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Rating:
I have already written a review on "(What's The Story) Morning Glory ?", and I was bombarded with criticism because I defined it not as a britpop album, but as "pure rock." Maybe I exaggerated a bit, and I'm also willing to partially retract my statement.
However, this certainly is a britpop album (I'm talking about "Definitely Maybe"), full of joy for the spotlight just gained, laziness, and a bit of nostalgia, but also drugs, clearly present from beginning to end, in the notes and lyrics. The first song is "Rock'N'Roll Star", a historic piece by Oasis, which delivers a great adrenaline rush, and as the first track in the band's history, it's truly an extraordinary start. The second song, and the second single from the album, is "Shakermaker", pure psychedelia, with its distinctive rhythm created by the guitars, which almost seem lazy; this is a very underrated song, though in my opinion, it is one of the most representative tracks of the album. The third track is the dreamy and poetic "Live Forever", the third single and the first to enter the top ten of the English chart; Noel's guitar solo is indescribable; every time you listen to it, it gives you chills. After "Live Forever", there's "Up In The Sky", a bit pointless, as after a few listens it becomes tiresome. We return to psychedelia with "Columbia", slow but enjoyable. Then there's the aggressive rock of "Supersonic", another historic piece not only for its originality, but also because it was Oasis' very first single; the lyrics are a mix of nonsensical phrases, with various references to sex and drugs, which perfectly express the rhythm of the song.
Similar to "Supersonic" in aggression, but much more pronounced here, is "Bring It On Down", which expresses all the anger of the English working class, which is kindly invited to "destroy it" ("bring it on down, bring it on down for me"); this song is 100% rock (and whoever dares to say otherwise will be whipped for my supreme joy). Another aggressive song is "Cigarettes & Alcohol", also full of drug references; it's beautiful, except it was "taken" directly from a '70s single by T-Rex; as soon as I learned this, and experienced the embarrassing similarity between the two tracks, it started to lose its appeal to me; I advise those who aren't touchy to pretend nothing happened, and listen to it calmly. The ninth song is "Slide Away", Bono Vox's absolute favorite track, which, according to Noel Gallagher's testimony, he sang from start to finish with his guitar when they first met over dinner; returning to the song itself, it's good, yes, very much so, but to consider it one's favorite song takes some doing; the rhythm is dreamy and sad.
In "Married With Children", on the other hand, simmering sarcasm and anger prevail, but not entirely, accompanied by an acoustic guitar and an electric one, which elegantly interjects at certain moments, enhancing the disconsolate atmosphere. I read in a comment on a review of this album that the only weak point of "Definitely Maybe" is "Sad Song", a track not included for some reason. Maybe it's not the only weak point, but almost.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Shakermaker (05:08)
I'd like to be somebody else and not know where I've been
I'd like to build myself a house out of plasticine
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
I've been driving in my car with my friend Mr. Soft
Mr. Clean and Mr. Ben are living in my loft
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
I'm sorry but I just don't know
I know you said I told you so
But when you're happy and you're feeling fine
Then you'll know it's the right time
Then you'll know it's the right time
To shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Mr. Sifter sold me songs when I was just sixteen
Now he stops at traffic lights, but only when they're green
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with them
Shake along with me
Shake along with them
Shake along with me
03 Live Forever (04:36)
Maybe I don't really wanna know
How your garden grows, 'cause I just want to fly
Lately, did you ever feel the pain?
In the morning rain as it soaks you to the bone
Maybe I just want to fly
Want to live, I don't want to die
Maybe I just want to breathe
Maybe I just don't believe
Maybe you're the same as me
We see things they'll never see
You and I, we're gonna live forever
I said maybe I don't really wanna know
How your garden grows, 'cause I just want to fly
Lately, did you ever feel the pain?
In the morning rain as it soaks you to the bone
Maybe I will never be
All the things that I want to be
Now is not the time to cry
Now's the time to find out why
I think you're the same as me
We see things they'll never see
You and I, we're gonna live forever
Maybe I don't really wanna know
How your garden grows, 'cause I just want to fly
Lately, did you ever feel the pain?
In the morning rain as it soaks you to the bone
Maybe I just want to fly
Want to live, I don't want to die
Maybe I just want to breathe
Maybe I just don't believe
Maybe you're the same as me
We see things they'll never see
You and I, we're gonna live forever
Gonna live forever
Gonna live forever
Gonna live forever
Gonna live forever
Gonna live forever
Gonna live forever
04 Up in the Sky (04:28)
Hey you up in the sky
Learning to fly
Tell me how high
Do you think you'd go
Before you start falling
Hey you up in the tree
You wanna be me
Well that couldn't be
Cos the people here
They don't hear you calling
How does it feel
When you're inside me?
Hey you wearing the crown
Making no sound
I bet you feel down
Well that's too bad
Welcome to my world
Hey you stealing the light
I've heard that the shine's
Gone out of your life
Well that's just too bad
Welcome to my world
How does it feel
When you're inside me?
You'll need assistance with the things that you have never ever seen
It's just a case of never breathing out
Before you breathe it in
How does it feel
When you're inside me?
I can feel you
Can you feel me?
Hey you up in the sky
Learning to fly
Tell me how high
Do you think you'd go
Before you start falling
Hey you up in a tree
You wanna be me
But that couldn't be
Cos the people here
They don't hear you calling
How does it feel
When you're inside me?
You'll need assistance with the things that you have never ever seen
It's just a case of never breathing out
Before you breathe it in
How does it feel
When you're inside?
05 Columbia (06:17)
There we were, now here we are
All this confusion, nothing's the same to me
There we were, now here we are
All this confusion, nothing's the same to me
I can't tell you the way I feel
Because the way I feel is oh so new to me
I can't tell you the way I feel
Because the way I feel is oh so new to me
What I heard is not what I hear
I can see the signs but they're not very clear
What I heard is not what I hear
I can see the signs but they're not very clear
So I can't tell you the way I feel
Because the way I feel is oh so new to me
I can't tell you the way I feel
Because the way I feel is oh so new to me
This is confusion, am I confusing you?
This is confusion, am I confusing you?
This is peculiar, we don't want to fool ya
This is peculiar, we don't want to fool ya
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
06 Supersonic (04:43)
I need to be myself
I can't be no one else
I'm feeling supersonic
Give me gin and tonic
You can have it all, but how much do you want it?
You make me laugh
Give me your autograph
Can I ride with you in your BMW?
You can sail with me in my yellow submarine
You need to find out
'Cause no one's gonna tell you what I'm on about
You need to find a way for what you want to say
But before tomorrow
'Cause my friend said he'd take you home
He sits in a corner all alone
He lives under a waterfall
Nobody can see him
Nobody could ever hear him call
Nobody could ever hear him call
You need to be yourself
You can't be no one else
I know a girl called Elsa
She's into Alka Seltzer
She sniffs it through a cane on a supersonic train
And she makes me laugh
I've got her autograph
She done it with a doctor on a helicopter
She's sniffin in her tissue
Sellin' the big issue
When she finds out
No one's gonna tell her what I'm on about
You need to find a way for what you wanna say
But before tomorrow
'Cause my friend said he'd take you home
He sits in a corner all alone
He lives under a waterfall
Nobody can see him
Nobody could ever hear him call
Nobody could ever hear him call
07 Bring It On Down (04:17)
What was that sound ringing around your brain?
Today was just a blur, you've got a head like a ghost train
What was that sound ringing around your brain?
You're here on your own, who you gonna find to blame?
You're the outcast
You're the underclass
But you don't care
Because you're living fast
You're the uninvited guest who stays 'til the end
I know you've got a problem that the devil sends
You think they're talking 'bout you, but you don't know who
I'll be scraping your life from the sole of my shoe tonight
Bring it on down, bring it down for me
Your head's in a fish tank, your body and your mind can't breath
Bring it on down, bring it down for me
Your head's in a fish tank, your body and your mind can't breath
You're the outcast
You're the underclass
But you don't care
Because you're living fast
You're the uninvited guest who stays 'til the end
I know you've got a problem that the devil sends
You think they're talking 'bout you, but you don't know who
I'll be scraping their lives from the sole of my shoe tonight
08 Cigarettes & Alcohol (04:49)
Is it my imagination
Or have I finally found something worth living for?
I was looking for some action
But all I found was cigarettes and alcohol
You could wait for a lifetime
To spend your days in the sunshine
You might as well do the white line
'Cause when it comes on top
You've gotta make it happen
You've gotta make it happen
You've gotta make it happen
You've gotta make it happen
Is it worth the aggravation
To find yourself a job when there's nothing worth working for?
It's a crazy situation
But all I need are cigarettes and alcohol
You could wait for a lifetime
To spend your days in the sunshine
You might as well do the white line
'Cause when it comes on top
You've gotta make it happen
You've gotta make it happen
You've gotta make it happen
You've gotta make it happen
09 Digsy's Dinner (02:32)
What a life it would be
If you could come to mine for tea
I'll pick you up at half-past three
We'll have lasagna
I'll treat you like a queen
I'll give you strawberries and cream
Then your friends will all go green
For my lasagna
These could be the best days of our lives
But I don't think we've been living very wise
Oh no no
What a life it would be
If you could come to mine for tea
I'll pick you up at half-past three
We'll have lasagna
These could be the best days of our lives
But I don't think we've been living very wise
I said oh no no
What a life it would be
If you could come to mine for tea
I'll pick you up at half-past three
And we'll have lasagna
I'll treat you like a queen
I'll give you strawberries and cream
Then your friends will all go green
Then your friends will all go green
Then your friends will all go green
For my lasagna
10 Slide Away (06:32)
Slide away and give it all you've got
My today fell in from the top
I dream of you and of all the things you say
I wonder where you are now
Hold me down, all the world's asleep
I need you now, you knock me off my feet
I dream of you and we talk of growing old
But you said please don't
Slide in baby, together we'll fly
I've tried praying but I don't know what you're saying to me
And now that you're mine
We'll find a way
Of chasing the sun
Let me be the one that shines with you
In the morning we don't know what to do
Two of a kind
We'll find a way
To do what we've done
Let me be the one that shines with you
And we can slide away, slide away, slide away, away
Slide away, give it all you've got
My today fell in from the top
I dream of you and all the things you say
I wonder where you are now
Slide in baby, together we'll fly
I've tried praying and I know just what you're saying to me
Now that you're mine
We'll find a way
Of chasing the sun
Let me be the one that shines with you
In the morning we don't know what to do
We're two of a kind
We'll find a way
To do what we've done
Oh, let me be the one that shines with you
And we can slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
( I don't know, I don't care)
(All I know is you can take me there)
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
Slide away
11 Married With Children (03:12)
There's no need for you to say you're sorry
Goodbye, I'm going home
I don't care no more so don't you worry
Goodbye, I'm going home
I hate the way that even though you know you're wrong
You say you're right
I hate the books you read and all your friends
Your music's shite, it keeps me up all night, up all night
There's no need for you to say you're sorry
Goodbye, I'm going home
I don't care no more so don't you worry
Goodbye, I'm going home
I hate the way that you are so sarcastic
And you're not very bright
You think that everything you've done's fantastic
Your music's shite, it keeps me up all night, up all night
And it will be nice to be alone for a week or two
But I know then I will be right, right back here with you
With you, with you, with you, with you, with you, with you
There's no need for you to say you're sorry
Goodbye, I'm going home
I don't care no more so don't you worry
Goodbye, I'm going home
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Other reviews
By Sallu
This album is just noise, and nothing more.
Maybe I’ve been a bit harsh, but every time I try to listen to this CD, I get a headache...
By pino masterflash
Oasis are not innovators, they don’t experiment, they just want to hit you with simple songs that are instant classics and stick to your ears and heart at first listen.
Definitely Maybe is a condensation of the best English music produced from the sixties to the early ’70s, with maximal guitar and vocal volumes, psychedelia, violence, and candor merging in the grooves of DM.
By Marko89
It’s listenable, but it’s certainly not a “timeless” or a “masterpiece” as I’ve heard some say.
Oasis did better in the later years which is why they remain one of my favorite bands.
By Lito
"Perhaps this judgment is also influenced by the fact that in the 10 years that followed, Oasis shifted gears musically and captivated us with albums of a vastly different level."
"Track number three is indeed 'Live Forever': a great song that became the true anthem of a generation."
By Kenny
"The Gallagher brothers couldn’t care less about your criticisms, they don’t give a damn about your damn criticisms!"
"This album is devastating, beautiful, powerful, the best album of the ’90s."
