Fifteen years of Oasis: if you’re like me, the fact that this bunch of Britpop yobbos were able to hold it together this long without killing each other is amazing all by itself. That they did producing a sublime catalog of guitar-driven pop-rock is even more of a reason to take note, of course — and for those of you who missed out the first time, here’s a two-disc retro of choice singles, aptly titled Time Flies. Yes, I know the band’s already released a best-of disc (2006’s Stop the Clock), but where that collection culled from the group’s single releases, this ‘un has ‘em all.
Which definitely makes it the set to get for those listeners unwilling to sift through the band’s later spottier catalog for the truly supreme stuff. If, like me, you found the opening track of Standing on the Shoulders of Giants so off-putting that you regularly skipped that disc as a drive time music selection, this is the set that’ll remind you of the power and glory of tracks like the Lennonesque “Go Let It Out” or the proto-psychedelic “Who Feels Love.”
Despite strong reviews of their first two albums, in particular, Oasis never quite received the adulation in the states that they did in their native country, a fact that’s inadvertently emphasized in the booklet accompanying this collection. Each single listing is accompanied by quotes from fans all around the world, writing about what each song meant to them, and the majority of comments are from the U.K. The track to receive the most Yankee plaudits is “Champagne Supernova,” which may say something about American sensitivities (“Where were you when we were getting high?”), but I’m not sure what that is.
The one charge that the brothers Gallagher have regularly face in this country is of being overly enamored with the Beatles catalog, something that the band’s primary songwriter and guitarist Noel Gallagher didn’t discourage by distractingly tossing late Beatles refs regularly into the lyrical mix (“Supersonic” calling up the yellow submarine, “Wonderwall” basing its title on a George Harrison soundtrack, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” reminding us of John and Yoko’s bed-in, etc.) But, musically, the lads took from more than just the Fab Four: “Cigarettes and Alcohol,” for instance, builds on a Stones-y guitar while singer Liam Gallagher indulges in an affected enunciation straight of the Ray Davies Style Book. Beatles emulators? Hell, these guys swiped from the entire British Invasion — and good for them.
Article comments
1 - Josh Hathaway
Really nice work on this, Bill. I'm a huge Oasis fan going back to the first time I heard "Live Forever" and I've stayed with them throughout. There were some dips along the way but I even found myself loving latter-day Oasis albums. You have given this some careful consideration and I like hearing your perspective on this, tapping in to some of the things I've always liked about them and even hitting on some things I might not have put my finger on. Very well done.
2 - Anonymous
I'm sorry, but i have to comment on your article; you simply did no research whatsoever on it. Liam is not the primary songwriter/guitarist for Oasis - Noel is. Liam has written three songs out of the entire catalogue. Cigarettes and Alcohol, sung by Liam, not Noel, is a rip off from TRex's Bang a Gong, there's nothing Stones-y about it. And finally, Little by Little is sung by Noel, not Liam. And I guess I might as well add that if you were a fan of the Kinks, you would know that Ray Davies sounds nothing like Liam Gallagher. Please do your work before publishing any kind of review. It's embarrassing, don't you think?
3 - Bill Sherman
You're correct, I flipped the brothers' names - and have since corrected it. But my point with the Ray Davies comparison was to comment on enunciation not sound - and I still hear some Keith Richards' style guitar in "Cigarettes and Alcohol."
4 - Anonymous
The Roy Davies comparison still holds no merit - he did enunciate his words, but Liam's was a deliberate distortion of vowels. Noel used to joke about how Liam had started speaking like he sang. I will relent and give you the Keith Richards :)