REVIEW: Oasis, Definitely Maybe (Epic)
- Tim Kennedy
Here's a quick look at the new Oasis album, song by song. They are musically slightly rough at the edges but the tunes are very catchy and they have a musical affinity with the Stone Roses as well as being fans and nodding acquaintances. Overall, it lives up to all the expecations, but with one reservation - much of the material here is already in the public domain. (Mgr. Ed. note - this is written by one of our U.K. correspondents).
The voice of lead signer Liam Gallagher is full of attitude and he slurs his words in an almost Johnny Rotten-like manner at times which is great. At other times his high-pitched timbre recalls the psychedelic era Lennon.
1. "Rock n Roll Star" - Nice and rocky, reminds me of the Bowie song "Star" off Ziggy Stardust a bit, but obviously the guitar is a lot more like Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
2. "Shakermaker" - The second single from the album, which nicks the tune from the New Seekers song of the seventies "I'd Like To Buy Teach The World To Sing". It's about drugs, though.
3. "Live Forever" - See above; I love the song.
4. "Up In The Sky" - There is an acoustic version of this on the single of "Live Forever". This is good (electric) though. Quite Who-ish.
5. "Columbia"- Feedback intro, this is a bit of a wall-of-noise job, with wailing guitars a-go-go. This is my least favorite track by them. Outro goes on a bit.
6. "Supersonic" - Again another single on the album. I didn't like it first time around but I like it now. Reminds of the Happy Mondays tunewise but it is a rock song.
7. "Bring It On Down" - There is a live version of this on the single of "Live Forever". It isn't much different. An aggressive hard rock number.
8. "Cigarettes And Alcohol" - This was on an NME (New Musical Express, newspaper) free tape but this version is a bit more sassy and I love the song anyway. Nice and bluesy riff. Very noisy production.
9. "Digsy's Dinner" - A bit odd. I don't like in-jokes in songs either. A choppy guitar riff leads into an oddly-singsong track. I find it hard to get into this track.
10. "Slide Away" - One of the best songs on the LP; should be a single. Heartbreaking guitar and a great love song about loss.
11."Married With Children" - This is a lowkey look at the gripes of loving couples when familiarity breeds conflict over each other's habits and so on. The lyrics are funny- "You're music's shite it keeps me up all night."
The track "Sad Song" is an extra only included on the (U.K.) vinyl. A glum. acoustic number, which goes on about throwing something away a lot. Quite nice guitar playing.
In conclusion, the standout tracks are the singles and "Slide Away". The inclusion of all that released material removes the buzz of hearing unfamiliar songs that you really like. However they may have been trying to pack it with classic tunes for a better impact. It is a good record containing some superb songs.
I wonder how they'll do in the States. They are a heavy rock group but they don't wear a sign saying 'Heavy Metal' or 'Grunge' so this may hinder them. They're a lot thrashier than the baggy bands ever were despite looking like them.
