With a bit (ok, loads) of time on my grubby mittens, I have been clearing out the hundreds of CDs in my collection, and I’ve been attempting to marry the many lost CDs with their cases.
In doing so, I came across What’s the Story (Morning Glory) by Oasis. I haven’t listened to it all the way through since the week I bought it; if memory serves, you had to queue to buy it. I’ve given it a spin, and what a bloody average-to-poor album it is. Having done a bit of digging, I see that many reviews at the time called it out as being disappointing.
I’m no hater of Noelly G: he’s written some belters, but this?…A Gary Glitter sample? Two songs that last less than a minute to pad out the album? A song that blatantly lifts from the You and Me theme tune? Please: this album sold 22 million copies, and it was voted the best album since 1980 at the 2012 Brits.
Over to you. Am I being harsh? What other albums got a critical kicking but were loved by the public?
moseleymoles says
On Oasis matters I agree WTSMG is overrated and conversely Be Here Now though desperate at times does not quite deserve the Complete shoeing it got. I have a vague idea of a re-edit in which it’s worst tracks are replaced by the several fine and shorter B-sides they wrote at the time.
Rigid Digit says
Even Noel admits Magic Pie was an error – he rues the fact that he dumped “Stay Young” for it.
(and so he should!)
Tiggerlion says
You’ve pricked my ears, moles. I have most of those songs gathering dust somewhere. What track-listing do you recommend?
Rigid Digit says
I hope your edit includes the full version of All Around The World – all 11 and a half minutes of it *.
Mine certainly would.
* 11 and a half minutes. Well, 4 minutes of actual song, and then a Hey Jude style na na na
moseleymoles says
Ok i will look it out tomorrow, and no AATW is definitely for the chop.
Rigid Digit says
harrumph … disappointed face
Rigid Digit says
Morning Glory was released at a time when their stock was at it’s highest. They probably could’ve released an album of Noel playing the ukelele, and Liam doing Harry Secombe voices, and it would still have sold by the truckload.
She’s Electric features some of the worst rhyming couplets Noel has ever penned, and Roll With It is just a very lazy song. Plus, I’ve never really got the lasting appeal of Wonderwall – good song, but their best?
On the plus side, Champagne Supernova is an absolute monster, and Some Might Say ranks in their very best songs.
Then again, what do I know – my favourite Oasis album is Heathen Chemistry
Paul Wad says
Some Might Say is my favourite Oasis track, but I prefer the debut album to WTSMG. Actually, most of my favourite tracks are on their b-sides or non-album singles. The three new songs on the Whatever single are ace, and then it’s finished off with Slide Away. I probably played that single more than I played any of their albums. It strongly reminds me of living in Brighton and what was happening in my life at that time.
fentonsteve says
I remember the keyboardist in our band getting excited about the Oasis debut and me returning it swiftly with “are you joking?” I thought it was total shit, and I didn’t go much for the boozed-up Oasis fans, either. I was into Acid Jazz at the time and, much less so, Blur.
I bought the vinyl recently for a cafe Britpop event and I admit I was wrong. It isn’t total shit, it is three quarters shit.
I do have the Whatever CD single and that is enough Oasis/Rutles for me.
Rigid Digit says
The Stone Roses album was reviewed in NME as:
“It’s quite good”
fentonsteve says
Whereas Melody Maker called it the greatest debut ever, if I remember correctly.
I bought it and remember thinking “good, but not that great.” Oddly enough, I played it yesterday, for the first time in years.
dai says
It’s a very good album.
Carl says
I was disappointed with this from the first.
I liked Definitely Maybe and thought Noel was quite smart in the use he put to the sounds he nicked from The Beatles, T Rex, Neil Young et al.
However with WTSMG his palette seems to have shrunk to The Beatles only and there was very little I liked on it. The much lauded Champagne Supernova was more of a glass of Babycham as far as I was concerned.
Vincent says
This very much overlaps with the “what was the best year for music” thread. I recall some young ‘uns playing the new Quoasis album in a lunchtime at work and thinking “is that what it’s all about?” and trying to be kindly. The Stone Roses were a musically good band in desperate, but never achieved, search of a singer.
Martin Hairnet says
I liked the cover, because I was buying all my music from Selectadisc on Berwick Street at the time. That was the limit of my affection. Everything about them – their music, their sound, their two gobby front men – seemed hackneyed and derivative. Their rise to enormodome status was a complete mystery to me, and again, seemed predicated on a needy music press with stale ideas of fame. Never got the fuss, and still don’t.
Vincent says
The music press used to have a lot of people who liked “prole drag” (cliched representations of working class stereotypes), so Liam and Noel were a wet dream to some. Happy Mondays had gone kaput, and so Oasis stepped into the breach of hooligan-geezer chic. They had a clever sarky one who could play what can only be called “an axe”, and the boy who used to steal your lunch money on vocals. At some point being “hard” became cool, and Liam fitted that nicely. Mid-90s was a time of laddishness, “The Word” (with the charming Terry Christian), “TGI Friday” (the equally charming Chris Evans), “Loaded”, ironic sexism, and, reading this, clearly a blizzard of Bolivian marching powder. There’s an awful lot of Oasis CDs in the chazzers now.
fentonsteve says
The wishes of many music snobs were answered today. “Coronavirus: Oasis fall into administration”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52300055