Here comes the train! Can you hear it? The people that despise Oasis won’t stop sharing their hatred whenever a Gallagher appears on their computer screen. It’s almost like they didn’t have three percent of the population apply to tickets at Knebworth in 1996 when they played to a 200,000 capacity audience or have Liam selling out arena tours playing their songs to this day. It’s clear they’re like Marmite. I happen to like both.
I remember first discovering Oasis through NME spam-posting back in 2015 – yes, they were just as obsessed back then. After re-evaluating their hits, I forgot how impressive they were but thought ‘how can their back catalogue compare to that!?’ Oh, it exceeded the hits. Just hearing the opening riff to ‘Rock N’ Roll Star’ was enough. The eventual buildup til the drop of hefty drums and the catchy, chaotic guitar riff was enough to win me over immediately. Liam’s vocals are rugged yet smothered in confidence, Noel’s lyrics are inspiring and you can almost feel the passion seeping through the headphones over twenty years on. It is incredible.
I decided to venture into their material further and found so many gems that are often overlooked when Oasis are mentioned. ‘Headshrinker’ being one. Listening to that for the first time, I couldn’t believe it was them. The adrenaline fueled, assertive tone almost bursts your eyes out their sockets. It’s noisy, reckless and unapologetic. All it took was to hear Liam yell:
“Lost in a fog
I’ve been treated like a dog
And I’m out of here
I got no name
And I feel no shame
And I got no fear”
The fact that this was the same band that recorded ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ proved their versatility. I always appreciate that in a band. If all your songs are the same themes and sound, I’ll soon get bored. Oasis were definitely different though. I could feel it.
More and more research was undertook. I just couldn’t get enough of this band that disbanded six years ago (at the time)! I began to treasure their attitude. The brashness, arrogance and unforgettable quotes. There was so much personality to the band beyond the music that it almost felt like a separate entity. Watching Liam stand on stage looking like he was about to start a brawl during guitar intervals whilst Noel was strumming away but prepared to get involved intrigued me. Their persona filled the room. They didn’t need gimmicks or tight leather trousers to make a statement. It made a change to the usual duo who run around and pose to the cameras every twenty minutes.
I still love the band to this day and despite their later work receiving mixed reactions – if you’re a first time listener DON’T venture to ‘Force Of Nature’ or ‘Put Yer Money Where Your Mouth Is’ as you will regret it – Oasis still stand as being one of a kind. No one can make rock n’ roll so effortlessly because they wrote the book on it. Even if they aren’t going to reform, the combination of Noel’s genuine heartfelt songwriting with Liam’s meaty vocals won’t be recreated by either Gallagher’s solo career. It’s good they’re still around though; at the very least we have that. Love them or hate them, rock n’ roll will miss when they’re gone.
Earie Entertainment 