Oasis

I was aware of Oasis during their years of popularity, but I resisted them, didn't buy any of their records. But I just picked up a two-disc greatest hits, and I'm kind of conflicted about it. They certainly had some catchy tunes, but as I read through the liner notes, which consists of many encomiums from fans, there's one word I don't see: Beatles.

Oasis was basically a reincarnation of The Beatles for the 1990s. Or, perhaps more appropriately, The Rutles, the comic band created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes meant as a spoof of The Beatles. For that movie, All You Need Is Cash, Innes wrote several faux-Beatle songs. Some twenty years ago, Noel Gallagher did the same thing.

Oasis grew out of a band that was fronted by Liam Gallagher. His older brother, Noel, was a roadie, and had written a lot of songs. He went to his brother's band and offered to join, but on the condition that he would be the sole songwriter and leader. I suspect most musicians would be appalled at that, but they set their egos aside and Noel Gallagher led the band for its entire existence, taking them to worldwide fame.

Some of his songs are incredibly good. The ones I knew going in, such as "Wonderwall," "Live Forever," "Champagne Supernova," and "All Around the World" are as good as pop songs get. Gallagher favors the epic-style song, which starts slowly and then builds until it seems as though it is more important than anything else on Earth. The lyrics, while they don't seem to mean anything, are catchy as well, and I couldn't help but singing along:

"Some day you will find me
Caught between a landslide
In a champagne supernova
In the sky."

Now, Gallagher mixes his metaphors here--how could he be in the sky if he's caught underneath a landslide? It doesn't really matter.

"And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
Like to say to you
But I don't know how
Because maybe
And after all
You're my wonderwall"

Lovely.

Now, as to The Beatles comparison. Not all of Oasis's songs are Beatlesque, but quite a few owe directly to them. "Let There Be Love" is clearly inspired by The Beatles, and it's as if Gallagher were writing his own version of "All You Need Is Love." "Who Feels Love" seems like a nod to George Harrison's guru phase, even down to using a sitar and backward recordings. And "Whatever" sound like everything that made The Beatles special put into a blender, from the strings to the anthemic lyric about freedom.

Oasis became almost as well known for their rock-star lifestyles and sibling squabbling as they did for their music. While their music was pretty good, I think I understand that I resisted it because it never struck me as being particularly original. My ears prick up when I hear a new group is Beatlesque, but for god's sake, try to make it your own.