Oasis A to Z

I dunno if we need pictures, Lino. The thread takes long enough to scroll through.

I loved BOADC when HC was first released, the Beatles-inspired middle eight in particular. Can't say I'm arsed about the song now, I would never choose to play it. It seems too forced and half-baked. The production is comically bad. Noel should really have rearranged it or told Liam to try something else. Out of LG's early tunes, I think Better Man stands up much better.

Noted, hey.

Boy with the Blues


Dig Out Your Soul bonus track, but written and recorded for Don't Believe The Truth, this Liam penned gospel tinged ballad is built around a piano progression and not really about anything - he learned from one of the best as some of Noel's greatest tracks are not really about much of anything either.

Like most Liam songs the lyrics consist of very short sentences and a reference to songs or singing. He fits in a "shine" which is nice, and the guitar work that picks up in the second half of the track is more than pleasant. The outro goes on for a long time, with the vague exhortation that we come out together.

The point of view of the song shifts a bit - is it about Liam - "You sing, you shout, you turn the world around - yeah we come out together for you" - is he the boy with the blues?

It doesn't really make sense with the "Let my love take you high" - whose love, exactly? Still, better than most of the tracks on DOYS; it sounds special to me.

I give it a 7/10.

And you?

Better Man - Ok but pretty much instantly forgettable.
Bonehead's Bank Holiday - Loved this at the time and it's still a lot of fun.
Born on a Different Cloud - Really like Liam's voice on this. Lyrics are more than passable too. Too long.
Boy with the Blues - Like an early 80s Ken Bigley.

Bring It on Down

Our first DM track, album filler Bring it on down is the heaviest song on the début and one that must have really impressed Alan McGee as he wanted it to be the band's lead single (he was particularly in love with the "You're the outcast, you're the underclass, but you don't care - because you're living fast" bit - unfortunately that comes right after the clunker "you're head's in a fish-tank" line.

A live staple during those early years, it's the fastest loudest track aside from Fade Away and Headshrinker; you can jump around to it. It's not single material (but they released worse) and it's certainly one of the weaker tracks on DM. Fade Away would make for a stronger album - leaving it off because there was already one song (Slide Away) with "away" in the title is, frankly, quite dumb.

Not a favourite of mine - 5/10.

How 'bout you?

Love it. An absolute classic. Proves how punk early Oasis could be.

Playing catch up here:

Bonehead's Bank Holiday: throwaway but fun. No one would give it a second thought if it didn't have Bonehead in the title.

Born on a Different Cloud: I'll respond to accusations of pro-Liam bias by saying this is a bit of a dirge. I liked it at the time (especially live) but it drags on for too long without really going anywhere.

Boy With the Blues: always had a soft spot for this and still think it's better than many of the songs which made their way onto DOYS. The big outro and use of female backing singers make it a bit of a prototype for Bold.

Bring it On Down: tremendous and one of the highlights on Definitely Maybe. I'm with McGee in thinking that it would have made a far better debut single than Supersonic.

Boy With The Blues - genuinely couldn't remember how this went which I'm unlikely to say much in this thread. Just spun it and it's quite dull and reminded me of a poor version of Soldier On. Unlikely to revisit in future.

Bring It On Down - absolute corker, I don't think Oasis ever sounded heavier this apart from My Big Mouth and My Sister Lover? The sound surpasses punk but I don't know what to. It also sounds like nothing else I love but this is my favourite off DM nowadays. It makes me want to ride a GHOST TRAIN at 100mph while getting smacked in the face by dropping skeletons. All while wearing bootcut jeans, of course.

Better Man - An absolute dirge, offensively bad for an album closer.

Bonehead's Bank Holiday - Adore this tune. Love the conversations in the background, the brit pop sound, the catchy chorus, the silly lyrics and the skiffly guitar solo at the end. Should have been a single IMO.

Born on a Different Cloud - Boring and overlong but it's certainly not the most offensive thing on Heathen Chemistry

Boy with the Blues - I'm not sure i've even heard this as i'd given up on buying Oasis singles by the time of DOYS. Wasn't too bad I guess but I doubt i'll listen to it again.

Bring it on Down - One of my favorite Oasis songs. Liam is unreal on it and it sounds violent as fuck. Also one of my favorite guitar solos ever.

Agree with all of those - maybe this drink should happen

better man - oasis doing second coming. fairly throwaway but i don't dislike it.

bonehead's bank holiday - good fun. noel back before he became dwayne.

born on a different cloud - i loved this at the time and it was one of the big standouts from heathen chemistry for me. i don't like it quite so much now but still enjoy its vibe.

boy with the blues - really average and forgetable

bring it on down - fuck yes. big big tune.

I remember seeing them open with bring it on down in Dublin in...2003 (? I think) after having opened with hello for that whole tour. It took me a good 30 seconds to recognize what they were playing, and once I did, it all kicked off. just a fantastic tune.

Better Man - Pointless

Bonehead's Bank Holiday - It's the sort of cheap shot melody Noel could knock out for fun. Fun being the operative word. I like it.

BOADC - Use to convince myself I loved it. Nowadays, I realsied I don't. One of the worst Liam vocals and lyrics and it's just so fucking plodding.

BWTB - Can't remember what it sounds like, can probably guess, don't want to confirm.

Bring It On Down - Love it. How couldn't you love it?

Can Y'See It Now? (I Can See It Now!!)

Japanese bonus track from DBTT - an almost instrumental that builds from a few tracks to a cacophony, it sounds like Coldplay's Yellow, closing with Noel's distant vocals saying that he can see it, and asking if we can too.

Pretty much a waste of space and time, I've probably only ever played it in full by accident.

Between this and High Horse, I think it's safe to say that my fanboyness won't let me score anything less than a 2/10.

You?

I didn't mind this, as far as the later b-sides went. Think it would have been better without Noel's vocals in the last 30 seconds or so but it was a bit of a departure if still far from the most exciting thing they ever recorded.

Carry Us All


First revealed as part of the SOTSOG demos, this eventually saw release as a b-side to Sunday Morning Call. Semi acoustic slow burner from Noel, it's the most political Oasis track to date, taking aim at religion and political movements in general really - "everyone's talking 'bout a quick sure fire solution, but faith in any God will only bury us all. No one's gonna fight in your ten bob revolution - have faith in what you've got and it will carry us all" - it's as political and of a similar bent to the Beatles' Revolution which is essentially a conservative anthem - Noel famously blasted Revolution out of his home hi-fi upon Blair being elected in 1997; quite telling.

I'm as left as they come, but I have to appreciate this track for the "faith in any God" bit - it's decent musically, better than most of the SOTSOG b-sides - it's a 7/10 from me.

All y'all?

Horrific.

Aids on toast.

Can Y'See It Now? - decent if not spectacular that I'd listen to again

Carry Us All - now then, this is the only song from the Giants era which I don't rate in terms of the production. Why? Because I've always loved the demo and this stripped back version sounds far superior. The demo sees Noel at his very best both singing from the heart without any daft vocal effects, plus this has great lyrics - you can tell he really means what he's singing around this time, brotherhood of man and such. Does this genuinely contain the line I slit my skin too? Holy fuck. The verse, bridge and chorus get me equally as hooked layered above those lo-fi drums and guitars. So yeah, the demo is a personal favourite of mine as I find the eventual b-side too clustered and full on (lolz). I've pulled me fucking groin.