The reunion to end all reunions is set to take place this Friday. That’s when the Britpop band Oasis gets together for a five-month world tour kicking off in Cardiff, Wales, officially marking the end of the yearslong feud between bandmates and brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher.
The best way to celebrate this almost too-good-to-be-true run of shows is to dive into the band’s rich catalog. Even if you know the hits and have committed their unimpeachable run of mid-’90s albums to memory — looking at you, 1994’s “Definitely Maybe,” 1995’s “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” and 1997’s “Be Here Now” — there’s so much more to dive into. And that’s why media has created a playlist of megahits and beloved B-sides alike.
Read on and then listen to all of the tracks on our Spotify playlist.
Where better to begin than at the beginning? Oasis’ first single, “Supersonic,” what would later appear on their landmark debut album “Definitely, Maybe,” immediately establishes an idiosyncratic band’s sound: Britpop that would soon grow massive. Their songs sounded like the Beatles performed with the edgy intensity of the Sex Pistols, as a popular description by the English press suggested at the time. (Remember when they called this band “The Sex Beatles”? No?)
From the jump, Noel emerged a prolific songwriter with unrivaled talent — so much so, that when he first played “Live Forever” for his bandmates, even they couldn’t believe he’d written such a massive tune. The song’s malleable structure — and its deviation from major chords to a minor on in its last chorus — gives it an incomplete feeling. It perfectly mirrors the song’s message. “Maybe you’re the same as me / We see things they’ll never see,” Liam sings. “You and I are gonna live forever.”
Before “Wonderwall” entered popular consciousness as the No. 1 song choice of dudes with acoustic guitars at house parties aiming to serenade the uninterested, it was a simply … one of the best contemporary rock ’n’ roll songs ever recorded. The track that appears on the mythmaking record “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” is known the world over. Stateside, it may even be more popular than the band itself. No celebration of Oasis is complete without it.
It is a bar ballad that plays out, effortlessly, like the timeless classic it became. Is there a better full-throated karaoke song than “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” with its fierce, self-referential spirit? “Please don’t put your life in the hands / Of a rock ’n’ roll band / Who’ll throw it all away,” you’ll sway and scream-sing with a friend, preferably with a pint in hand.
This playlist could’ve been every song on “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” listed in sequential order, and it would make for a truly enjoyable and diverse listening experience. Cut to the oddly psychedelic “Champagne Supernova,” and its easter-egg inclusion of one of the Gallagher brothers’ favorite guitarists, The Jam’s Paul Weller.
It is a story diehard Oasis fans have long committed to memory: During the band’s first tour of the United States, in 1994, after a drug-addled performance at Los Angeles’ infamous Whiskey a Go Go rock club, Noel decided he had enough and abandoned his band for San Francisco. Their tour manager found him by checking hotel call logs — the songwriter was hiding out with a woman he had met at their show in the Bay Area a few days prior. The experience inspired Noel to write “Talk Tonight,” on which he takes over lead vocals.
Few bands have B-sides as memorable as their singles. The Mancunian group have a number, but widely agreed upon as one of the all-time greatest is “Acquiesce,” originally released as the B-side to the 1995 hit “Some Might Say,” and later featured on the B-side compilation album, 1998’s “The Masterplan.” It is an ascendent power pop record, a forever fan favorite, and one where Noel and Liam get along … at least, on the mic, taking turns singing the verse and chorus.
It is not all Beatles worship and transformative rock ballads for Oasis. Well, OK, there’s still some Beatles worship. Enter “D’You Know What I Mean?” a 7 ½-minute detour of backwards vocals and distortion from their album “Be Here Now.” They’re challenging their listeners and themselves here. And it works.
Later Oasis — particularly the ‘00s albums — is often overlooked. It is understandable, but that music is not without their charms. That’s especially true of the psychedelic track, “The Hindu Times” from “Heathen Chemistry.”
“Lyla,” from their penultimate album “Don’t Believe the Truth,” is pogo pop; a late-in-their-career arena anthem. The popular fan folklore is that Lyla is a real person, the sister to Sally from “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” If that’s the truth, then Lyla clearly got the better end of the deal. “She’s the queen of all I’ve seen,” as Liam sings. Compare that to “And so, Sally can wait,” from the better-known track and, well, who wouldn’t want to be Lyla?
