Oasis
Stop the clocks
Twelve
years since the Manc scallies burst onto the music scene it was
inevitable that we would be seeing a ‘best of’ covering
their work to date. In recent years, especially amongst rock/indie-elitists,
Oasis have become a bit of a joke and they are now largely dismissed.
It is all too easy to forget that for a brief few years, starting
with their debut releases in 1994, Oasis were a vital, exciting
and much-needed band, their ballsy rock tunes captured the existence
of the every man.
Their songs full of hope, wild-abandon and an in-yer-face attitude.
Oasis embodied the air of change in mid-nineties Britain, the
idea that people could determine their own lives and they captured
the hearts and minds of a nation. Oasis sound-tracked so many
people’s nineties, whether people now wish to admit it or
not.
Stop The Clocks has been chosen by the band (read Noel Gallagher)
and rightly focuses on their first two albums Definitely Maybe
(the band’s best release) and What’s The Story Morning
Glory? (the commercial break-through) with Noel Gallagher’s
admittal that they have never bettered them.
Although many of these tracks have aged badly it is, for those
that remember them the first time round, hard not to give a nostalgic
nod to how great tracks like ‘Supersonic’, ‘Rock
‘N’ Roll Star’, ‘Some Might Say’,
‘Morning Glory’ and ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’
sounded at the time. ‘Live Forever’ was the unofficial
anthem of Britain for a good few months.
Other selections show that Oasis, as well as the ballsy rock n
roll, produced some classic songs in ‘Wonderwall’
and ‘Half the world away’ (now forever known as the
theme tune to the BBC’s The Royle Family). These songs indicate
talent that today is sometimes forgotten of the band, a talent
which is again shown on the anthemic ‘Champagne Supernova’
and the excellent ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
These tracks accompanied by impressive b-sides ‘The Masterplan’
and ‘Acquiesce’ satisfactorily cover classic-era Oasis
for new fans. Old fans will undoubtedly have everything they need.
Weaker moments come from the bands later offerings. Why the abysmal
‘Lyla’ is included here is anyone’s guess, and
‘Songbird’ doesn’t do the love-song genre any
justice.
As ‘best of’s’ go Stop The Clocks is a worthwhile
release, but even with the lavish packaging and bonus DVD it’s
not really worth a purchase. For anyone wanting to get the cream
of the Oasis crop - ditch this and buy the first two albums.
by Chris Marks
