Over these last few years, I’ve made it one of my missions to give Brit-pop a second chance. Before 2020 my affection for Oasis was pretty slim at best. I liked a small handful of their tunes, but I never investigated the band and their history in any kind of way. Oasis have become a band I hold a lot of love and appreciation for. And on this journey to learn more about who they were, I took the time to listen to all their studio albums. I won’t sugarcoat it though, not all of their albums were really that superb. But, their mediocre work is better than what most musicians now can muster on their good days. I also had the thought ages ago, before I became acquainted with their story, that they were just John Lennon copies trying to show off. I mean sure it’s very obvious that Oasis took inspiration from The Beatles (and Liam Gallagher even claimed that while high he said John Lennon himself came to him and said he was his reincarnation). But we need to give Oasis credit where it’s justly do. They created a whole genre in the 90s in Britain during a time in the world where grunge music was king in the United States and beyond. The UK was trying to find its way through the decade and keep up with the ever changing music industry. Bands like Blur, Pulp, and Oasis brought something fresh to the table. Brit-pop was the biggest thing, and Oasis was untouchable.
The main Mancunians behind Oasis are brothers Noel (guitarist and songwriter) and Liam Gallagher (vocalist), Bonehead (guitarist), Guisgy (bassist), and Tony McCarroll (drums). Tony was eventually fired from the group by the time their third album was underway so he was replaced by Alan White. Gem Archer (guitarist) also came on the scene when Bonehead left his post during recording of their fourth album.
Before I dive into their discography I want to say I obviously recommend Oasis to everybody. Not many people in the US these days seem to care about brit-pop as a whole, and most only perpetuate the “Anyway, here’s Wonderwall” meme. But I seriously suggest you give Oasis a chance if you’re ignorant to their music as I once was, and if you’re genuinely looking for some good tunes. There are some fantastic gems hidden in these albums.
- Artist: Oasis
- Origin: Manchester, UK
- Genre: Brit-Pop, Rock
- Years Active: 1991 – 2009
- Number of Current Studio Albums: 7 (plus 1 – their highly popularized B-Sides album The Masterplan)
8. Heathen Chemistry (2002)
Man, I had high hopes for Heathen Chemistry because the legendary Manc guitarist Johnny Marr of The Smiths was featured on this album. But even he couldn’t save this. I’ll start with probably the most offensive part about this album. Heathen Chemistry ends with a 38 minute song. Yes you read that right. That one song is generally what most typical album’s run for…but they slapped it as one song at the very end. I want to know who among them thought that was a good idea. Because I can assure you that I wasn’t even bothered to listen to the song to see what it was about. That would have been a task within itself. But with that aside, I overall just thought this album was mediocre. Nothing special about this one. I didn’t find any standout songs on here either. The 2000s was a strange period for Oasis as they were trying to find their foothold on Brit-pop when it was already out of fashion. If you’re a completist like myself then of course give this one a listen. Otherwise i’d suggest giving it a pass.
7. Don’t Believe The Truth (2005)
I thought Don’t Believe The Truth was just a smidge above Heathen Chemistry. The main song from this album I thought was worth mentioning to listen to was The Importance Of Behind Idle. Unfortunately, I thought this album was very one dimensional. There was no back to form, or even experimentation. They played it a little too safe with this one. And as a result, my takeaway from this album was that it was one note. Monotone is the best word I can use to describe it. It’s not completely unlistenable though! Just not their best work. Again my point stands that most of their albums from the 2000s were a bit confusing music wise, and this album really didn’t land for me.
6. Standing On the Shoulders of Giants (2000)
I feel a bit deceived by this album! The opening track “Fuckin In The Bushes” was so good! It was rocking, it introduced the album perfectly. I was so excited to see what more it had to offer. But then it completely faltered from there. Being as this is their debut to the new century, they did try to experiment on this one the most. There’s elements of blues and psychedelia thrown in. Oasis just doesn’t work when you try to hodge podge other genres like that into it, for the most part. The obvious musical inspirations they used for this album are The Beatles with a bit of a Magical Mystery Tour vibe, and The Doors. Any brit-pop element they had on their previous albums were stripped back on here. I can commend them for trying to acclimate to the future when they were once the rulers of Britain in the 90s, but this album just doesn’t work. Concept was great, execution not too much. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants just leaves me with more questions than satisfaction. The songs I enjoyed the most on this were Fuckin In The Bushes, Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is, and Gas Panic.
5. Be Here Now (1997)
Be Here Now is the third album from Oasis, and it was their last studio album from the 90s. I like the album artwork of this one. It’s definitely different and unique! If I know Oasis, they were sure to put little inside jokes and Easter eggs in this album cover that makes reference to the contents in the lyrics for Be Here Now. But that aside, I thought this album was just descent. There were some great standout tunes on here. But as a whole I wasn’t really taken aback by it. It didn’t wow me in any particular way. Safe to say this was a straightforward, middle of the road rock album. A lot of the tracks on here were also quite long which got boring quickly for me. I think their golden timestamp for a song is around 4 minutes. With the exception of long tunes like Champagne Supernova, when they stretch out a song for too long it can really be a drag. And unfortunately that’s mostly where this album lets down. Not to mention this is a more subdued Oasis as compared to their first two albums. A bit less of that raw rock n roll grit, and more eased up rock. But Be Here Now is by no means a bad album. Just not their absolute best. The songs I enjoyed on this album were “D’Ya Know What I Mean?”, “Stand By Me”, and “I Hope, I Think, I Know”.
4. Dig Out Your Soul (2008)
FINALLY!! The modern Oasis album I was dying for on this listening journey through their discography. I was starting to worry that their albums from the 2000s would just be not that good. I’m very happy to report that Dig Out Your Soul killed it. It delivered everything that I was looking for from Oasis during this era. Unfortunately, it was their last album before their breakup. Dig Our Your Soul brought some feelgood rock n roll tracks that we all love Oasis for. This was a nice breath of fresh air to listen to after some of these previous albums on this list. The hard part is actually telling you which tracks on here were standouts, which is a welcomed problem to have. Tunes to keep an eye out for on this album are The Turning, The Shock of the Lightning, I’m Outta Time, and To Be Where There’s Life.
I put I’m Outta Time to showcase here because Liam sounds lovely on this track. It’s just simply gorgeous. And while it’s not a rocking tune, it’s mega. And upon listening to this one again as I write this, I can clearly hear now that there’s a piano section that’s inspired by John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”.
3. The Masterplan (1998)
Now like I mentioned earlier, The Masterplan is their compilation album comprised of unreleased B-Sides from their 3 big albums in the 90s. So…technically this isn’t a studio album. However, The Masterplan is one of their highest rated albums so I thought it was only fair to throw this one in the mix. I can’t even recall the last time that a B-Sides album caught my attention before this one fell into my lap. Each song on The Masterplan is fantastic! And to think these were B-Sides that would have been left on the cutting room floor. There are some big hits on this album, and this does supersede Be Here Now PLUS 95% of their albums from the 2000s by ten fold. It’s just genuinely fantastic. There’s also a really cool cover of I Am The Walrus on here too that’s pretty good! Some of my favorite tunes on here are Acquiesce, Fade Away, Stay Young, and The Masterplan. But honestly this whole album is full of class songs.
2. Definitely Maybe (1994)
Definitely Maybe is arguably one of Oasis’ best albums ever. And by all accounts it’s one of the greatest rock albums period. A lot of people claim this one to be their favorite amongst their discography. And of course, I can’t even deny the power this album holds. Need I remind everybody that Definitely Maybe was the band’s debut album. Imagine for a moment you’re an unknown indie band from Manchester, trying to break out into the difficult music scene, and THIS is your introduction to the world at large. That’s a grand feat they achieved. They were not playing around with Definitely Maybe. They were seriously setting the stage for brit-pop to be ushered in for a new generation of kids. And Oasis has remained truly one of the more modern bands that has maintained the rock era of music that embodied drugs, sex, and rock n roll. And by all accounts it totally smashed records and propelled them into stardom within the UK. However, there is a caveat to this. I have to consider what this album makes me feel, versus the album that places at number 1 spot (by process of elimination you obviously know what that will be). I bow down to Definitely Maybe, but this is only my number 2 placement. But even then this album ranks very high in the grand scheme of things.
1. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
And here we are, at the number 1 spot. It’s hard for me to accurately put into words what I feel about Morning Glory. This album is really hard to beat when it comes to solid rock albums, and albums in general. From start to finish, Morning Glory delivers on the cohesive theme it set for itself and it comes across like a wonderful novel you want to read over and over again. Or your favorite film you know all the words to, but yet you still watch it anyway despite knowing how it ends. I can’t think of a single bad tune on this album. I think Morning Glory is Oasis at their peak. Definitely Maybe set the bar really high, but this album totally blew it out of the water. And while Definitely Maybe was their more “indie” and completely raw masterpiece, Morning Glory was still rocking but a lot more polished. They got a handle on how to be in the recording studio and came up with some amazing tracks. Dare I say this is one of the best albums of all time. It has a lot of their big hits on it like Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger, and Champagne Supernova. It flows effortlessly and it’s beautifully produced. Liam’s voice is prime gorgeousness, instrumentation is on point. I mean…what more can I even say about it?? Morning Glory is one of my most loyal companions and it brings me a sense of familiarity and comfort when I need it. It’s like home for me. Simply amazing. My heart is forever with (What’s The Story) Morning Glory.
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