Oasis
Oasis shot from obscurity to stardom in 1994, becoming one of Britain's most popular and critically acclaimed bands of the decade in the process. Along with Blur and Suede, they were responsible for returning British guitar pop to the top of the charts. Led by guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher, the Manchester quintet adopted the rough, thuggish image of the Stones and the Who, crossed it with "Beatlesque" melodies and hooks, injected distinctly British lyrical themes and song structures like the Jam and the Kinks, and tied it all together with a ma...[more]
![]()
If Definitely Maybe was an unintentional concept album about wanting to be a rock & roll star, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is what happens after the dreams come true. Oasis turns in a relatively introspective second record, filled with big, gorgeous ballads instead of ripping rockers. Unlike Definitely Maybe, the production on Morning Glory is varied enough to handle the range in emotions; instead of drowning everything with amplifiers turned up to 12, there are strings, keyboa [ read more ]
SUPER-AUDIO CD $18.02
![]()
Fed up with the Gallagher brothers? Believe they long ago grew too big for their (Beatle) boots? Be that as it may, here's a pointed reminder of just why the siblings' heads and egos became so outsized. Familiar to Millions Highlights slims down the band's double-live CD Familiar to Millions to one disc, which also makes for a handy-dandy greatest-hits set. Recorded at London's Wembley Stadium across two nights at the end of their 2000 grand world tour, Oasis were more than at the top of thei [ read more ]
CD $11.38
![]()
Since Noel Gallagher plays most of the parts on the album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants isn't really the debut of the new, post-Guigsy/Bonehead lineup, but it is clearly the beginning of Oasis, Mark II. Such a grandiose statement may imply that it's a clear break from Oasis' past, yet that's hardly the case, since many signatures are still in place -- strummed acoustic guitars, big hooks, undeveloped lyrics, familiar rhymes, and a gigantic wall of sound. The arrangements are every bi [ read more ]
CD $43.68
![]()
Definitely Maybe manages to encapsulate much of the best of British rock & roll -- from the Beatles to the Stone Roses -- in the space of 11 songs. Oasis' sound is louder and more guitar-oriented than any British band since the Sex Pistols, and the band is blessed with the excellent songwriting of Noel Gallagher. Gallagher writes perfect pop songs, offering a platform for his brother Liam's brash, snarling vocals. Not only does the band have melodies, but they have the capabili [ read more ]
CD $40.83
![]()
A young Noel Gallagher at the height of Oasis' popularity in the mid-'90s declared that the band would not release a compilation CD until the end of their career, since such compilations implied that a band's career was indeed over. A decade later, an older, presumably wiser Gallagher realized that if you're about to leave your longtime label and that label will release a compilation whether you participate or not, it's better to write your own draft of your band's history than having the label do [ read more ]
CD $61.73
![]()
Since Oasis has an instantly identifiable, seemingly simple signature sound -- gigantic, lumbering, melodic, and inevitable, as if their songs have always existed and always will -- it can be hard to pinpoint what separates a great Oasis song from a merely mediocre tune. It could be anything from overblown production to a diminished swagger, or it could be a self-satisfied laziness in the songwriting, or a panicky attempt to update their defiantly classicist pop with an electronic shine. All of [ read more ]
CD $50.33
![]()
"Whatever" actually sounds more like "I Am the Walrus" than their actual cover (!), what with the strings, but it's another solid pop single, with a shockingly perfect bridge, a nice progression. It makes one think that the first two singles, "Supersonic" and "Shakermaker," which were good upon release, now seem naive in comparison. The B-side cuts here include one more in the "Listen Up" vein, "(It's Good) To Be Free," and the Noel-sung, acoustic-pretty "Half the World Away," which reminds a little of R.E. [ read more ]
CD $32.28
![]()
For American audiences, the phenomenal worldwide success of Oasis was a little puzzling. That's because they only had part of the picture -- unless they were hardcore fans, they didn't hear nearly three albums of material released on B-sides and non-LP singles. Critics and fans alike claimed that the best of these B-sides were as strong as the best moments on the albums, and they were right. None of the albums had a song that rocked as hard as "Fade Away" (cleverly built on a stolen melody from {$Wham [ read more ]
CD $43.68
![]()
Maturity always seemed an alien concept to Oasis. The brothers Gallagher may have worshiped music made before their birth but there was no respect to their love: they stormed the rock & roll kingdom with no regard for anyone outside themselves, a narcissism that made perfect sense when they were young punks, as youth wears rebellion well, but the group's trump card was how their snottiness was leveled by their foundation in classic pop. This delicate balance was thrown out of whack after the phenomena [ read more ]
CD $18.03