short-lived obsessions with Beck and Gorillaz) and loves them. 

 

When I was 7 I was really into KISS.  I would argue there's a parallel there. 

[calvino]

For some odd reason I spent time everyday watching interviews with him on Youtube a while back. I am not really interested in any new music anymore - but I like some of the songs off his last two albums. 

 

Yeah - same for me with new music, if I am interested in new music, I typically just go the local library route.

 

But Liam's efforts has propelled me to actually buy the vinyl. Just the right amount  of pop and rock, I guess. Lyrics are pretty dreadful, at times - but the music/melodies covers that. He uses different songwriters/producers for various songs, which help make the records interesting, too.

[Analogman]

I really like that song For What It's Worth. I may get the cds at some point. 

[sonicshoulder]

I was 14 and 15 when Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory came out and smoking a prolific amount of pot....needless to say I loved and still love those two albums and they hold a special place in the timeline of my youth. I think they have held up just fine. Great story...they were from Manchester and  wanted to be the Beatles and did a really good job of sounding like them for a few albums. They sold a shit ton of albums.  I'm still  a fan. 

[Roper.no.1]

Everynow and then I wonder if I was wrong about liking Oasis, a lot of things I liked 25 years ago I'm not that into now. But if you go back and watch footage from 94, 95 or 96 they were a great rock and roll band. I am in something of a minority by liking Be Here Now, but I don't think they made any good music after that. Noel Gallagher taking over production duties was the big mistake I reckon.

 

If only that Death In Vegas produced record could have happened!

[remphish1]

Everynow and then I wonder if I was wrong about liking Oasis, a lot of things I liked 25 years ago I'm not that into now. But if you go back and watch footage from 94, 95 or 96 they were a great rock and roll band. I am in something of a minority by liking Be Here Now, but I don't think they made any good music after that. Noel Gallagher taking over production duties was the big mistake I reckon.

 

If only that Death In Vegas produced record could have happened!

Give don’t believe the truth another shot it’s great!

[Roper.no.1]

Give don’t believe the truth another shot it’s great!

I think it got a fair hearing at the time. I'm having flashbacks now to how every Oasis album would be presented by the NME as a 'return to form!', it never was.....

 

Just looked on Wikipedia though and that was the album that originally was going to be Death In Vegas produced.

[bigideas]

I enjoyed What's the Story from beginning to end. I bought Be Here Now the day it came out at the mall. Back then, MTV would premiere videos and tell you when an album was going to come out. BHN had the date in the artwork. The album is super-bloated. Liam also seemed to really over do the same rhyme-y simple lyrics. If you read the lyrics Noel is putting his brother down through the lyrics - he wrote them and knew Liam would sing them. Pretty funny if you think about it. "Through my big mouth - you could fly a plane..."

I like WTSMG so much, but never managed a copy of their debut until a couple of years ago. I didn't really like it. It's been awhile, but I don't think the first one has a balance with acoustic guitars, etc., like What's the Story, and just has a lot of guitar fuzz pushed to 11 mastered heavily.

Those were different times - Champagne Supernova was played on the commercial pop stations - could you imagine anything like that played today? Granted, there was a lot of guitar/post grunge stuff, and I don't listen to current commercial pop radio stations now.