Oasis A to Z

Shame on you Lino, Carry Us All over Bring it on Down


Can you see it now - *quite* like this, it's whole discordant nature and all that. It doesn't really go anywhere though

Carry us all - pleasant enough for a late-era Noel sung b-side, Noel puts in a half decent vocal. Still bang average though.

Thus far in this thing i'd categorise my picks thusly...

Like:

I GOT DA FEVER
IT'S GOOD 2-B3
ACQUIESCE
ALIVE EIGHT TRACKS DEMO
BAG IT UP
BE ERE NOW
BRING IT ON DOWN

(7)

Meh:

A BELL WILL RING
AIN'T GOT NUTTIN
BOY WIT DA BLUES
BORN ON A DIFF CLOUD
CAN YA SEE IT NOW (COZ I CAN)
CARRY US ALL

(6)

Dislike:

FAGZ IN HELL
HIGH HORSE
ALL IN DA MIND
U'VE GOT DA HEART OF A STAR
KWIK PEEP
ANGEL CHILD
BETTER MAN

(7)

Typical Oasis I guess, they bang out as much average stuff and as much shit as the good stuff.

Agree about Carry Us All - mid-tempo, semi-acoustic Noel ballads aren't what I go to Oasis for but this one has a catchy enough melody and is infinitely better than some of the other dross he put out around the same time. I'll probably listen to it about once every three years.

Bring it on down vs. Carry Us All - yeah, I don't have the same affinity for a lot of those DM album tracks - as you'll see about 4 songs from now...

Cast No Shadow

At one time this was seen by edgelords as the superior ballad to Wonderwall as far as WTSMG is concerned - it's not tho.

Decently pretty acoustic ballad (non-romantic), sung really well by Liam - the backing vocals from Noel don't intrude. Dedicated and inspired by Richard Ashcroft somehow, it's about someone who's lost their soul to the point that they cast no shadow. Not something you'd expect a fellow to recover from, yet the Verve were a few years away from a commercial and creative peak.

That typical Noel theme of escape appears again - "Bound to all the places that he never wished to stay", and there's a weather reference.

It's quite repetitive, with both verses repeated.

7/10 (would be a 5 sung by anyone else)

I don't think Cast No Shadow has aged particularly well. It is rather repetitive and can't stand up to multiple plays in the way other MG tracks can. Saying that, credit must go Alan White as his drums are great and the overall production is lush.

Love it still. A dreamy lush ballad with great vocals, nailed backing harmonies, bone idle guitars and top drumming - especially love the thrashing in the outro. Tunes like this and Hey Now! give a wonderful balance to that record.



Wouldn't quite agree with that interpretation, they were mates after all. I'd say it's about Ashcroft being on a pedestal somewhat to the point he's got superpowers - or something slightly less gay sounding, but you get my point.

Champagne Supernova

Epic closer to the band's second album, filled with nonsense lyrics that exist to use the vocals as an instrument, this is classic Oasis that stands the test of time. "Where were you while we were getting high?" was apparently an in-joke reference; something Noel et al would say to acquaintances - it works though.

Each line in isolation can seem profound, especially when sung by Liam (it's his super-power). How many special people change? What's being suggested here? Many? None? Gravity's a foreign concept here (DRUGS) as someone's suggesting they'll be found under a landslide that somehow is also in the sky.

Trippy stuff.

The music is perfect (Weller helped), and the repetition's apt since we're kind of existing outside of space and time anyway.

Good video to go along with it (despite Liam's beard), and one of two singles to be released only in Australia, this is a 10/10.

Especially great is the Knebworth version with John Squire - the long instrumental section sounding like the soundtrack to the apocalypse.

I'll say it again - 10/10.

Cast No Shadow is a solid album track, but something I'd never think to listen to on its own. Probably just about the only song on WTSMG where you can hear Guigsy's bass, too.

When I was a teenager I genuinely thought Champagne Supernova was the best song ever written. It isn't.

Hey lino! It would be real cool if you could you put an index in your first post of all the tracks you've covered so far along with your rating, and keep it upto date with each entry.

(As Long As They've Got) Cigarettes in Hell
Liked it when it when I first heard it 'cos it was Oasis and it was new.  Not so much now.  It's embarrassingly bad.  Production-wise, you can tell it's from SOTSOG-era Oasis.
FOUR

(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady
Don't mind this.  It's a bit plodding I suppose but has potential.  There must be some decent remixes out there?
FIVE POINT FIVE

(I Got) The Fever
Now you're talking.  Big, loud, in your face.  Verses full of swagger, chorus full of FUCKING JOY.
EIGHT

(It's Good) To Be Free
One of the moodiest things Oasis ever did.  Love the vibe of this one and totally different from anything they'd done up to this point.
EIGHT POINT FIVE

(Probably) All in the Mind
A guilty pleasure, I must admit.  It's become almost cliche to say for an Oasis tune but it's SO SUMMERY and reminds me of being young and carefree, drinking Stella in the garden while my mate danced on top of our shed.
SEVEN

(You've Got) The Heart of a Star
Piss poor.
ONE

A Bell Will Ring
I remember hearing them do this at Glasto for the first time and it was horrible as all fuck.  Found out it was going to be on DBTT and didn't have high hopes but it turned out pretty well.  The guitar sound is very Revolver.
SIX POINT FIVE

A Quick Peep
Pointless and maddening.
ONE

Acquiesce
Classic.  Nothing else I can say really.
TEN

Ain't Got Nothin'
Liam-by-numbers, but it's got balls.  Lyrics are honking but I still don't mind this.
SIX

Alive
A very different sound for Oasis.  I reckon this could've been really good had they done it properly in the studio.  As it is, it's a glimpse into what could have been.
SIX POINT FIVE

All Around the World
Big fan of this.  Yes, it's long and totally overblown but it epitomises Be Here Now perfectly.  It's a fucking anthem in my eyes.
NINE

All Around the World (Reprise)
In the real world, it's a bit pointless.  But in the world where Oasis put this album together it is absolutely necessary and sounds fucking amazing after 20 cans of Red Stripe and 50 lines of coke.
FOUR

Angel Child
Reminds me how much I hate Noel's voice.  He sounds like he's being fucking KILLED on this.
TWO

Champagne Supernova is overwrought, overproduced and overlong. It's lyrics are largely absolute tosh. I still like it, even if I would never choose to play it. It's been ruined by too many plays in pubs and crap nightclubs. But there's no denying it's a genuine anthem and a touchstone for the mid-90s.

Champagne Supernova is one of my 10 favourite songs ever, no doubt.

Cast No Shadow is a pretty cool track and one that I really used to enjoy on every live rendition, both by Noel and Liam.

Champagne Supernova encapsulates every sound I've ever wanted to hear within a single song. It's beautiful, rocking, delicate, carefree and flows as effortlessly as the blood after a shotgun to the heart. I could never pick a favourite Oasis song but this is as near perfect as you'll ever get.

That's a lovely thing to say sully

That's beautiful, Sully.



Will do.

Cigarettes & Alcohol

The final single from DM, the fourth, the only one released after the album came out it still charted really well - borrowing heavily from T-Rex's Bang a gong, it's as close to an overtly political statement from Oasis in song until Carry us all 6 years and three albums later.

Opening with the faders turned all the way up, hissing away, drumstick taps to count us in, we get Liam's vocal contortions stretching out "aggravation", "situation", and of course "shine" in a fashion that wasn't apparent in the demo. Life sucks; get drunk and high is the message - perfect for a début album from a young band about to say goodbye to all the hard times.

It's a 7/10.

You?

I find it staggering how you could ever rate Cigarettes & Alcohol lower than a 10.

The kind of intro you could punch your granny to. 10/10.

I've added running summaries to the initial post. A thread average score (based on my interpretation if an actual X/10 wasn't left) excluding my mark is also shown.

Cloudburst

A Live Forever B-side, borrowing heavily from The Stone Roses' I'm Standing Here melody-wise it's weather-reference dense, with talk of getting older - two big Noel themes from early on.

Liam's got his sneer on - "Brings on the chee-ange", "brings on the ra-eeen", and we get a "shee-ine" as well.

It would have fit well on Definitely Maybe, and is certainly better overall than several album tracks.

It's not great though; I afford it a 6/10.

You guys?

The Familiar to Millions version of Cigs&Alcohol is absolutely mind blowing. Always thought the song's power really comes out when done live. The studio version is still great, mind.