Oasis
Stop The Clocks

THE REVIEW

I met Liam Gallagher inside a rather famous Florentine venue in the city, the Bebop. Shortly before, I had seen him speeding inside a minivan owned by the hotel where he was staying that February day, the eve of last year's concert at the Mandela Forum. He was heading towards Bebop because, in his own words to a friend of mine, "I was drawn in by the sign outside that said - TONIGHT OASIS COVER BAND 10.30 P.M. -". This friend of mine knew because his brother works at that hotel and was the one who pointed him in the right direction.

So, I descend the Bebop's stairs, expecting to witness an epic brawl, broken teeth, cameras in pieces... As soon as I arrive, there’s Liam among four or five people, a pint of ale in hand, chatting and spreading smiles with his terrible, unintelligible Mancunian accent (“see ya t’morrow at our show, ok?”), I approach him, shake his hand, and even have my girlfriend snap a photo of us together. Damn, but are English journalists just a bunch of boorish provocateurs (an assertion supported by many) or is he simply in a good mood? While he continues talking with my friend (earlier there was a memorable exchange - "The singer of Maximo Park says his band is better than Oasis" and Liam "Who the hell are they? Tell that idiot to go screw himself..."), I manage to be "disappointed", especially when the cover band starts and instead of telling them to piss off and storming out in pure "MonobrowGallagher" style, he starts dancing and singing along at the top of his lungs to "Columbia", “Roll With It”, "Lyla" etc., for about three-quarters of an hour. Shortly after, he leaves (considering the inevitable crowd that had gathered), bidding everyone a very cordial farewell. I was stunned!

How? He even managed to tolerate those incinerating him with their gaze, avoiding laying hands on them (as many users of this site would willingly do with him, haha…). Not even a scuffle. Nothing at all. And then you think that Oasis's music is hated/loved perhaps precisely for this reason. Because for many, it’s falsity, a stark contradiction (how, damn fool, do you talk about transgression, cigarettes, alcohol, wrecking hotels, and then smile at a filthy junkie looking at you as if he'd seen Bin Laden himself?). However, for others, it has entered their hearts because it talks about how you feel when life is crap ("I wanna leave this city/this old town don’t smell too pretty" - "Half The World Away"), about how it feels when someone is about to leave ("don’t go away/say what you want to say/but say that you’ll stay/forever and a day/for the time of my life" - "Don't Go Away", written for his mom who was thought to be dying at the time), and about many other things present in everyday life, narrated using very simple pop-rock (no point in arguing, they’re certainly not King Crimson) but at the same time direct.

Boastful as you like, but without the pretension of considering themselves artists ("Radiohead are artists, we’re not" Noel Gallagher). As for the musical aspect of this best of (a pretext for taking stock of 12 years in their career), a couple of lines suffice: a few classics ("Wonderwall", "Don’t Look Back in Anger", "Champagne Supernova"), a few good tracks ("The Importance Of Being Idle", "Talk Tonight", "Slide Away") and many beautiful and pleasant songs, alongside some major style slips ("Songbird"). All to clarify one fundamental thing, which in my opinion should be shared and accepted by everyone, detractors or not: they might not be fun guys, or amazing musicians, or talented mixers of genres and sounds, but they have reached the hearts of many, many people. And in a world where plastic music has more and more visibility, it is a skill many have lost.

Hate It or Love It.