Oasis: Definitely Maybe

The legendary debut album by Oasis is next up for review. An album that propelled five lads from Manchester to the rest of the world and ensured they would become one of Britain's biggest and most important bands. 

Side A opens with the line 'I live my life in the city, there's no easy way out' quite melancholic but when the song that line opens is 'Rock n Roll Star' it is anything but melancholic. It's the bands mission statement. They are Rock n Roll stars and they are here to take over. Tonight and every night they are 'Rock n Roll Stars' even when they were playing to 5 people and a dog in the Boardwalk in Manchester they truly believed in what they were singing about. When Liam delivers those lines you can't help but believe him, and believe in the bands dream. 'Shakermaker' is the next song on Side A, the song Noel Gallagher was famously sued by Coca Cola, however he pinched many other lyrics from plenty of other sources in just this song 'Plasticine' from The Beatles 'Mr Clean' from The Jam. Despite all of these borrowed lyrics, it's one of my favourite songs on the album. Psychedelic in places and it has one of Liam's best vocals ever. A real hidden gem in the bands discography, and it's a song about nonsense. Ending Side A is arguably for some the bands best song.

 'Live Forever' a song that was driven by hope and the bands surroundings. was made by five working class lads from the dreary Manchester suburb of Burnage, a locale Noel has described as "a little shitty town where fuck-all happens—it’s one pub and a chippie and a bookie and that’s it." They were second-generation Irish working-class roustabouts who used their government assistance money to buy smokes, drugs, and pints on the weekend before heading back to sign on again. They didn't have much but they had each other and they had hope. Hope and belief in the music. 'Live Forever' is a symbol of this hope and was all encompassing for the band as well as their fans, it's Oasis saying if we can do it, them so can you. 

Side B opens with 'Up in the Sky' a song about the people who put the band in the position they found themselves in, it's almost an anti establishment song. With some quite menacing lyrics. Oasis had grown up under Tory Rule, and this song is an attack of those Tory Ministers who hadn't really got a clue of how people were living in the UK at the time (sound familiar) Liam delivers these menacing lyrics over quite swirling psychedelic guitars, it's quite a dark song over quite a lighthearted happy melody. 'Columbia' is the next song on Side B again quite a psychedelic effort with constant swirling guitars with a more restrained Liam vocal, which let's Noel's amazing lyrics do the talking. Liam being more restrained in turn makes the song more powerful. It has gone on to become a fan favourite and was often used to open the bands shows. This was the first song the band played at there legendary 1996 Knebworth gigs. Now Side B of the vinyl gives fans the only official release of 'Sad Song' a Noel sung B-Side a melancholic song about the mundanity of life and the nature of us as people. It contains some of his best lyrics.  

'Where we're living in this town
The sun is coming up and it's going down
But it's all just the same at the end of the day
And we cheat and we lie
Nobody says it's wrong
So we don't ask why'

These B-Sides give Oasis fans extra songs to enjoy, 'Sad Song' is just one of many, this period also gave fans 'Half the World Away', 'Listen Up' and 'Fade Away' just to name a few.

Side C opens with the bands first single 'Supersonic' a snarling effort with Liam's youthful posture shining through, with some of the best lyrics on the album. Including the legendary opening line 'I need to be myself / I can’t be no one else' even if the lyrics may read like nonsense, it's what makes it brilliant. Noels guitar work on this song is iconic too, that riff has now become synonymous with Oasis and this song has become a favourite of both the brothers Gallagher. 'Bring it on Down' is next and this is Oasis at there most punky, and is even grunge like in places. The drums on this song are unbelievable, especially the opening. Powering throughout the song, and setting the pace for Liam to deliever some of the best lines on the record 'You’re the outcast / you’re the underclass / but you don’t care because you’re living fast.' Are the band talking about themselves here, who knows? I do know that it is one of the bands best songs though and a real album highlight. 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' picks up where 'Bring it on Down' left off with a T Rex riff and a load of hiss. Written about the bands experiences, and the reality of life, of cheap drink, cigarettes, and cocaine. It also has somewhat of a political outcry from the older Gallagher brother. 'Is it worth the aggravation / to find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for?' a brilliant brilliant song.

Side D opens with definitely the worst song on the album, 'Digsy's Dinner' a two and half minute affair about Lasagna, written about Noel's friend,  Peter Deary (Digsy) with some quite funny lyrics wrapped around Noels quite intricate guitar work and even a Bonehead piano solo. It's nothing special but it does contain a very good lyric. 'These could be the best days of our lives, But I don’t’ think we’ve been living very wise.' It's the albums anomaly, vastly different to anything the band had ever done. It's not awful but it doesn't stand up to the rest of the album. From the albums worst track to the bands best track. 'Slide Away' a love song done in the Oasis way. A song that conquers all with all stages of the relationship covered. The song does not relent for a second, and the man singing it believes in every word he is singing. All of the band play an absolute blinder on this song, and it sees Oasis at there creative peak. Criminally, it was never released as a single. 'Married with Children' is a song about pettiness and I think we can all relate to that somehow. Written about relationships and how even though people love each other, we all do things that the other person hates. A slow paced acoustic affair, that ends the album on a somber note.

This record is one of my favourites ever, and in my opinion the best Oasis album. What do you  think, is it the bands best work?

Thank you for reading x