Review Summary: Britpop at it's peak
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you inspiration from the greatest band in history ( Beatles ) you, the middle class teen living in Manchester, you make Oasis.
Exploding onto the scene during the invasion of britpop into radio airwaves, Oasis enjoyed moderate success with their release of their debut record 'Definitely Maybe' , but what really got them into the hearts of many was this fine record: a whirlwind of some of the most emotional songs you'll ever hear in your life.
This album is all about emotion, and if you don't feel even a tickle in your heart when listening to ditties like 'Wonderwall' or 'Champagne Supernova' , I'd have to question your humanity, or lack of it. Noel's lead layered on top of the rhythm and bass create such a devastating harmony that only the pretentious Lennon-esque whine of Liam can come on top of.
Most of the time, you're treated to a barrage of different melodies co-existing in the ecosystem of the song, where the isolation of a single instrument without anything to support it being at best, uncommon. Songs are always come thick and textured in What's the Story, there is never a selfish absolute solo wherein one member plays and everyone else sits back and get shunned out of the limelight, melodies, as I have stated many times in this review, always combine and mesh together to form absolute perfection of music, not unlike their gigantic influence: the Beatles. Melody for miles. Melody that doesn't know the meaning of isolation, simplicity and loneliness. Probably the closest thing you'll get to isolation on the album is the solemn acoustic guitar intro of Wonderwall.
This album isn't exactly reminiscent of any particular Beatles song or album, but rather feels like a big experiment to show you, the listener how the Beatles would sound like today: powerful, egocentric and anthemic. A lot of songs in this album deliver the perfect swagger that only a band floating on the cloud of its success could deliver, songs like "Don't Look Back in Anger" or "Some Might Say" just fit into the atmosphere of the stadium perfectly. They all have that one part that could make tens of thousands of people go "*** yeah!" and proceed to sing along, whether it's a solo or a particularly playful lyric. The vocal and instrumental harmonies resonating across the field and touching the hearts of everyone within, fans and haters alike. The high pitched guitar squeals and the constant Mancunian whine of Liam take up the high end, Bonehead's chord flurries taking up the middle end and the drum and bass coexisting in the low end. A perfect balance.
As for the lyrics, they never make any sense. At all. But that's the good thing, see, when you listen to an Oasis track, your thoughts are constantly captivated with vivid imagery that varies from person to person, with pivotal lyrics meaning different things to people. "don't look back in anger/I heard you say" could mean that you should keep moving forward to one person, and I'm sorry to another, the nonsensical lyrics are just perfect, there's no specific meaning shoved down your throat to digest, it's up to you, the listener to interpret the song. And that's how there's so much emotion in this album, if not all of their albums.
This album is great, extremely catchy, and a must for the average rock n' roll fan to get. Rock n' roll perfection.
