Definitely Maybe - Oasis
The first time that I heard Oasis was courtesy of a free CD that came with Q magazine in the Autumn of 1994. I was 26 years-old for the pollsters . Same CD that included a track from Grant Lee Buffalo, so that was an influential issue. Having said that, whilst Grant Lee Buffalo remains in my all-time top 20, Oasis is nowhere near it. It took me a while to get around to buying
Definitely Maybe and after buying the first three albums, I just let the band drift
quietly noisily away.
The track on that Q sampler was “Slide Away”, and as
@BlueHammer85 says, it’s an amazing track. Whilst I’m not too fussed on the opener or “Shakermaker”, the album really gets going with “Live Forever”. From this point, it’s a brilliant six-song run. A couple of average tracks bracketing the magnificent “Slide Away” and you have an album that’s definitely got more going for it than against it. Maybe.
You're saying definitely maybe, I'm saying probably no - bonus points if somebody can name the artist and song there.
What I like about
Definitely Maybe is the sound of the guitars, and whilst Liam Gallagher’s vocals are not everybody’s cup of tea, in my position of Chairman of the Association of Anti-British Indie Mumblers, have this to say: he doesn’t hold back, he gives it his all, goes for it and communicates with his audience. He’s not the best singer, but he's better than 99% of the indie mob.
The strength of this album is in the consistency of the songs. “Live Forever”, “Supersonic” and “Slide Away” are all classics but when you have songs like “Up in the Sky”, “Columbia”, “Bring it on Down” and “Cigarettes and Alcohol” in the support slots, you are doing something right. I also think Noel Gallagher is a decent songwriter; I respectfully disagree with Bill in that the songs are too simple. Many Creedence Clearwater Revival songs have a simple chord structure, but for me are some of the defining moments of late 60s music. However, you can’t ignore that Noel is a bit of a musical Dick Turpin.
I own this album but it’s not one I play often, and it wouldn’t be in my top 100, but it is a very good listen. So, throwing all of this into the score blender, I’m going to give it
8.5/10.