history as it happened

howdy pop pickers

well, with all that Oasis "reunion" tour going well (at least thus far, look you see) i figured why not do a post on a subject that has probably been done by someone else before. quite likely that they were more better and writing that me, and used "proper" pictures to illustrate it. 

up to now it is so that Oasis have played the exact same set on each night of the tour (wisely, you would think, so no fans who have paid ££££££ can moan someone else got a "better" set) and, i think, all but one song in that set comes from their first three (3) albums. there will be cynics and what have you commenting on this, but ultimately they are giving fans what they want. 

something i have found kind of interesting with these first 3 (three) albums is how they "accidentally" recorded their own history in the album covers. not sure if the designs were ever deliberate or not, and to be honest it doesn't matter. it's just always been kind of cool that you can view the artwork this way. 

the only sensible place to start with this (which i hope makes sense, or at least does by the end) is of course with their debut album, Definitely Maybe. sure, there was a distinct buzz around the band, and a reasonable expectation of them being decent, but they weren't "massive" at that stage. 

and so as you can see (in VHS mode) the album cover shows what's effectively (or actually) a gang of mates hanging around in one of their flats, having a drink, smoking inside (!) and watching a video of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly whilst holding aspirations of being a rock and roll band. 

essentially Definitely Maybe depicts thousands upon thousands of gangs of mates, whiling away time whilst aspiring for something else. this is how it was for decades. some went nowhere fast, others were bored before they even began, a select few "made it" and a slight percentage became massive. the latter is what very much happened to Oasis with this album and then, in particular, the follow up.

from what i recall Definitely Maybe was a huge seller. it became the "biggest selling British debut album of all time", a title which i think Frankie Goes To Hollywood held. so, with success of that nature came the inevitable. it was so that any "northern" band (or artist) that made it big, or got a decent level of success, would (more or less) immediately relocate to London (innit). this is a path laid down by The Beatles and followed many others. so it makes sense (and yes, i know that's none of the band on the cover) to have (What's The Story) Morning Glory depict that most bohemian, artsy, rock and roll and absolutely sordidly sleazy area of London that is my much beloved Soho. 

oddly the music press did not, at first, care for (What's The Story) Morning Glory. it got reviews along the lines of 5 - 7 out of 10, with some dismissing them as just doing "more of the same", or suggesting it was obvious that the debut was a "fluke" and all they had to offer. not so, according to the fans, with many of the songs becoming national anthems and the records selling by the (very large) truck load. as it happens quite a few in the press went back and "revised" their opinions. fancy that. 

it was so that the success of (What's The Story) Morning Glory made Oasis one of the biggest bands in the world. when quizzed about the "battle of the bands" between Blur and Oasis, Noel said that Blur were "not really their competition", stating the aim was to be "as big as REM or U2", who at the time could easily claim the "biggest band" title. relevance here is that by the time of the (hugely anticipated) third album they were selling out Knebworth and any other venue, and things like the single of Wonderwall were selling a million copies a week. so of course Be Here Now shows the band as owners of mansions (or a "country pile") with a Rolls Royce thrown in the pool because, hey, rock and roll. 

no, i really don't think there was a "masterplan" (ahem) with the album covers, it's just class that it all happened in a way they can feasibly be viewed this way. as i have said time and again one of the biggest losses to the world with all this "streaming" rubbish is the disappearance of considered, quality album artwork. this is but one of many examples of how cool record covers can be. 

finally, and for the record, Be Here Now is nowhere near as "bad" as Noel Gallagher or anyone else would have you believe. either give it a spin or, if you like, read more here. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!