Category: Song Rankings

Oasis – My 20 Favorite Songs 10-1

On By bigbadburchIn Song Rankings7 Comments

Now on to part two of my list of favorite Oasis songs. If you missed the first part, head here to play catch up. No real further elaboration needed here so it’s right into my ten favorite tunes from the Gallagher brothers and their cohorts.

#10 – Rock N Roll Star

The opening track from the debut is a killer slice of rock music. This song spells out the dreams of Noel Gallagher in his early days of playing music and his ambitions for Oasis, dreams he would realize many times over. But before stardom hit he and Oasis were just a bunch of council estate lads from Manchester, dreaming as many of us do for a different kind of life. Even outside the song’s deeper meaning, this is just a great rock and roll tune, it’s exactly why I listen to this stuff.

#9 – D’ You Know What I Mean?

And now, the first single from Be Here Now, the 1997 album that came in with more hype than ever but fell a bit short of what were impossible expectations. This one is over 7 minutes long but every second of it works, even the oddball helicopter noises and Morse code stuff at the beginning. Musically this is really solid and slots in well with other Oasis anthems, lyrically it is all style and no substance but there’s some hidden lyrical gems in here. Some are borrowed from the Beatles, others are original quips. This one sums up the Oasis attitude really well.

#8 – The Masterplan

We now arrive to another B-side from Noel’s golden era of songwriting in 1995. This was originally the B-side to a single Oasis released called “Wonder Wall,” maybe you’ve heard of it. Noel cranked this song out because he needed another B-side for the single and when he was told that this was good enough to be on an album he didn’t listen. He should have, because this song is wonderful. Noel handles the vocals on this one about “coming of age” or even just accepting where you are at whatever point in life and doing what you please. It’s also worth watching the Knebworth ’96 documentary to see the part where this song features, it’s a very touching piece of the film.

#7 – Slide Away

It’s back to the debut album again, it’s almost like there are a lot of really good songs on that one or something. This is an actual love song, something Noel wrote for an old girlfriend. It’s a wonderful song musically, and also Liam totally kills it singing this one. And for the last mention of Knebworth on this list – the second night’s performance of Slide Away is the highlight of the concerts and an absolutely splendid rendition. But you’ll have to seek it out on your own, I’m posting the studio track here because it’s easier to find and I’m lazy.

#6 – Cigarettes & Alcohol

Again from the debut record and one of its singles. The pace is kept down here but the track just oozes rock and roll sleaze. The song gets at the heart of stuff like cigarettes and alcohol – they are small distractions from a dull and dismal life of work and being on the low end of the earning scale. I suppose the true meaning could be missed, though it’s kind of right there out in the open. Even if the topic is a bummer, the song itself is a great jam that gets the spirits moving.

#5 – Columbia

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned the album yet in this series, but this song comes from the debut Oasis record Definitely Maybe. Columbia was originally intended as an instrumental cut to use as intro music but the band later decided to add words to it. As with many good Oasis songs, the words here aren’t saying much and especially on Columbia there really isn’t shit here lyrically. But the song is absolutely great, it is a total vibe setter and is just cool and awesome. It’s kind of like pro wrestling entrance music for a hipster.

#4 – Morning Glory

This did NOT come from the debut album, I’ll let you guess which album it’s off of. Oasis had their share of banging song and this one is the mother of all bangers. This one rocks asses off, something a lot of people probably didn’t realize Oasis were capable of. The song is about drugs and specifically cocaine, something the members of Oasis have masters degrees in.

#3 – Live Forever

Yes it’s also from the debut album. Noel wrote this one earlier on and it’s when he and others realized that he was on to something more than the average chap looking to make it in music. This was meant as a response to the depressing nature of grunge, the music of the day back then. This one is just a beautiful song, it says about all there needs to be said. It’s pretty easy to see why this song has resonated with so many people.

#2 – Don’t Look Back In Anger

Back to the second record for one of the many singles from it. It’s another majestic song, wonderfully composed and performed. Noel took the vocals on this one, a choice that gets questioned to this day but it still worked out just fine. There is a nice message to the song about letting go and moving forward, and yet also the song is full of mind-twisting riddles through the lyrics. It all just works so well and it’s a masterpiece of a tune.

I have previously discussed this on in greater detail on my S-Tier songs series.

#1 – Champagne Supernova

At the top of my mountain of Oasis songs is this long, trippy cut from the second album. This song is such a trip and a journey, can’t say where exactly you wind up but it is worth the ride. I really got into Oasis when I first heard this one, I’m pretty sure my actual reaction was “WTF was that?” This isn’t a song with some message or even a meaning, it means whatever the listener needs or wants it to mean. What it means to me is over seven minutes of pure enjoyment.

That does it for my favorite Oasis tracks. Feel free to offer your own personal favorites below. I will tackle an Oasis album ranking at some point but I have a few others lined up first so it’ll be a little while. Until then, head to the nearest dive bar, ask for a Champagne Supernova as a drink, and see what you get.

Oasis – My 20 Favorite Songs 20 – 11

On By bigbadburchIn Song Rankings7 Comments

And now, nearly two years into this website blogging thing I’ve been doing, it’s time to finally spit out a favorite songs list. I intended to start this way back when but just never got around to it. It’s not really hard to do so I don’t know what the hang up was. But there’s no time like the present so here we go.

I’ve chosen to tackle Oasis first. I wrote about them a bunch when I started this but haven’t got a ton into them lately. When I was debating on exactly how many songs I was going to post I wound up with being able to fill 20 spots, so I’ll go with that. I’m going to split this into two parts. There isn’t a ton of writing on these but the YouTube clips take up a bit of space and I want to keep things kind of clean.

So the first 10 will be up today then the top 10 will be tomorrow. Pretty simple concept so off we go.

20 – Gas Panic!

This track hails from the band’s fourth album, 2000’s Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants. The album as a whole had a psychedelic vibe and this song benefited greatly from it. It’s actually about Noel Gallagher having panic attacks which were attributed to his drug use and the music fits a drug trip sort of thing perfectly. I’d kind of passed on Oasis after their mid-90’s glory days but this one is a gem from their life after the peak.

19 – The Shock Of The Lightning

This one comes from the final Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul which hit in 2008. Oasis actually had a bit of a late-life comeback just before their 2009 implosion and this single was fair part of that. It rocks pretty hard, gives off vibes of the classic Oasis while still hanging out in that trippy territory they’d done quite a bit in through the 2000’s. This one made it easy to get a bit excited about them again, though fate had other plans.

18 – My Big Mouth

First appearing live at the legendary Knebworth 1996 gigs, this song got its studio version on 1997’s Be Here Now. This one is a total banger and it addresses the Gallagher brothers’ reputation for having big mouths. This did nothing to shut them up, it was just a song they sang, but this was a good cut. This is one where I do prefer the Knebworth live presentation a bit to the studio track but the studio cut is still really good.

17 – The Hindu Times

It’s on now to Heathen Chemistry from 2002 and the lead single from that record. While the album was all over the place, this song was a good lead off and probably the strongest song from the record, though not the most well-known. This is a light, cheery and a bit of a trippy song. Noel named the track based on a t-shirt he saw in a shop but the lyrics were written later and have no connection to the title. But it’s no matter, this is a really good one.

16 – Lyla

Up next is the lead single from Don’t Believe The Truth released in 2005. This is a simple, fun song about a gal who is really great or something. It’s not a love song per se, more of just this person is generally awesome kind of thing. This one really has the vibe of Oasis getting it right and is one of the best singles of their 2000’s era.

15 – Wonderwall

And here we are. I know that music is relative and subjective, and that a lot of people don’t have exposure to a lot of things that seem common to others. But if you haven’t heard this song you’ve literally been living under a rock since 1995. The most secluded of hermits have heard Wonderwall.

This was the mega hit that still rings loud and clear 28 years later. It might be overplayed but that doesn’t really affect my opinion of it much. This was a very well-done song and there’s a reason it got so popular. I’m honestly never upset to hear it, no matter how many times I already have.

14 – Acquiesce

This one originally appeared as a B-side to Some Might Say in 1995, then this got its own single release ahead of The Masterplan compilation in 1998. It features both Liam and Noel singing, with Liam handling the verses and Noel on the chorus. This is one where the studio version is very good and this easily could have been an album track, but the Knebworth live performance of this really puts it over the top. That raw, energetic version is massive and a must-listen.

13 – Supersonic

The first of probably more than one from the red hot debut Definitely Maybe, this is a total hard rock ass kicker. The lyrics are straight up nonsense and great fun and the song is just a magical trip to where the hell ever. While many think of Oasis as a one hit wonder, they clearly had more up their sleeves, even from the word go.

12 – Cast No Shadow

The second pick here from the band’s magnum opus (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? Oasis were not a band prone to a lot of sad songs, and even when they did go that route they were often sweet and sentimental about it. But here they did pursue the more forlorn path of outright despair, offering a dirge about a hard luck guy. The song was inspired by and dedicated to Richard Ashcroft of The Verve, someone who had his fair share of knocks through the 90’s music scene. This was a bit of a thematic departure for Oasis but this is more my kind of sad song, generally speaking.

11 – Some Might Say

The first part of the list wraps up with another of the many singles from WTSMG. This is a pretty nice alt-rock track at mid-pace that also has some fun with strings of words that don’t really say a hell of a lot, though there’s also some bits of common wisdom in there too. This song often gets overlooked by the heavyweights it’s paired with on the album but people really shouldn’t sleep on this one.

That nails down the first part of the list. The top ten will be known tomorrow. Part II is now live.