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Definitely Maybe

Oasis - Definitely Maybe Audio CD

A fair review of the Oasis "Definitely Maybe" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Oasis reviews here, or go back to the Oasis tabs.

Band: Oasis
Title: Definitely Maybe
Rating:

Release Date: 1994-08-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rock 'N' Roll Star 2: Shakermaker 3: Live Forever 4: Up in the Sky 5: Columbia 6: Supersonic 7: Bring It on Down 8: Cigarettes & Alcohol 9: Digsy's Dinner 10: Slide Away 11: Married with Children

Back to Back
Has anyone ever put out two better albums back to back than this and "Morning Glory". . ? I think not. .

"You can sail with me on my yellow submarine..."
Oasis' 1994 debut, Definitely Maybe, spawned two mesmerizing and anthem-like hit singles, "Live Forever" and "Supersonic," that emulated a Beatlesque quality. Amid all of the technotronic and electronica sounds that coveted the airwaves and were apparent with many bands that came out during the 1990s that fell within the so-called British Manchester Sound, a record comes out that shows that guitars and a good backbeat as well as the tambourine was still relevant in songs. However, founder and songwriter of the band, Noel Gallagher (lead guitar and vocals) and brother Liam (vocals) and fellow cohorts, Paul Arthurs (rhythm guitar), Paul McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums), produced a record with Mark Coyle that embraced the musical influence of the Fab Four along with their own distinct sound.

The opening track "Rock `n' Roll Star" says it all to what direction the band would take with this album and subsequent releases. All the songs have that rock and roll and psychedelia attitude from "Shakermaker" to the concluding track, "Married With Children. " But the highlight of the album is indeed "Live Forever. "

With echoes of The Beatles chanting throughout the record, Oasis does a fine job at not completely mimicking their sound. This is a record that fans of Oasis may want to add to their collection if they have not already.
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Some of the Best Music Ever Made
If this CD doesn't explain why then you've never listened to the Beatles. When Oasis first came to America I remember everyone saying that Oasis was the second coming of the Beatles. If you like the Beatles, and I love the Beatles, you'll fall in love with this CD. It has all the sound of a great Beatles record. .

Maybe it's not that great, but it's definitely their best.
But. Keep in mind: I am not an Oasis fan, I think What's the Story was a disaster, and I like Blur. . . I still like this album! Why? One, The guitar tone is godlike. Warm, dreamy, fuzzed out and hypnotic. Two, the singer (whose voice I can't stand) is mixed somewhat behind the wonderful guitars and thus his vocals are not nearly as annoying as they are on subsequent releases. Three, most of the songs are really good! Especially the first half of the album! I'm going to have to echo other reviews and say that "Live Forever" rules! But with the exception of the beautiful "Slide Away" the second half doesn't do much for me. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is an obvious rip off of "Bang a Gong" by T-Rex. The plagiarism is just too obvious, EVEN for Oasis. Plus the lyrics are terrible. TERRIBLE! Thank GOD the vocals are mixed lower than the guitars. Overall, it's good enough, but bands like Ride, the Verve, Blur, Stone Roses, and Suede are certainly more worth my time and money.

Oasis revisited -after almost 14 years still great!
In doing so I must first admit that the combination of a series of disappointing records, childish in-fighting, idiotic public pronouncements and generally boorish and juvenile behaviour have not exactly endeared these lads to me over the last decade and a half. On the occasion of the release of the band's seventh full length cd I thought that I would pull out all of their cds and re-assess each one. So, let me wipe clean the slate and, as George Michael once suggested, listen without prejudice.

This is most definitely English music. Oasis has always worn its influences on it sleeves - Beatles, most obviously, but also Stones, Kinks, Small Faces. This "Englishness" is a logical reason why certain British artists have been less successful in the US than at home and else ware. Starting with the great Small Faces in the 60's and continuing through Queen in the 70's and 80's to The Arctic Monkeys more recently there has been a long line of Brit bands that have been tremendously successful at home and less so on the southern half of this continent. From the beginning of rock and roll I have always recognized a musical hall or theatrical element in much of the popular music from the UK. I suspect that for many in the potential American audience this is off-putting. To the American ear these artists can sound affected or pretentious and are therefore often described as poseurs. To the British ear, and indeed the Australian and Canadian as well, they are merely continuing a long recognized and much revered tradition. I may be totally out to lunch on this one. However, there has to be a logical reason why, over the course of over forty years, a slew of bands who were immensely popular in the UK struggled to make headway in the US but were able to carry that popularity to, for instance, Canada. The aforementioned Queen, Supertramp and Genesis are other examples. Now I do appreciate that each of these bands had varying degrees of popularity in the US. However, they were each much more successful in Britain AND in Canada. It isn't the accent! We up here in the Great White North sound much more American than we do English - even if we tend to use English spelling!

Maybe starts of with the snarling rocker Rock `n' Roll Star. The record never lets up. Live Forever is one of my favourite anthems from the 90's. Supersonic is another driving, snarling, gem that, like many of the band's best songs, has silly lyrics but is ideal for screaming along with at parties or alone in the car. After its initial and welcome excitement, grunge, like most "new things" in music, became repetitive and lost its way. Straight ahead rockers like Bring it on Down and Cigarettes and Alcohol were therefore a breath of fresh air. Slide Away, the penultimate song, is another anthemic party piece. The album closes with Married With Children - just the kind of innocuous but catchy little ditty in which The Beatles specialized.

Definitely Maybe is a sterling debut album. To me it is cleaner and less cluttered than the later releases (purely subjective observations of course). The variety of the music and the brevity of the recording allow the listener to play the entire thing without any risk of the onset of boredom - something that, regretfully, I cannot say of their post 1995 catalog. The band's second effort is even better. Therefore I'll give this one four and a half stars and save full marks for Morning Glory.
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You can see a complete list of all Oasis discography, or go back to the Oasis tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.