Oasis - What's The Story? (Morning Glory) ((What's The Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis)

Member Name: carlmcq

Product:	(What's The Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis
Date:	21/10/09 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant music

Disadvantages: None

Who says Oasis have no talent? Who says they're merely attempting to copy the Beatles? Well, back before they really got on each others nerves and split up (although I swear we've heard that one before...) they produced albums like this. Introducing What's The Story (Morning Glory).

The unbridled success of their debut album, Definitely Maybe, saw Oasis lifted into a position of fame that has only realistically matched by the Arctic Monkeys since when it comes to a debut album. The critics loved it, a band from Manchester had yet again risen to the challenge of becoming the biggest rock band in the UK...and then they had to return to the studio to come up the 'difficult second album'. And how they manged it superbly...

Released in October 1995, it reached number 1 in the album charts and sold 346,000 copies in its first week in the UK alone. The twelve track record (although two tracks are merely less than a minute long and aren't named) became just as big a success for them, if not bigger, than it's predecessor. It saw six singles released - including some of the most iconic Oasis songs...and it turned out even the Americans liked it!

But where to start with the music?! It's impossible to break it down into good versus bad. Tracks such as Roll With It, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger were all released as singles - Don't Look Back in Anger reaching number 1, and Wonderwall often being rated as the best song of all time to never get to that position...it reached number 2. These three tracks are all within the first four songs of the album, but don't think the quality drops afterwards. The distorted melodies of Roll With It are similar to that found on Definitely Maybe, juxtaposed with the sing-a-long acoustic brilliance of Wonderwall and Brit-pop guitar anthem of Don't Look Back in Anger; these are three very different tracks that compliment each other perfectly.

Further down the album there's the first single from the album; Some Might Say, along with Morning Glory and Champagne Supernova - a seven and a half minute marathon track featuring Paul Weller which rounds the album off brilliantly. One song of note is also Cast No Shadow - a fantastic acoustic number which is easy-listening and as good a calming melody compared to anything the band has ever written.

Now, on my 'research' for this (yes, Wikipedia counts!), musical writer John Harris described the album as having several "musical hand-me-downs"...for example, the piano on Don't Look Back in Anger is similar to Imagine by John Lennon and Morning Glory resembling The One I Love by R.E.M. Whether or not they've been 'copied' or at least replicated is up for argument, but they still sound like brilliant, unique pieces of music to me.

Would I recommend this album? Well, is the Pope catholic? Of course. It's an essential part of any person's music collection if you've ever paid an interest in British guitar music. It defines Brit-pop. It is one of the greatest albums of the 90's, if not all time. It's certainly one of the biggest selling albums of all time. If you haven't got it, join the team and buy it. Trust me...you won't look back in anger...(I'm sorry, that's a terrible pun!)

Summary: Oasis' second album