#235

Yeah it’s easy to forget how, in the U.K. at least, people really did want them to be the new Beatles. The crossover was massive, way beyond Blur. They sold Adele levels of records.

It was probably a sort of last gasp attempt to claim a rock band as a universally culturally important happening wasn’t it.

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#236

not just the UK! They sold records all over.

Yep,lest we forget “Cool Britannia”

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#237

Yeah fwiw in Italy they have a sort of cool alternative rep.

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#238

same with friends in Germany and Denmark

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#239

Italians love landfill indie for some reason.

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#240

Love middle aged blokes playing sub U2 rock too so makes sense.

#242

Gets sold as luxiury draft wanker beer!

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#243

Been a lot of 9/10s though?

#245

I think it was happening, although it’s impossible to divorce it from a culture which was so well gate-kept that whatever the mainstream media said was happening, was happening.

#246

FWIW I’d rate Bleach 7/10 like Definitely Maybe and I reckon Oasis have never done a record as bland and overrated as Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged, if that redressed things at all.

Still love the Whatever single a huge amount. First CD I ever bought!

#247

The Oasis/Stone Roses comparison is an interesting one. The Roses’ critical reputation seems unrealistically high to me, Oasis’s is unrealistically low. The Roses are much more sophisticated musically (they had three great musicians in the band and Oasis had none) but their lyrics are equally banal and their singer is a talentless foghorn gobshite. Both bands are equally derivative really.

I accept that The Stone Roses is a better album than Definitely Maybe but in reality they’re a lot closer to each other than the critical consensus would suggest. An 8 and a 7, not a 10 and a 5.

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#248

Very good post imo.
Liam had the swagger of Brown but actually was a very good singer at this point in time.
Ian Brown, not so much.

Edit: Just thinking if 93/94 Liam had fronted classic era Stone Roses.
Or if Squire had joined Oasis after Bonehead left.

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#249

Enjoyable post - but I was sure Definitely Maybe got a glowing critical reception when it came out that has only increased in subsequent years. I was only 15 when it came out and immediately smitten with it so it’s possible I missed/blanked out some of the more negative reviews.

#250

Ah, but then we’d have been robbed of… The Seahorses. The fucking Seahorses.

Honestly, I was way too young to appreciate what a batshit career move that was but… mate, what the fuck

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#251

The full length version of Love Is The Law fucking rips tbqfh tbf

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#252

I remember both Squire and Marr were rumoured to be joining as Liam had written with Squire and Marr had played a few bits.
What a weird version of Oasis that could have been.

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#253

As with everything, you have to contextualise it. I can’t pretend that this analysis is contemporaneous but looking back, it strikes me that the UK music press desperately needed something to compete with what was coming out the US and Seattle in particular.

I can imagine that if the UK charts were just Phil Collins, U2 and Wet Wet Wet (and honestly, anyone feel free to correct me here because I was 11 years old when Definitely Maybe was released) then I can see how Oasis would seem that much more raw and exciting.

#254

Oh, great tune, great riff. Just a strange choice

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#255

There wasn’t any real overlap though I think.
Oasis first single released the week Kurt Cobain died.
‘grunge’ was largely done by 94 (maybe partly due to jumping to majors?).
They would have been looking for a next big movement sure, I think they were already pushing Blur and Suede hard before Oasis even rocked up tbf

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#256

Emjoyed the tiny Creeper derailment

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