Oasis
Definitely Maybe

THE REVIEW

Noel Gallagher warned us, the 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. With this spirit, Definitely Maybe, the first album of the Mancunian band, was born.
Preceded by the singles "Supersonic," "Shakermaker," and "Live Forever," it was released on August 30, 1994, and quickly shot to number one on the UK charts thanks to its impressive driving force, contributing to the creation of what was already shaping up to be an authentic Oasismania. The media, enthusiastic about having finally found heroes for a people, that is, the British, who had long lacked a musical reference point that could so well interpret the working-class lifestyle, characterized by brawls, anxieties for an uncertain future, pub drinks after frustrating workdays, couple crises consumed in the gray days of the English suburbs, but also a great desire for redemption and a wild lust for life.
Definitely Maybe is a condensation of the best English music produced from the sixties to the early '90s, with maximal guitar and vocal volumes, psychedelia, violence, and candor merging in the grooves of DM.
It starts with "Rock 'n' Roll Star" in which they proclaim themselves to the world as the new stars of Rock; in reality, it is their dream that contrasts with an urban landscape that leaves little room to escape and finally be illuminated by the sun of success. It continues with "Shakermaker," a picturesque portrait on a psychedelic basis in which strange characters such as Mr. Clean and Mr. Order appear, notably impactful especially in live performances. The song is also noticeable for its similarity to "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" by the New Seekers, used in the '80s Coca Cola commercials. But it is in the third position that the album's masterpiece is found. "Live Forever" is a true anthem to life, where lyrics that might seem naive remind us of what is really the goal of those endowed with above-average capabilities and sensibilities, seeking a way to express them: to achieve something exceptional and thus live forever.
The following "Up In The Sky," with rather crazy lyrics, is good for moving your legs, while in "Columbia," a true battle horse still today in live shows, a dazed Noel emerged grappling with all-new, undefined sensations, wondering if he's confusing us or beguiling us. Judging by the song's response at concerts, the latter he mentioned, the oddity continues with "Supersonic," a thrilling track and true exhortation to take it all immediately; pure brazenness and hypnotic rhythm make it a real hit. The pace picks up again with "Bring It On Down," in which the guitars clang and "McCarrol" hits the drums like a madman while Liam delivers a devastating vocal performance (filtered through a vocoder in the bridge) as required by the track. "Cigarettes And Alcohol" pays a clear tribute to "Get It On" by T-Rex and is a bluesy and festive piece complete with white lines to bolster the band's spirits as they contend with alcohol and cigarettes, waiting for better times. "Digsy's Diner" describes the protagonist's strange approach with a girl, with promises of tea at three, strawberries and cream, lasagna, and royal treatments—a pure advertisement that opens the path to the melancholy piece of the album: "Slide Away" with Liam's heartbreaking interpretation climbing a text that deals with lost and found love, words not very original but therefore simple and sure to capture, the closure is entrusted to "Married With Children," where only an acoustic guitar accompanies Liam's voice in the story of a couple's crisis certainly reminiscent of the little Gallaghers' difficult
childhood, a pearl to seal a gem-studded record.
Powerful, fresh, immediate, and spontaneous, Definitely seems almost played live; the Oasis's characteristic wall of sound acts as a backdrop to Liam's sparkling (though still immature) voice, singing Noel's melodies in the peak of his creative force.
A magnificent debut album and among the best records of the '90s that takes the best of British pop and rock and gives the masses the next (and for now the last) big English thing.