Oasis
(What's The Story) Morning Glory?

THE REVIEW

It is strange how a single album can change your day and you find yourself listening to it 4 or 5 times in 24 hours; this happened to me with "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?", a 1995 album by Oasis.

This is undoubtedly the masterpiece of the Gallagher brothers, which brought the brit-pop sounds to everyone's ears that were still suffocated by the grunge wave. Oasis didn't do anything original, but they managed to mix and highlight different styles, blowing away the dust. Many judge Oasis as the Beatles played by the Sex Pistols; however, this is a superficial judgment of their music. It is true that they have a melody and harmony of pure Liverpudlian imprint, a raw sound and a typical punk wall of guitars, but beyond this, one must acknowledge their genius in arrangements, in the ability to find excellent catchiness (although the repetitiveness of the themes might be tiring, even the staunchest opponent finds themselves humming the tune). There is originality in the choruses, most performed in falsetto, typical of Oasis, and the use of instruments as a backdrop to create increasing fullness and body to the songs.

Another point to consider is Liam's nasally and sing-song voice, which undoubtedly adds a pinch of originality and perfectly blends with the environment created by the instruments. Nothing to take away from his brother, perhaps only a bit more confined to the singer's "fun" canons, offering less expressiveness and interpretation.

In conclusion, the strengths of this album are the reinterpretation of typical 60s music with harder sounds and the distinctive traits of punk (from the distorted sounds, the aggressiveness of some riffs, and the unruly life of the band members), the excellent melodies easily remembered and very popular, the raw sound of guitars with lots of reverb. As for negative aspects, apart from the lack of technical proficiency and some banal and predictable traits (which at the same time are a strength for their popularity), one must realize that albums like these rarely happen more than once for a band, thus subsequent works made people miss this album.

By taking a look at the playlist, one can immediately understand the value of the work, in one album are captured at least 3-4 tracks that will remain in rock history and have contributed to creating the Oasis legend. The influence of the Fab Four from Liverpool is strong; "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back In Anger" can also be considered tributes to the quartet, highlighted even by the intro of the latter which echoes Lennon's famous "Imagine". With "Don't Look Back In Anger", Noel takes the microphone for the first time, and he will continue to do so on other albums. Other decisive tracks of the album are "Roll With It" and "Champagne Supernova", anthems of the excesses of fun that have always characterized the two English brothers, the first track more aggressive and carefree, the second delicate and melancholic almost seems to drift from the rigid metronome system, stretching the times and concluding the album calmly. "Morning Glory" will instead be the track that gives the album its title, "morning glory", which is nothing but the erection that surprises us men at awakening. Apart from the irony, the track presents city day noise that blends with Noel's acid guitar sound. These noises are certainly not random but link the tracks to one another, and this also happens with "Champagne Supernova" that begins with the sound of waves. This transition between noise and sound describes the soundscape that the two songs want to show us, the frantic urban life and the calm of a landslide of pleasures.

Under the weight of these rock-solid tracks, the hopeful "Some Might Say", the first single to top the charts, "Cast No Shadow" dedicated to The Verve's vocalist, "Hello" which opens the album, "Hey Now", and "She's Electric" peek out and are no less worthy. There are also 2 short tracks, almost secretly stolen snippets from the recordings, small jams that serve as glue between tracks. There is still much to tell about this album, but I don’t want to bore you too much.

In conclusion, I can't understand how two apparently insensitive beer drinkers can make such moving songs.