I Swear It’s True: Jason Cropper

The original bassist for Weezer was born on June 27, 1971 in Oakland, California. He was a founding member present at the band’s first practice on Valentine’s Day 1992. He recorded with the group on their first three demo tapes before the group officially signed with Geffen Records. During the recording of the Blue Album, Cropper learned that his girlfriend Amy Wellner had become pregnant. This news immediately affected Cropper’s behavior on a daily basis eventually disrupting the recording environment for Weezer. The decision to fire the guitarist came when he arrived in New York for recording without telling anyone with no place to stay. The final decision was up to Cuomo, who made the call without a second thought. Karl Koch, frequent Weezer partner, said, “He wasn't handling it well ... he always said he was fine, and then 20 minutes later he'd be up on the roof of Electric Lady screaming or something." Cropper would later say that Rivers told him that his behavior was putting the recording process into jeopardy, which could not continue. In 2014, the former Weezer member said that he agreed with the decision to dismiss him. In 2019, he elaborated on it saying the fact that his girlfriend visited the studio broken a golden rule set forth by Cuomo. Matt Sharp disagreed saying that it was not one thing, but instead a series of “minor infractions” that caused the decision to be made. Apparently, Cuomo wanted a change to be made before they shot the album cover, instead of after having to explain his presence on the cover. This was a very good decision on his part now knowing how iconic that release has become over time. Ironically, Cropper did receive a songwriting credit on the track “My Name Is Jonas” for the opening bassline. A deluxe version of the Blue Album would be released and the vinyl edition included the track “Jamie” that had guitar and backing vocals from Cropper. Rivers and Jason still remained friends with the latter attending the singer’s wedding in 2006.

After Weezer, the musician and his wife Amy Wellner-Cropper formed the group Chopper One. The single “Free Lunch” would be released in 1995 followed by the group’s debut album, Now Following in 1997. The couple had three children together, but divorce between 2004-2005. After the end of Chopper One, the bassist helped to form the band, Fliptop, which released an ep and played a few local Vans Warped dates. In 2003, he sang the theme song for the short lived sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Beginning in 2006, Cropper began posting new music on MySpace, while also producing the second album from Atlanta group, Buffalo Alice. He also helped with their songwriting, while even being listed for a short time on their website as the band’s bass player. In 2020, the guitarist appeared on the Rivers Cuomo hosted podcast, Island in the Zoom, as well as We'z Talkin' Weez' 2 podcast analyzing the group’s catalog. In July 2020, he released his first ever solo single, “The Golden Hour.” The vinyl edition of Van Weezer, the band’s 15th album, included the track “I’ve Thrown It All Away,” which was a reworked early 1990’s track that gave the bassist a songwriting credit.

I Swear Its True: Mikey Welsh

Michael Edward Welsh was born on April 20, 1971 in Syracuse, New York. His music career began by playing in a number of Boston area groups such as Heretix, Chevy Heston, Jocobono, Left Nut, and Slower. He also played bass on tour for Juliana Hatfield and Verbena. In 1997, he joined the short lived side project, The Rivers Cuomo Band. A year later, Welsh joined Weezer replacing departing bassist and founding member, Matt Sharp. He continued to play with Juliana Hatfield and Verbona as Weezer continued to remain on hiatus. The guitarist also played with Patrick Wilson’s side project, The Special Goodness. At this time, he wrote a tremendous amount of original baselines that he sent to Cuomo for inspiration, but the singer never used any of them. He also sent them to Juliana Hatfield, which were used on four tracks on the album Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure. Mikey toured with Weezer beginning in the summer of 2000, His first appearance on any Weezer release was the Christmas ep at the end of the year. He would tour with Weezer in support of the Green Album after playing bass on the release. In 2001, Welsh sadly suffered a mental breakdown, newly diagnosed mental health issues brought on by heavy drug use, and the stress of touring with the band. Mikey left Weezer after he attempted suicide with a drug overdose. The musician talked about that period in his life in an interview in 2007. ‘

Basically, a lifetime of doing drugs and being undiagnosed as having bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder finally caught up with me when I was 30 years old. At the beginning of a 3-month European tour with Weezer, I started slowly falling apart. Without getting too graphic, by the time the tour was winding up, my weight had gone down to about 140lbs (I'm 6'2") [63,5 kg – 1,88 m] and mentally completely wiped out. When I returned to the States, my family had made plans for me to see a psychiatrist in Boston. First though, we had to play a few dates around the U.S., and perform on The Tonite (sic) Show (which ended up being my last performance with Weezer). By the time I got to Boston, I was having a complete nervous breakdown. It ended with a severe suicide attempt (an overdose). I was found and rushed to the hospital where I had come to within minutes of my heart completely stopping. I was in a coma for a few days, and woke up in a lockdown psychiatric ward.”

For their part, Weezer shot a new video for the track “Island in the Sun” without Welsh, but not his replacement Scott Shriner either. Between 2001 and 2002, the guitarist returned to the Boston area joining the Kickovers, a group led by Nate Albert of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. This return to music was short-lived as Welsh announced his retirement from music altogether shortly thereafter. He would move to Vermont with his family to work as a full-time artist. Welsh would attend a Weezer show in 2005 when Rivers Cuomo dedicated their performance of “Hash Pipe” to him. In 2010, the former musician actually performed with Weezer for a show in Essex Junction, Vermont for “Hash Pipe.” In 2008, Mikey began public exhibits of his art totaling 13 before his untimely passing.This is an excerpt from the description on his site, “Welsh attacks his canvases with pure spontaneity and aggression, almost never using a brush and preferring to work only with his hands and fingers”.His artwork would be used on a Burton snowboard called “The Farm.” In September 2011, Mikey Welsh wrote this on his Twitter…"dreamt i died in chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will today." He passed away in a Chicago hotel room on October 11 from a heart attack induced by a heroin overdose.

I Swear Its True: Brian Bell

The Weezer rhythm guitarist was born on December 9, 1968 in Iowa City, Iowa. He would be raised in Knoxville, Tennessee as his father worked as a professor of geography at the University of Tennessee. His mother served as an assistant principal at a local elementary school. The first concert he ever attended happened to be Elvis Presley. His mother forced him to take piano lessons despite his strong interest in learning guitar. He did not begin taking instruction on the guitar until his freshman year in high school. His mother believed that Brian would not practice enough at a younger age. His instructor for guitar was Ben Bolt, a Knoxville musician. One of his first bands had the name of Blooshroom, which he later described as “Pink Floyd meets the Stooges.” Upon graduation from Bearden High School in 1987, Bell made the decision to forego college instead moving to Los Angeles to attend G.I.T. In 1991, the guitarist joined the group Carnival Art, which would be signed to the independent label, Beggars Banquet. The band would release three studio albums and an EP before being dropped by the label due to poor sales. As his current band slowly imploded, Bell began to hang with members of what would become Weezer. “They started playing on the scene, and I instantly saw something unique in them. I didn't necessarily want to be in their band. They were for some reason, in with the wrong crowd and playing at the wrong venues. I wanted to help them out any way I could and I wanted to play a show with them." In mid 1991, he officially quit Carnival Art when a short time later Bell was asked to join Weezer by Rivers Cuomo. As a member of Weezer, he is credited for guitar on the blue album, but he only performed backing vocals as Rivers Cuomo had already done all the parts played by former member, Jason Cropper. Bell has served for a long time as the group’s multi-instrumentalist playing other things like harmonica when a song requires it. He has even contributed to some songwriting in Weezer’s catalog including “We Are All on Drugs” and “This Is Such a Pity.”

Over the years, Bell has also led another musical project called Space Twins, which began in 1993 with the most recent release an album in 2003. As early as 2006, the guitarist has said that he has no plans to pursue anything else at the present time. In 2007, Brian contributed to a new music project called the Relationship, which was produced by Weezer engineer Eric J. Rivers Cuomo and Bell cowrote a track for the group that premiered on MySpace entitled “Hand to Hold.” The song was reworked after first being worked on during the recording sessions for Make Believe in 2001. The group released its most recent album in 2017 entitled Clara Obscura. As noted earlier, Bell along with Patrick Wilson had a cameo in the 2006 film, Factory Girl as Lou Reed. The guitarist has shown interest in working on a musical project related to William Shakespeare. In 2003 and 2004, he and his girlfriend Peggie Nunez spent time studied the bard and poetry at a local college. The two even performed in the school’s version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Bell is going to try his hand at producer for the group, Ultra Sonic Edukators on their next release. As for preference in guitars, he exclusively uses Gibson Guitars with his current instrument being a 2001 Gibson Explorer. He discovered the guitar in the basement of singer Rivers Cuomo. In November 2006, Lyon Guitars (Washburn) released a limited edition series designed in the style of Bell’s preferred instrument, which he hand signed ten guitars for the company.

I Swear It’s True: Patrick Wilson

The future drummer of Weezer was born February 1, 1969 in Buffalo, New York. He would actually be raised in the city of Clarence. At the age of seven, he purchased his first record (Barry Manilow). His first concert at the age of 15 attending Van Halen did help to inspire him to become much more serious towards music. Immediately after the show, he began taking drum lessons. By his senior year at Clarence High School, he and friend Greg Czarnecki were teaching drums to younger students. He did attend college for a semester after graduation, but dropped out after one semester. “College is such bunk. Too much politics and jockeying for favor. I just couldn't do it. College is great if you want to learn, but that's not what college is about, it's about making your professor happy and getting good grades and getting into IBM. Any place that says that they're only accepting college graduates is not a place I'm very interested in being." At the age of 21, Wilson moved to Los Angeles after a bit of persuasion from his friend Patrick Finn. Shortly after the move, he joined a temporary band called Bush, but not the one fronted by Gavin Rossdale. Yet, he did meet future Weezer bass guitarist Matt Sharp while playing in the group. In early 1991, Patrick started another group with Finn called Sixty Wrong Sausages. At the same time, he played in another group called Fuzz with future Weezer lead singer and songwriter Rivers Cuomo. The drummer would later say in an interview, “By the time I had met Matt Sharp, and we were trying to figure out something to do. We had a lot of passion and interested in certain kinds of music, but we didn't know how that was going to translate into what we were going to do. So we met Rivers – 'He's got an 8-track, let's get with him' – and we convinced him to move into this apartment with us. Rivers was just starting to write songs and he asked me to play drums on a song for him. That turned into a band called Fuzz, with this girl bass player. That was pretty cool, but it had to die."

In 1991, Sharp would move north to Berkley, while Wilson and Cuomo moved to separate residences. Patrick began to play in a variety of groups including the Dum Dums and United Dirt. Around the same time, Cuomo and Wilson began what they called a 50 song project intending to write fifty songs no matter what. This project would produce tracks like "Undone—The Sweater Song," "My Name Is Jonas," "Lullaby For Wayne," and "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here." Eventually, Cuomo, Wilson, and Jason Cropper would run into Sharp once again, which led to him listening to the results of the fifty song project. He was so impressed that the guitarist moved back to Los Angeles to join the group.

In the course of his time with Weezer, Patrick Wilson not only played drums, but cowrote three tracks including "The World has Turned and Left Me Here," "Surf Wax America," "My Name is Jonas.” Patrick also had a penchant for performing crazy stunts throughout the years on skateboards, bicycles, and scooters. Many of these stunts would be recorded and can be seen on the 2004 dvd, Video Capture Device. He has also played acoustic guitar on tour most notable with the song “Photograph,” followed by the drummer leading the band into a cover of Blur’s “Song 2.” Wilson made his debut on the band’s third self-titled album with the track “Automatic.” He would go on to perform vocally on multiple b-sides for the Red Album including "Life's What You Make It" (a Talk Talk cover), a cover of "Love My Way" by The Psychedelic Furs, and Gary Numan's "Are 'Friends' Electric? During a performance in 2009, Wilson played guitar for the majority of their performance because Rivers Cuomo had expressed an interest in moving around more while on stage. The drummer also has his own band called The Special Goodness. He writes most of the music, sings lead, and plays most of the instruments in the studio. In 1995, he played drums for the Rentals on their debut release, Return of the Rentals. In the 2004 film Factory Girl, Brian Bell and Wilson recorded a cover of the Velvet Underground for the film. They were also given cameo roles in the film as John Cale and Lou Reed. In 1994, he married his wife Jennifer, who sadly passed away in 2013 from cancer. He has two sons Charlie (2004) and Ian (2008). The drummer would remarry in 2015 to his current wife Camille, which has since produced a son Cruz in 2016.

I Swear It’s True: Scott Shriner

The third bass guitarist for Weezer was born on June 11, 1965 in Toledo, Ohio. He would first start playing bass in high school, but stepped from any pursuit after graduation joining the Marine Corps. Upon his discharge from the Marines, he began studying music with his former teacher, Mark Kieswetter. During his time in Toledo until moving to Los Angeles in 1989, he started a band with friend Rob Weaver called the Seventh Wave. Shriner also played in other local bands including The Movers, The Fever, The Theresa Harris Band, and Loved by Millions. His final band concluding his time in Toledo were called “The Great Barbecue Gods.” The guitarist had moved to LA in order to attend the Musicians Institute eventually joining several bands prior to Weezer including Broken, Bomber, Black Elvis, Mystery Train, Electric Love Hogs, Crown and, “most notably, Vanilla Ice's backing band, in support of the rapper's nu metal album Hard to Swallow.” He would join Weezer in the summer of 2001 on a provisional basis after Mikey Welsh had left so abruptly due to personal issues. His first show was at the 2001 KROQ Inland Invasion when security mistakenly thought a man was attacking him on stage, but as it turned out the man was a friend.

Shriner had originally been made only a temporary fill-in, but it soon became clear that Welsh would not be returning, so just prior to the release of Maladroit, he was told of his permanent status within the group. He has now served as the bass player for the longest time in the history of the group. He has even contributed vocal upon occasion to subsequent releases including their covers of “The Weight” by the Band and “Oddfellows Local 151” by REM. He also cowrote and sang lead vocals on “Cold Dark World” for Weezer’s third self-titled album. One notable collaboration for Shriner was performing with the Cars upon their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. His preferred guitars are models made by Fender in 1960 and 1962. In his personal life, Shriner married author Jillian Lauren, who also was a former member of the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei, in Hawaii. In 2007, the guitarist played in a band for the Office Convention with Craig Robinson from the show singing lead for a cover of “Creep” by Radiohead. In 2009, he guest starred in a music video for the band Wells with the track “There’s Something in the Graveyard.” This served as the first footage ever filmed at National Cemetery in Virginia City, Nevada. Shriner has stated that some of his best musical influences were Elvis Costello, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. Although during a Q and A session for the Weezer Cruise in 2012, he did admit to the fact that Elton John was a major influence during his childhood.

I Swear It’s True: Patrick Wilson

The future drummer of Weezer was born February 1, 1969 in Buffalo, New York. He would actually be raised in the city of Clarence. At the age of seven, he purchased his first record (Barry Manilow). His first concert at the age of 15 attending Van Halen did help to inspire him to become much more serious towards music. Immediately after the show, he began taking drum lessons. By his senior year at Clarence High School, he and friend Greg Czarnecki were teaching drums to younger students. He did attend college for a semester after graduation, but dropped out after one semester. “College is such bunk. Too much politics and jockeying for favor. I just couldn't do it. College is great if you want to learn, but that's not what college is about, it's about making your professor happy and getting good grades and getting into IBM. Any place that says that they're only accepting college graduates is not a place I'm very interested in being." At the age of 21, Wilson moved to Los Angeles after a bit of persuasion from his friend Patrick Finn. Shortly after the move, he joined a temporary band called Bush, but not the one fronted by Gavin Rossdale. Yet, he did meet future Weezer bass guitarist Matt Sharp while playing in the group. In early 1991, Patrick started another group with Finn called Sixty Wrong Sausages. At the same time, he played in another group called Fuzz with future Weezer lead singer and songwriter Rivers Cuomo. The drummer would later say in an interview, “By the time I had met Matt Sharp, and we were trying to figure out something to do. We had a lot of passion and interested in certain kinds of music, but we didn't know how that was going to translate into what we were going to do. So we met Rivers – 'He's got an 8-track, let's get with him' – and we convinced him to move into this apartment with us. Rivers was just starting to write songs and he asked me to play drums on a song for him. That turned into a band called Fuzz, with this girl bass player. That was pretty cool, but it had to die."

In 1991, Sharp would move north to Berkley, while Wilson and Cuomo moved to separate residences. Patrick began to play in a variety of groups including the Dum Dums and United Dirt. Around the same time, Cuomo and Wilson began what they called a 50 song project intending to write fifty songs no matter what. This project would produce tracks like "Undone—The Sweater Song," "My Name Is Jonas," "Lullaby For Wayne," and "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here." Eventually, Cuomo, Wilson, and Jason Cropper would run into Sharp once again, which led to him listening to the results of the fifty song project. He was so impressed that the guitarist moved back to Los Angeles to join the group.

In the course of his time with Weezer, Patrick Wilson not only played drums, but cowrote three tracks including "The World has Turned and Left Me Here," "Surf Wax America," "My Name is Jonas.” Patrick also had a penchant for performing crazy stunts throughout the years on skateboards, bicycles, and scooters. Many of these stunts would be recorded and can be seen on the 2004 dvd, Video Capture Device. He has also played acoustic guitar on tour most notable with the song “Photograph,” followed by the drummer leading the band into a cover of Blur’s “Song 2.” Wilson made his debut on the band’s third self-titled album with the track “Automatic.” He would go on to perform vocally on multiple b-sides for the Red Album including "Life's What You Make It" (a Talk Talk cover), a cover of "Love My Way" by The Psychedelic Furs, and Gary Numan's "Are 'Friends' Electric? During a performance in 2009, Wilson played guitar for the majority of their performance because Rivers Cuomo had expressed an interest in moving around more while on stage. The drummer also has his own band called The Special Goodness. He writes most of the music, sings lead, and plays most of the instruments in the studio. In 1995, he played drums for the Rentals on their debut release, Return of the Rentals. In the 2004 film Factory Girl, Brian Bell and Wilson recorded a cover of the Velvet Underground for the film. They were also given cameo roles in the film as John Cale and Lou Reed. In 1994, he married his wife Jennifer, who sadly passed away in 2013 from cancer. He has two sons Charlie (2004) and Ian (2008). The drummer would remarry in 2015 to his current wife Camille, which has since produced a son Cruz in 2016.

He Never Wished To Stay: The Sunrise and Sunset of Oasis

Sunrise

In 1991, Noel Gallagher returned from a tour with Inspiral Carpets to learn from his mother that his brother Liam had been performing in a local band called The Rain. He saw the band play at the Boardwalk, but did not come away from the show thinking the group was all that good. For his part, Liam asked his brother to manage them, but he immediately turned down the offer. Noel eventually agreed to join the group on the condition that he be given complete creative control over the music. He is rumored to have said the rest of the group. “Let me write your songs and I'll take you to superstardom, or else you'll rot here in Manchester.” His early artistic authority over Oasis led to his nickname the Chief. In May 1993, the band got wind that someone from Creation Records would be at King Tut’s in Glasgow, Scotland. They were really not supposed to be on the bill because they were friends with the official band opener. The venue was not going to let them play until that group said if Oasis does not play, we do not play. Coincidentally, a member of that group had dated Creation Records head, Alan McGee. Due to sheer luck, he was in the crowd that night, which led him to signing Oasis a week later hearing their four song set. Noel has claimed that he “bullshitted” his way to a contract because he had only written six songs. McGee does not believe him to this day strongly believing that Noel had at least fifty songs written when he met him. Richard Ashcroft became so enamored with the band that he quickly asked the group to open for his group The Verve on tour. As with everything else Oasis, the name came from both Liam and Noel. The former had suggested it after seeing a poster for Inspiral Carpets his brother had put up in their childhood bedroom. The group had played a show at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, England.

Sunset

The average fan knows that Oasis broke up after a fight between the brothers, but many probably do not know or realize that Noel had quit several times before. The animosity between the two siblings even had a bootleg single released in 1995 that was simply audio of the two arguing called Wibbling Rivalry. During the group’s first tour, Liam made a point to sing the lyrics to Noel’s songs incorrectly just to anger his sibling. This led to Noel quitting the group and escaping to San Francisco to stay with a girl he had met recently. During the recording of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, Noel attacked his brother with a cricket bat after he invited everyone from the local pub to the studio. In 1996, Liam claimed he would not be able to sing for an MTV Unplugged performance due to a sore throat, but then proceeded to heckle his brother from the balcony. Noel got even more angry watching his brother smoke cigarettes and drink beer through the course of the night. One night after drinking heavily in 2000, Liam made a disparaging remark about Noel’s wife and claimed his daughter was illegitimate. The Chief went and head butted his brother, then quit overseas touring. The guitarist would return for the shows scheduled for Ireland and the UK. The two shook hands after the playing of “Acquiesce” at Noel’s first show since returning to band fold. During that final tour in 2009, the two brothers only spoke to each other while on stage. In August, their show in Paris would be cancelled at the last minute due to another fight between the brothers Gallagher. The fight probably would not have been any different than any other time, but this became permanent because Noel felt the other band members and management wholeheartedly took Liam’s side over the dust up. Noel was asked about the chances for a reunion in 2012.

“I last texted Liam at Christmas after the City match. I don't think it's gonna happen. It would be great for everyone else except me. It'd be mega for the millions and millions and for everybody else it would be brilliant, but I wouldn't be very happy about it. I guess you don't know what you're gonna feel like in 20-odd years but right now, I mean I was in Oasis for nearly 20 years. I've been doing what I'm doing now for one year and I'd like to see what it's like to do it for longer. I don't think anyone is pushing for a reunion either. Nobody ever brings it up in any seriousness; I mean Liam does publicly but he says a lot of things publicly. I wouldn't take anything he says seriously."

Since that time, the two have argued with each other publicly through social media and interviews. In 2016, Noel referred to Beady Eye as Manchester’s best Oasis tribute band. Liam continues to this day pleading almost for Noel to participate in an Oasis reunion, but the guitarist is quite content to play music with his High Flying Birds. Liam has even told untruths trying to get Noel to agree to a reunion saying in 2017 that he and his brother had decided upon a truce. The singer would later admit that there had never been one. In 2019, Liam told people that Noel’s wife was holding back any chance for a reunion, but his brother quickly denied any truth to this false rumor.

Married With Children: Liam Gallagher

William John Paul Gallagher or Liam was born on September 21, 1972 in Manchester, England. At the age of ten, his mother Peggy took Liam and his siblings away from his father Thomas for his abuse. After Oasis had become successful, his father appeared at a bar, which caused the singer to later threaten to break his legs on the phone if he ever saw him again. Coincidentally, Noel was the one at that bar, who calmed his brother down to avoid any physical altercation. Liam had a bit of a rebellious youth, especially during his teen years when he had a propensity for stealing bicycles. He would attend St. Bernard’s RC Primary School and St. Barlow’s Catholic High School. A common false story was that at 16 he was expelled for fighting, but he only received a three month suspension eventually receiving his graduation certificate. At a younger age, Liam seemed to enjoy sports more than music until a rival student injured his head with a hammer. He began to be increasingly drawn towards music as an interest, not athletics. The future Oasis frontman fell in love with the idea of being the singer in a rock and roll band. Liam started listening to bands like the Beatles, the Stone Roses, the La's, the Who, the Kinks, the Jam, and T. Rex. By far, his favorite artist emerged as John Lennon, who years later the singer would joke was him just reincarnated. As his interest in music increased, Liam would sometimes assist his brother Noel as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets.

After the breakup of Oasis, Liam started a new band including Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and Chris Sharrock called Beady Eye. He made this brief announcement in November 2009, “Oasis are done, this is something new.” He later went into more detail during an MTV interview. “We've been demoing some songs that we've had for a bit. Just doing that, on the quiet, not making a big fuss about it. After Christmas we might go in the studio and record them and hopefully have an album out in July." One year later Beady Eye released their first singles, “Different Gear” and “Still Rolling.” In February 2011, the group released its debut album entitled Different Gear, Still Speeding. The album had been preceded by the singles. The songwriting on the album is listed as co-writers between Gallagher, Bell, and Archer. Both The Independent and the BBC felt that the album improved upon the final album by Oasis. New Musical Express liked the record’s simple premise, while calling the track “Bring the Light” a very nice surprise. Q and Mojo both agreed that the LP surpassed the expectations before the release thinking that it would not be this good. In March 2012, Liam announced that the group would actually perform Oasis material at their shows beginning with a set before a Stone Roses concert. Speculation soon began and has not stopped since that an Oasis reunion is on its way. The world is still waiting for that reunion, which will probably never take place. In August of that same year, Beady Eye performed “Wonderwall” as part of the Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. Beady Eye’s second album would be released in June 2013 entitled BE. In promotion of the album, the group played a secret show at Glastonbury that year. Unfortunately, the sales of the release proved to be much less than hoped for dashing any plans for a substantial world tour. Unlike the critical response to their debut, BE received more of a mixed reaction with some publications disliking the poor lyrics and shoddy production. In October 2014, Liam announced that he would be disbanding the group permanently.

For the next couple of years, Gallagher resisted putting out a solo album, until he made the decision to put out some solo material in 2017. The singer made it clear that this did not mean he would be embarking on a solo, but simply he a backlog of songs that needed to be done proper. The first single “Wall of Glass” came out in May 2017 coinciniding with a music video for the track. His first show as a solo performer would happen within a month as a fundraiser for victims of the Manchester terror attack. In June, he made a surprise appearance at the One Love benefit concert performing “Live Forever” with Chris Martin of Coldplay. Throughout the summer Liam performed new material at a number of festivals including Glastonbury, Rock am Ring, Benneiscasm, Exit, Reading and Leeds, and Pinkpop. The singer began a set at Lollapalooza but left the stage twenty minutes later apologizing to fans on Twitter citing vocal problems. His debut release As You Were was released in October 2017 confirming a successful comeback for Gallagher as it debuted at number one on the UK charts. As You Were sold the highest number of vinyl records in its first week in over twenty years. He even earned a headline slot at the Isle of Wight festival the following year alongside acts like Kasabian, the Killers, and Depeche Mode. In June 2019, the singer released the first single from his second solo album entitled “Shockwave.” The same day as the release of the single was the release of a documentary entitled As It Was profiling Liam’s road to his first solo and its success. Singles “The River,”“Once,” and “One of Us” followed in the next couple of months prior to the album’s release. Why Me? Why Not would officially come out in September 2019. One month prior Gallagher performed an acoustic show for MTV Unplugged at Hull City Hall bringing things full circle since the early years of Oasis. He would be joined on stage by former Oasis member Bonehead during the show. Most critics reacted positively to the new record feeling that it built upon what he had started with his debut. In January 2020, the singer released an acoustic ep featuring a combination of his solo material and Oasis songs. A third solo album is now in the works entitled C’mon You Know due in May 2022. The first single has been released called “Everything’s Electric,” which he co-wrote and performed with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters.

Throughout the years, Liam Gallagher has gotten into his fair share of trouble. Here are some of the highlights. After an argument on an airline going to Australia over a scone, Liam would be banned from Cathay Pacific Airlines. Around that same time, he would be arrested for head-butting a fan wanting a photograph with him. Criminal charges would be dropped, but the civil case led to Gallagher settling out of court for an undisclosed sum. In 2006, Liam would get into a fight with soccer player Paul Gascogne in a London bar ending with the Oasis frontman setting a fire extinguisher off in his face. In 2010, he accepted the Brit Award for Oasis thanking all the members of the group, except for his brother in a profane speech. He then gave the award to a person in the crowd. As early as 1994, his words were creating quite a stir as noted by his comments about Americans. “Americans want grungy people, stabbing themselves in the head on stage. They get a bright bunch like us, with deodorant on, they don't get it." He also made some negative comments about his brother Noel around that same time leading to Noel leaving for a short time. Some things never change with the Gallagher brothers.

In his personal life, Liam first married actress Patti Kensit in April 1997, but only two months later the singer began an affair with fellow singer Lisa Moorish in Los Angeles. This led to the birth of a daughter that he only first met in 2018. Molly would later changer her surname to Moorish-Gallagher. He and Patti had a son Lennon Francis born in 1999, but the couple divorced in 2000. In 2001, he had a second son with Nicole Appleton, whom he married in 2008 after an eight year courtship. From 2011-2012, Gallagher had an affair with journalist Liza Ghorbani, which led to a daughter Gemma born in 2013. Five months after separating from Appleton the affair was publicly reported just as he had begun to date his personal assistant, Debbie Gwyther. In 2014, the former Oasis frontman moved in with his mother in her home in Ireland, while at the same time had next to no relationship with Noel. He continued to ask him to participate in an Oasis reunion to help with his financial strains, but the pleas fell on deaf ears. He had planned to marry Gwyther in the summer of 2020, but the pandemic postponed those plans. Liam has been a lifelong supporter of Manchester City, but also follows Celtic F.C. as well. His favorite films are Quadrophenia, Scarface, Seven, and Trainspotting. His close friends include musicians Richard Ashcroft, Ian Brown, Jarvis Cocker, Miles Kane, Lee Mavers, Gary Mounfield, Dave Grohl, and the late Taylor Hawkins. He is also an avid jogger in his spare time, but more recently his doctors have advised him to run less due to hip issues. In 2021 while performing at Isle of Wight festival, the singer feel out of a helicopter suffering bruises and cuts to his face, but he quickly recovered with no long term effects.

Married With Children: Noel Gallagher

Noel Thomas David Gallagher was born on May 29, 1967 in Manchester, England. He grew up with two siblings, Liam and older brother Paul. Growing up, Paul received his own room, while Noel needed to share one with younger brother Liam. He was referred to as the family “weirdo” by Liam due to his reclusive loner personality. Much of this stemmed from the abuse from his father handed down to him and Paul. In the documentary Supersonic, the guitarist would say that his father “beat the talent into him.” Both he and Paul suffered from stammers that were made worse by their father, which only went away after fours of speech therapy. In 1982, Peggy Gallagher left her husband for good raising the three boys on her own. As a teen, Noel was regularly truant and often in trouble with the police. At 15, Noel would be expelled from school for supposedly throwing a “flour bomb” at a teacher, but years later he denied having anything to do with it. As a Manchester City fan, he hung with hooligan crews such as Maine Line Crew, Under-5s, and Young Guvnors in the 1980’s. At the age of 14, Gallagher received six months probation for robbing a corner store. This actually became an important moment in his life because during that probationary period, Noel taught himself to play guitar after receiving one as a gift from his mother. He would learn his favorite songs from the radio with a chief one being the Smiths always emulating Johnny Marr. He had first heard the group on Top of the Pops in 1983 playing the song “This Charming Man.” The brothers still maintained limited contact with their father, working construction jobs throughout their teens. During one such job for the British Gas Company after leaving their father, Noel was injured by a cap on a steel pipe. Upon his recovery, the guitarist was given an easier job in the storehouse, where he had plenty of time to play guitar. Noel has said that he wrote at least three tracks from Definitely Maybe in that room including “Live Forever.” He would later nickname that storehouse “The Hit Hut” saying that the walls were made out of gold in jest. In May 1988, Gallagher met guitarist Graham Lambert of Inspiral Carpets while attending a Stone Roses concert. The pair became friends, which led to the future Oasis founder attending many of their shows locally. Noel even auditioned to be the singer, but did not get the gig. He instead began working as a drum tech and roadie for the band. He would soon meet fellow roadie Mark Coyle when they bonded over their shared love of the Beatles. Coyle would go on to run the sound for their live appearances for a few years.

Noel was the primary songwriter in Oasis for the first three albums, until he allowed other members to also contribute on each subsequent record. According to some critics, he has many times praised his music a little to much. Yet, the guitarist and singer has always had a quip ready to defend himself. “If you'd written 'Live Forever', you'd be walking to a different tune the next day too." He has often been accused of plagiarism in copying his favorite music, but Noel has always remained steadfast in his perspective. “I'm not saying, 'I'm the greatest songwriter in the world. Listen to me.' Usually, I'm saying, 'These are the greatest songwriters in the world. And I'm gonna put them all in this song.'" He was once asked if there was any guilt related to any artistic theft.

“No, I don't feel guilty. But you feel pissed off because you didn't do it first. When I'm making a record, I've always been of the notion that if a song sounds like T. Rex, well, fuck it, let's make it sound more like T. Rex! I know there's bands that might write something that sounds like the Smiths, and they'll go, 'Oh, it sounds like the Smiths, we've got to make it sound not like the Smiths.' If I'm writing a song and I say to myself, 'Oh, hey, it sounds like the Kinks,' then I'm going to turn it into a Kinks track."

As a guitarist, Noel knows that he is not going to be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame based on his technical ability with that instrument.

“I'm unfortunate enough that two of my best mates are Johnny Marr and Paul Weller. Those two are virtuosos to me although neither of them would admit it. On the electric guitar they're it. So if you're asking me how do I compare to those two—and I like to compare myself to the greats—I'm average at fucking best." This probably helps to explain why he has used so many different guitars and pedals since 2000. Many great guitarists usually swear by one instrument for the entirety of their career.

Weller was once asked about Gallagher’s guitar expertise, and he said it was “rudimentary at best.” As for his lyrics, the songwriter has said in the past that he can barely recall what he was thinking about when he wrote certain lines.

“Like the bit in 'Champagne Supernova' about 'slowly walking down the hall faster than a cannonball'. What does that mean? And the answer is, I don't know what it means. I don't care what it means. It must mean something, though, because I play it to a sea of people every night and they seem to understand it. That's all that matters, I guess." His songwriting process he admits can be slow since Noel does not read or write music, as well as suffering from dyslexia.

After the breakup of Oasis, Noel performed his first shows without the group in February 2010 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. He would be supported by the Courteneers and Plan B. Former Oasis member Gem Archer joined him on stage, as well as Terry Kirkbride and Jay Darlington. The set list included acoustic renditions of popular Oasis tracks, as well as b-sides. In April 2010, Gallagher joined Paul Weller on stage for his show in London for “Mucky Fingers” and “Turn Up the Sun.” He would play drums for a song on Weller’s new record later that year, as well as appearing on the debut solo release of Miles Kane, My Fantasy, playing guitar. In February 2011, Noel said he had not even started any solo album despite Liam claiming he planned to steal material from the Dig Out Your Soul sessions. "I am not recording new stuff, not just yet," he said to Talksport. "It'll be out when it's finished I guess. Well I've not even started it, so I don't know." Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds would release a self-titled album in October 2011. At the time of its release, Noel said that he planned to release a record with Amorphous Androgynou, but this project never saw the light of day. That same month Gallagher began touring the new release with an opening date in Dublin. The first single “The Death of You and Me” included an accompanying music video released in the summer of 2011. In March 2015, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds released a followup entitled Chasing Yesterday. A third album would come out in November 2017 entitled Who Built the Moon? His group also released some ep’s including Blue Moon Rising. In June 2021, he released a greatest hits compilation for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds entitled, Back the Way We Came Vol. 1 (2011-2021). He even ended the former rivalry with Blur’s Damon Albarn by singing on the Gorillaz track “We Got the Power.”

Most of the controversy related to Noel Gallagher has been associated with his statements in interviews that many have looked upon as insulting. He once said, “People think [I'm] controversial for the answers [I] give to silly questions in interviews, but ... I'm not thinking about insulting people; I say what I genuinely feel is in my heart. My conscience is clean, d'you know what I mean? Y'know, I'm true to myself—fuck everybody else." This statement came after questions about some of his lyrics on the track “My Big Mouth” on Be Here Now. His most infamous statement came in 1995 when he wished that members of Blur including Damon Albarn died from AIDS. The beef and rivalry between the two groups had cooled by 2007 when he told New Musical Express that “I've got a lot of respect for Damon, I really do mean it. Because I'm indifferent to Damon he thinks that I think he's a cunt. Our Liam will talk to him, I won't because he's just another singer in a band to me, but I don't think he's a cunt."

In his personal life, Noel first became engaged to his then girlfriend at the age of 18, but they never married, and eventually broke up. In 1988, the guitarist moved in with Louise Jones, who he wrote the song “Slide Away” for, but they separated in 1994. Noel would say, “I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.” In 1997, Gallagher married Meg Matthews, but divorced in January 2001. The grounds for the separation was him cheating on her with publicist Sara McDonald, but Noel would later claim that he made that up in order to speed up the process. Despite this claim, the guitarist went ahead and began a relationship with McDonald that included two sons, Donovan and Sonny. He had previously had a daughter Anais with Matthews. He married Sara, who hails from Scotland in 2011, where friend Russell Brand stood up as best man. Gallagher is friends with Gary Mounfield, Richard Ashcroft, the Chemical Brothers, John Lydon, Steve Jones, Kasabian, Andy Nicholson, Ricky Hatton, Paul McCartney, Jamie Carragher, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Johnny Marr, Morrissey, Bono, Paul Weller, Johnny Depp and Kate Moss. Like his brother Liam, Noel is a longtime fan of Manchester City like his brother. He even has a friend that played midfield for the team previously. After games, the team will play “Wonderwall” in honor of Oasis. One anecdote may best sum up the persona of Noel Gallagher. In 2008, he found out James Blunt bought a home near him in Ibiza, so he promptly sold his place not wanting to be associated with him and his music in any way whatsoever.

I Can See It Now: A Selected Tour of the Oasis Videography

Music Videos

“Shakermaker”

This video would be shot in Burnage in Manchester very near the Gallagher childhood residence. The soccer field in the clip is Didsbury Toc H Sports Ground in Ford Lane, Didsbury in South Manchester. The record that Liam shows to the camera is the 1978 release by Paul McCartney entitled, Red Rose Speedway.

“Supersonic”

Two music videos would be released for this Definitely Maybe track. One in which the band can be seen on the roof of a hotel at King’s Crossing in England. The second video for the US market has them in a car, then finishing the video in a hemisphere much like the “Some Might Say” music video.

“Live Forever”

Once again, two music videos would be released for this song for the UK and US markets. The UK version directed by Carlos Grasso sees some unusual cinematography like the band burying drummer Tony McCarroll alive and Liam sitting in a chair attached to a wall raised high up in the air. Some of the video was shot at the Strawberry Field Memorial in New York City dedicated to John Lennon. The American version directed by NIck Egan sees the band playing in an office with pictures of famous musicians hanging on the wall including Sid Vicious, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, and Bobby Moore.

“Morning Glory”

This video takes place in an industrial apartment building with the tenants looking in the mail slot as the band plays the track in their apartment. Judging by the opening shots of the clip, the setting is intended to be Baffron Tower. The angry tenants include a man with a baby, a young boy, an old man and a female cyclist, an elderly woman with a hair dryer, a middle-aged woman in a house coat, a mafia boss and two bodyguards, an Indian couple, a drug addict, another elderly woman, and young woman and her mother. The promo concludes with the band packing up their instruments after finishing the track.

“Don’t Look Back in Anger”

This video directed by Nigel Dick features John Patrick Macnee, who played in the 1960’s British television series, The Avengers. The video filmed in Pasadena, California has Macnee driving the band in a black limousine to a mansion quite similar to the Playboy mansion. Oasis continues to perform the song there with Noel on lead vocals for the first time in any promotional clip. The models in the video occasionally lip sync to the song with one in particular Liz Atkins marrying drummer Alan White in 1997. The couple would later divorce making for an ironic look back at the music video.

“Stand By Me”

This video was based on a series of ads first seen in the publication the Guardian showing various people seemingly committing acts of antisocial behavior, criminal activity, or violence when it is later revealed to show people were actually being helped. For example, a neo Nazi looking young man is depicted to make one think a businessman is being robbed, but the camera soon reveals that he is helping the man unlock his car. Other scenes show similar scenarios followed by a surprising reveal. The promo was shot in the Feltham district in West London.

“All Around the World”

This video became one of the most expensive ones the band ever produced with 24 animators, which took six months to create. The band travels around the world in a yellow spaceship, which is quite similar to the Beatles Yellow Submarine video in the 1960’s. The promo would be directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The pair has directed many music videos as well as feature film like the critically acclaimed Little Miss Sunshine. One of their most noted music videos came in “Tonight, Tonight” by the Smashing Pumpkins.

“Wonderwall”

This video had two versions to it with the original concept developed by Johanna Bautista and directed by Nigel Dick. The clip was shot during the brief hiatus Guigsy had with the group due to nervous exhaustion. He would be replaced by Scott McLeod, who appears in the video. This version would go on to win a Brit award in 1996 for best music video. The second iteration of the promo has the group sitting down throughout the video, then at the end Noel, Alan White, Scott McLeod exit stage left, while Liam and Bonehead remain seated.

“Some Might Say”

This is a bit of a deja vu video because it seems to be a carbon copy of the US version of their earlier “Supersonic” music video. In both, the band drives to a hemisphere facility to play live in front of a crowd. One must wonder whether this represented the usage of footage from the same shoot. The video was directed by Stuart Fryer, who went on to direct a horror film entitled Bad Dreams more recently.

“Cigarettes and Alcohol”

This video alternates between the group playing live at a club and people trying to get high in the restroom. Some of the girls in the video actually worked for Creation Records. Recently, New Musical Express offered up new footage from that show at the Lomax in Liverpool, England. During a performance at Kentish Town Forum, the band distributed flyers telling fans about the video shoot.

Documentaries and Live DVD Releases

Documentaries

Supersonic (2016) Film that would probably be the definitive documentary on the group as it received full cooperation from almost every former band member, save Tony McCarroll. His interviews were only previously recorded audio due to his legal fights with the group over financial issues.

Oasis: Knebworth (2021) Released in theatres as well, this documentary focuses on the two nights the band played Knebworth in England to a total of 250,000 people. The film spends more time talking to fans, rather than the band themselves.

Lord, Don’t Slow Me Down (2007) Tour documentary following the band during the promotion of their 2005 album, Don’t Believe the Truth.

Oasis: Definitely Maybe (2004) Retrospective look back at the band’s debut album on the heels of its ten year anniversary. Originally, the documentary appeared on the short lived dvd/cd dual disc format.

Live Concerts

Familiar to Millions (2001) Live concert that shows their show at Wembley Stadium in 2000 as the band were promoting Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. A live album would be released to coincide with the dvd release.

Oasis: There and Then (1996) Combines footage from their November 1995 show at Maine Road and Earl’s Court concerts the following April during the (What’s the Story) Morning Glory tour.

Live By the Sea (1995) Release featuring footage from an April 1995 concert at Southend Cliffs Pavilion, as well as music videos from Definitely Maybe.

All Around the World: An Oasis Tour History

Definitely Maybe Tour (1994-1995)

This tour began in February 1994 in Gleneagles, Scotland, then concluded at Sheffield Arena in April 1995. This final performance was noted as the final show for original drummer Tony McCarroll and the first acoustic version of “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” As the tour shifted to the United States, the group did a show at the Whiskey A Go Go, where they all ingested crystal meth thinking it was cocaine. The gig was a total disaster as everyone in the group could not focus because of the drug effects. On top of that, Beatle Ringo Starr was in the audience. This made the night all the more disappointing as Noel temporarily quit the band until his manager tracked him down in San Francisco. The track “Talk Tonight” would be written during this brief crisis for the group. One of the final concerts of the tour at Cliffs Pavillion would be used for the dvd/vhs release Live By the Sea. The success of the lengthy tour would change rather dramatically upon the release of Definitely Maybe halfway through it.

(What’s The Story) Morning Glory Tour (1995-1996)

The tour began with a warm up show in Bath, England for Glastonbury in June 1995 then concluding in September 1996 with a concert at Nissan Pavillion. The tour ended rather abruptly as the decision was made to begin recording the record that would become Be Here Now. The first performance also introduced the group’s new drummer, Alan White. The tour is well known for a series of open air concerts in the summer of 1996 in the UK that averaged astronomical attendance. Two nights at Knebworth saw the band amass 250,000 people over the course of the two sets. A documentary was recently made about those performances released in theaters and streaming services, which will be looked at in the next article on their videography. Several interruptions and cancellations occurred throughout the tour including the band almost breaking up leading to the loss of many dates including the entire Australian and New Zealand leg of the tour. Oasis was scheduled to perform an MTV Unplugged performance at Royal Festival Hall in London when Liam said he could not sing due to a sore throat. Noel stepped in to sing the show, but not without the drama of Liam heckling his sibling from the balcony. The other band members soon learned that the singer despised doing anything acoustically. The performances at Earl’s Court and Maine Road would be filmed and later released as part of the dvd/vhs, There and Then.

Be Here Now Tour (1997-1998)

This tour began in June 1997 as one of the supporting groups for U2 at the KROQ Weenie Roast in Los Angeles, then concluding in March 1998 in Mexico City, Mexico. The performances would take place for the most part in smaller arenas and indoor places as a majority of the dates took place in the winter months. The tour also became well known for the massive amount of partying the band did on the road with excessive drinking and massive drug abuse. "I kid you not, there was a sound guy who quit because there was too much 'food'...and I thought 'sure it's not the fucking coke you've been taking'.” The Be Here Now tour also represented the first tour, where the band created a special stage setup for each show. Props filled the stage to look like the album cover including a Rolls Royce and a telephone box. A man in a finely tailored suit would begin each show warming up the crowd as the piano introduction to “Be Here Now” played in the background. The band would eventually appear from that telephone box, which also acted as an entrance/exit to backstage. Noel would later say that the tour was the most fun he ever had while on tour, but the consequence of all that fun came in the fact that he would quit cocaine permanently after its completion.

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants Tour (1999-2001)

The tour stood out in the history of Oasis because Noel quit the group in 2000 leaving the band without their lead guitarist for all the dates overseas. He only came back for the shows in the UK and Ireland, but eventually agreed to rejoin the group full time after the tour had ended. The two performances at Wembley Stadium would be filmed and recorded for the dvd/vhs/cd Familiar to Millions. Portions of the release needed to have Liam’s vocals dubbed in from a Japanese show due to the fact he was too intoxicated on the second night. The concert in Seattle saw Noel play a cover of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey My My” dedicating it to Kurt Cobain as it was the sixth anniversary of his untimely death.

The Tour of Brotherly Love (2001)

This very brief tour from May 2001 until June 2001 had the band team up with other acts featuring combative siblings including the Black Crowes and Spacehog. The dates included a three night stand at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and a two night stand at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Each performance would conclude with Noel and Gem Archer, the Langdon brothers from Spacehog joining the Black Crowes on stage. They would play well known covers by artists such as by Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones. Due to a thumb injury, Alan White would be replaced by his brother Steve White, who played for Paul Weller. The May 24th concert in Cincinnati, Ohio would need to be rescheduled because the entire backstage area flooded due to the rising Ohio River actually flooding.

Heathen Chemistry Tour (2002-2003)

This tour began in February 2002 and finished in Berlin in March 2003. The German dates on the tour were postponed and rescheduled after Liam had his teeth knocked out in a nightclub fight in Munich. The singer at one point kicked a police officer in the ribs. Subsequent tests revealed not only alcohol in his system, but also cocaine. Drummer Alan White was also involved in being hit in the head with an ashtray. Two years later Liam would receive a fine for his role in the fight from Munich authorities. The typical set list for this tour also included the cover of the Who song, “My Generation.”

Don’t Believe the Truth Tour (2005-2007)

This represented the group’s most substantial tour since their first one. The entire run became the most successful because they were able to finish the entire tour without any incidents like Noel quitting the band as he did quite a bit. The number of fans over the two years would come to about 3.2 million people. A documentary film would be released in 2007 entitled Lord, Don’t Slow Me Down directed by Dick Carruthers. The film also saw the release of the digital-only single “Lord, Don’t Slow Me Down,” which debuted at number ten on the UK charts. The tour also coincided with the release of the 2006 greatest compilation, Stop the Clocks, which was described as their “definitive” tracks selected by the group.

Dig Out Your Soul Tour (2008-2009)

The final tour by Oasis started in Seattle in August 2008, but abruptly ended two days before its official end after a fight between Liam and Noel, which led to the latter releasing a statement explicitly saying Oasis “does not exist anymore.” The full statement from Noel on the band’s website read: “It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer. Apologies to all the people who bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan." The breakup of the band will be looked at in detail later in this guide.

Behind The Album: Definitely Maybe

The debut album from Oasis was released in August 1994 from Creation Records. Attempts were made to record the album three times, which began at Monnow Studios. The first producer was Dave Batchelor, who Noel had met during his days working for Inspiral Carpets. Bonehead would later recall :It wasn't happening. [Batchelor] was the wrong person for the job... we'd play in this great big room, buzzing to be in this studio, playing like we always played. He'd say, 'Come in and have a listen.' And we'd be like, 'That doesn't sound like it sounded in that room. What's that?' It was thin. Weak. Too clean." Engineer Dave Scott mentioned considerable issues as well. "I couldn’t connect with him [Batchelor] artistically or technically, neither could I get any idea from him what his vision for the album was. This made life very difficult for me. I had rarely worked under other producers and when I had, there had always been a collaboration. I think that the lack of direction and different expectations led to an uncoordinated session with too many compromises." Batchelor would fire Scott during the recording of “Slide,” which in a funny irony was actually the version used on the final recording. The sessions were going nowhere, which created a tremendous amount of anxiety with Noel as Bonehead later said in an interview, “Noel was frantically on the phone to the management, going, 'This ain't working.' For it not to be happening was a bit frightening." Finally, Batchelor was let go by the band, so Noel tried to take the previously recorded material to various studios around London to work them into something Creation could salvage possibly. Head of publicity for Creation, Tim Abbot, discussed the major problem with the initial work done by Oasis. “McGee, Noel, me, and various people had a great sesh [session], and we listened to it over and over again. And all I could think was, 'It ain't got the attack.' There was no immediacy." The group made a second attempt to finish the album at Sawmill Studios in Cornwall bringing in Mark Coyle, who handled their live shows to be producer. The group was after a sound that replicated their live shows, so Noel and Coyle decided to not soundproof between instruments, but this did not improve things either. They were now running out of time, so the band had to return to the material previously recorded the first time with Batchelor. Manager Marcus Russell finally brought in Owen Morris, who had mixed the finished songs on the album. He was given freedom to try and rework the material into something better. HIs first task was to remove all the overdubs Noel had put in during the second recording sessions, which he did at Johnny Marr’s studio in Manchester. For his part, Marr questioned a lot of Morris’s choices thinking the album represented something that was too “in your face.” He also used a number of techniques to help mask the less than stellar drumming of Tony McCarroll. John Harris would write, “The miracle was that music that had passed through so many hands sounded so dynamic: the guitar-heavy stew that Morris had inherited had been remoulded into something positively pile-driving." Not everyone at Creation agreed the mix created by Morris was an improvement. Anjali Dutt did not enjoy the final edition of Definitely Maybe. “Though I don’t think that the original mixes were amazing, I did prefer them to the final album, as the relentlessness of the compressed chainsaw guitars just wears you out even if the initial feeling of excitement is invigorating. [...] I think his mixes did the job and gave it that much needed excitement and attitude. But it wasn’t my kind of sound and found far it too abrasive so I can only recall ever playing a few tracks at a time."

The songwriting of Noel Gallagher going into Definitely Maybe can be best summed up by Alan McGee, who said in a documentary about the record that Noel probably had at least fifty songs in his head before the group even formed. One of the greatest album openers of the past fifty years is “Rock and Roll Star,” which announced to the world that the band had most definitely arrived. The second track “Shakermaker” is one that anded the boys in court due to them borrowing a melody from the 1971 Coca-Cola jingle “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony).” Noel also made obvious references to the Beatles, Jam, and Cockney Rebel by using some of their lyrics. “Live Forever” with its endless optimism emerged very quickly as Britpop’s anthem initially until it was replaced by “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” The track “Supersonic” was written in just under 10 minutes with lyrics like about “a girl called Elsa” who’s “into Alka Seltzer,” which actually references a farting dog. The song alternates between being yourself and absolute “nonsense.” “Cigarettes and Alcohol” was a track that borrowed quite freely from T Rex. Noel would say that it is one of the few top ten hits ever specifically about using cocaine. “Slide Away” is the only love song on Definitely Maybe, which became a hidden gem for years. Andy Bell would say the track is his favorite on the entire record, while for years the group never thought to play it live until the 2000’s. Some critics now say that is quite possibly the best song that Noel ever wrote. The last song on the album is “Married With Children,” which Noel wrote because the television show about the Bundys came on. “It’s another song that anybody could relate to because if you live with a girlfriend or just a flatmate, there are always pretty things that you hate about them, and the song’s just about pettiness.”

The cover of the album was a photograph taken at Bonehead’s house shot by Michael Spencer Jones. The image had been partially inspired by the cover of the 1966 Beatles compilation, A Collection of Beatles Oldies. The decision to have Liam lie on the floor was to hide the wood flooring, which the photographer thought it would look too much like an “advert for varnish.” The wine glass actually has ribena in it, which led to a false notion that the band could not afford wine at the time. Jones would later clarify this saying that too many times red wine would appear as the color black instead of red in images. The decision to shoot at Bonehead’s house was first proposed by Noel, but Jones made the decision to not shoot at the dining table because he wanted to utilize the bay window in his living room. The photographer had also asked each band member to bring an object of personal value to them for the picture. Photographs can be seen of British football stars Rodney Marsh and George Best showing the group’s fandom of Manchester United and Manchester City. The television is playing The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in the background, which represented Noel’s favorite film at the time. An album sleeve of Burt Bacharach can also be seen on the cover, who stood out as one Noel’s idols. Some have made the observation that the use of Bacharach’s image was actually a tribute to Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma. The singles released for promotion of Definitely Maybe were “Supersonic,” “Shakermaker,” and “Live Forever.” The last of which emerged as the band’s first top ten single, while the second single got them a live appearance very quickly on Top of the Pops. The bestselling success very quickly of Definitely Maybe actually helped Creation Records immensely as they were suffering financially at the time of the album’s release. Another thing that helped Oasis and their debut release become a household name very quickly was the nontraditional method by Creation. The budget seemed very limited leading to the decision to promote Definitely Maybe in publications not usually featured like British dance magazines and football monthlys. Tim Abbot, had his idea rewarded when MIxmag, who ignored guitar music for the most part, gave the album a five star review. The release would sell 100,000 copies in its first four days making it a number one album in Britain almost immediately Success in the US took a bit longer for the band. The band earned the title of the fastest selling debut album in British charts history. The fourth single “Cigarettes and Alcohol” rose as high as number 7 on the UK Charts, then the band considered releasing “Slide Away” as the final single, but Noel finally nixed the idea. “You can't have five [singles] off a debut album." Definitely Maybe since its release has been certified platinum in the US, and 8 times platinum in the UK.

Upon its release, critics unanimously hailed the album as a breath of fresh air amidst the pessimistic themes and sounds of grunge music at the time. New Musical Express said about Definitely Maybe, “It’s like opening your bedroom curtains one morning and discovering that some f—er's built the Taj Mahal in your back garden and then filled it with your favourite flavour of Angel Delight.” Melody Maker gave the record their highest rating meaning an essential purchase. "Of all the great new British pop groups, Oasis are the least playful, the least concerned with post-modern sleights of influence [...] Definitely Maybe is 'What the World's Been Waiting For', a record full of songs to live to, made by a gang of reckless northern reprobates who you can easily dream of joining [...] If you don't agree it offers a dozen opportunities to believe that 1994 is the best year ever for pop/rock music, then you're wrong.” Vox commented, “Occasionally – and in this voracious, selfish, faddish industry it is only occasionally – something materialises that justifies the endless bullshit that represents its daily diet... the 11 songs that make up Definitely Maybe [...] lie shining like so much crystal-cut glass among the debris of the nation's hotel rooms." Such high praise seemed consistent in almost every major review in the UK. Although the band did not become an overnight success in the US, major publications like Rolling Stone and the New York Times loved the release. The former wrote, “Liam Gallagher has God-given cool. And with his brother Noel supplying him with sumptuous rockers, it's easy to see why this quintet is next year's model. Heavier on guitar than Blur or Suede, they're the simpler, catchier outfit." The album would go on to make many lists as one of the best records of all time. Rolling Stone had it at 217 on its list in 2020. In 2006, New Musical Express had a readers poll of the greatest albums ever and their debut slotted in at number one. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band came in second making for an ironic twist. One of the great legacies beside ushering in the popularity of a new group of British pop groups was the theme of optimism within the music. A few months earlier Kurt Cobain had committed suicide, which according to some ended the hold grunge had on the music world.

Woodstock 50 Hits Snag and Ends Up in Court

The anniversary concert festival, Woodstock 50, scheduled later this summer in Watkins Glen, NY, hit a bit of a snag last month. The festival’s primary investor, Dentsu Aegis, a Japanese company, cancelled the event on April 29th. Despite this announcement, festival organizer, Michael Lang assured everyone that the festival would still be held and Dentsu had no right to make such a move. If you remember your music festival history, he was the original organizer of the 1969 Woodstock festival. Yet, Lang soon revealed on May 6th that Dentsu had illegally withdrawn $17 million dollars from the festival bank account putting it in serious jeopardy. He sent a detailed letter to the company detailing his charge that this was an unethical and illegal action. It was also stated in the letter that the company was blocking ticket sales to the festival and encouraging acts to cancel their appearances at the festival. Lang further said that Dentsu told acts that cancelled such a move would be looked upon favorably by the company, who right now sits as a major sponsor for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He wrote, “In these actions, Dentsu has not only without honor, but outside of the law. It is one thing if your company, Dentsu, wanted to back out of its commitment to Woodstock because it would not make as much money as it had hoped, but to try to suffocate and kill Woodstock so that we could not have a festival for our Golden Anniversary without you is puzzling for any company, let alone one that claims reform.”

This dispute next headed for court in order to settle it as Lang was unable to raise the necessary money of $30 million dollars through any new investors by the deadline of last Friday. Woodstock 50 LLC filed a petition for an injunction against Dentsu in order to save the festival. Last Thursday, Justice Barry R. Ostrager of New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan told Dentsu not to send out any more communications related to the Woodstock 50 festival including the news media. A hearing began earlier this week to sort out which party has a legal right to the funds that were withdrawn, but did not reach any resolution and will continue on Tuesday. Yet, the attorney for Dentsu did submit a memorandum to the court on Sunday ahead of the hearing denying any wrongdoing on their part. Marc L. Greenwald of Dentsu’s investment division, Amplifi Live wrote the following. “But Woodstock 50 LLC’s and Michael Lang’s misrepresentations, incompetence, and contractual breaches have made it impossible to produce a high-quality event that is safe and secure for concertgoers, artists, and staff. The production company has quit, no permits have been issued, necessary roadwork has not begun, and there is no prospect for sufficient financing. As much as the parties might wish it otherwise, the festival contemplated by their agreement cannot happen and allowing it to go forward would only put the public at risk. The injunction sought by W50, even if there were a legal basis for it, cannot change that.”

Certain new facts have come out according to court documents that have shed even more light upon Michael Lang’s preparation errors. DJ Martin testified that even the announcement of the event at Electric Ladyland Studios was originally set for a budget of $30,000 but saw that number increase to $120,000. Lang made multiple statements that the capacity for the event would be 150,000 people, which was well over the 60,000 the Schuyler County sheriff had told him. Yet, Susan Cronin and Gregory Peck of Woodstock 50 LLC confirmed that they had a 90 percent assurance of at least 125,000 people for the festival. Lang confirmed the capacity as 150,000 to Martin in an email on December 4, 2018. Further testimony revealed that there was no security plan, no mass gathering permit, no state approval for a traffic plan, zero progress on necessary road construction, and no plan for emergency evacuation as of April 29th when Dentsu cancelled the event. The company further claimed that Woodstock 50 LLC was signing acts without their consent, which became problematic because paying the artists needed to be scaled back due to the reduction in capacity. Woodstock 50 LLC is essentially claiming that despite these issues, Dentsu did not have any right to cancel the festival and they have a legal obligation to return the money and put on the festival as previously scheduled.

In a surprising turn of events to some, the judge in the case has ruled to keep the festival alive, but the story is not over by a long shot. The court ruled that Densu Aegis did not have the right to unilaterally cancel the festival without the consent of Woodstock 50 LLC. Yet, the judge did rule that Dentsu was not required to return that money to Lang’s company. 24 hours after the ruling, it was announced that New York investment banking firm, Oppenheimer and Co. had reached an agreement with Woodstock 50 to fund the event. John Tonelli of Oppenheimer and Co. said in a statement, “We believe in Woodstock as an important American cultural icon and look forward to its regeneration in the green fields of Watkins Glen this August with all of the artists on the amazing lineup.” Although this news saved the festival temporarily, Woodstock 50 still needs to obtain several important permits including the mass gathering permit from New York’s State Health Department.

Behind The Album: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory

The second studio album from Oasis was released in October 1995 from Creation Records. Owen Morris co-produced the release along with Noel Gallagher. The music represented a shift to an album made up of more ballads with singalong choruses as opposed to the more punk nature of Definitely Maybe. This record also was the first album with new drummer Alan White having parted ways with founding member Tony McCarroll. Although, the latter still appeared on the track “Some Might Say.” With this album, Oasis moved into the mainstream consciousness in popular music and acted as a crucial release in terms of the Britpop movement in the mid 1990’s. Morning Glory would spend ten weeks at number one on the UK Charts, as well as reach as high as number 4 in the US. “Some Might Say,” “Roll With It,” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger '' all reached number one in England, while “Wonderwall” surprisingly only made it to number two. In the US, “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova” topped the Billboard Alternative Charts. The band would go onto win the 1996 Brit Award for best group.

Oasis began recording the LP in May of 1995 at Rockfield Studios in Wales. Owen Morris would recall a very positive experience making the album. "The sessions were the best, easiest, least fraught, most happily creative time I've ever had in a recording studio. I believe people can feel and hear when music is dishonest and motivated by the wrong reasons. Morning Glory, for all its imperfection and flaws, is dripping with love and happiness." He would later say that the group recorded it in a mere fifteen days. During the making of “Champagne Supernova,” Paul Weller came into the studio to play lead guitar and provide backing vocals. The track “Cast No Shadow” was written by Noel on the train after one of these recording sessions. The only issue that sprung up was the track “Some Might Say” because the backing track had been made too fast, but the band wanted to keep Liam’s original vocals. Morris needed to mix the song three times using equipment to hide the mismatched sound on it. Morris compared the album immediately to the Sex Pistols. “It’s the Bollocks for this decade.” Creation Records head Alan McGee would echo a similar sentiment. “You just cannot slag this record. It's gonna speak to real, working class lads in a way that a Suede or Radiohead could only dream of doing." The album title originated from Noel’s friend Melissa Lim, who would always answer her phone with that particular greeting. The line came from the film, Bye Bye Birdie, which in turn took its cue from a 1938 jazz song by Mary Lou Williams. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory continued to see Morris utilizing the brick wall mastering method, which began something of a loudness war within the music industry due to the release’s popularity. Journalist Nick Southall would write, ‘If there's a jump-the-shark moment as far as CD mastering goes then it's probably Oasis." The method was meant to give each song almost a live characteristic to it.

The influences on the record would be analyzed by critic John Harris citing Gary Gitter, REM, and the Beatles obviously. A track removed from the release entitled “Step Out” had a worrisome resemblance to Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight Everything’s Alright.” Noel spoke about his vision thematically for the record in comparison to Definitely Maybe. “Whilst [Definitely Maybe] is about dreaming of being a pop star in a band, What's the Story is about actually being a pop star in a band." The songwriter and guitarist also used string arrangements prolifically throughout the album as opposed to none on Definitely Maybe. The experimentation with strings actually began on the non-album single, “Whatever.” The background stories about many of the other tracks represented some of the more colorful tidbits in the band's history. The track Wonderwall was written about then girlfriend Meg Matthews, who had just lost her job. Noel would later say, “She had a company which folded and she was feeling a bit sorry for herself. The sentiment is that there was no point in her feeling down, she has to sort my life out for me because I'm in bits half the time." The title of it was inspired by a 1968 horror film, which included a soundtrack by Beatle George Harrison. Two people from the record company came down to visit the band during the making of the album, bud they got very excited upon hearing this track seeing as Noel put it, “pounds in their eyes.” The song “Don’t Look Back in Anger” was the definitive track that made people in Britain fall in love with the band. The song was written one night in Paris while Oasis was on tour with the Verve. He would recall in an interview with Select Magazine that the lyrics came about during a soundcheck on that tour. “Our kid said, 'What's that you're singing?' I wasn't singing anyway, I was just making it up. And our kid said, 'Are you singing So Sally can wait?' And I was like - that's genius! So I started singing, 'So Sally can wait'." The lyrics were fairly self-explanatory even from the songwriter back in 1995. It’s “about not being upset about the things you might have said or done yesterday". “Hey Now” was a statement from the guitarist talking about the band as a unit continuing to function throughout all the ups and downs. Specifically the line “no time for running away now” meant going home was not an option. Ironically, two band members quit by the time they released the next album. “Some Might Say” became the band's first number one song on either side of the pond, which many referred to as the first signal that British rock music would be changing in the near future. The track “Cast No Shadow” was originally first played for Richard Ashcraft of the Verve, which led to Noel dedicating the song to him. “I played him the song, and he nearly started crying. I was like, 'Come on, hold yourself together, son! In a way, it's about all my friends who were in groups. We are bound with the weight of all the words we have to say. We're always looking for more." “She’s Electric”saw Oasis move into a more humorous side by singing about a guy who has a girlfriend, but he used to date her sister, while at the same time falling in love with their mother. The brother does not care for the character in the song, then a cousin gets pregnant, so he blames him when in fact he did not sleep with her. “Morning Glory”stood out as a song that specifically referenced cocaine, much like “Cigarettes and Alcohol.” The song took a more cynical attitude towards drug use compared with that earlier song. The album concluded with the tearjerker “Champagne Supernova,” which Noel would say is as psychedelic as he would ever get on an album. In 1995, he told New Musical Express what he was feeling when he wrote the song. “It means different things when I'm in different moods. When I'm in a bad mood being caught beneath a landslide is like being suffocated. The song is a bit of an epic. It's about when you're young and you see people in groups and you think about what they did for you and they did nothing."

The album cover shows two men passing each other on London’s Berwick Street. The two men are dj Sean Rowley and cover designer Brian Cannon. Owen Morris can be seen to the left holding the album’s master tape over his face. The street was chosen because several shops along there had increased in popularity at the time. During the promotion of the record, a competition arose between fellow group Blur, who were releasing their own album at the same time. Blur had planned to release the single “Country House” around the time of “Roll With It” from Oasis, but pushed up the date worried about the competition for a number one song. Thus, the Battle of Britpop began in earnest during that summer. The battle brought a tremendous amount of publicity for both bands pitting the suburban kids of southern England versus the working class kids of the north. Blur would eventually win the battle by 54,000 copies. During the first week of sales, both groups saw a 40% increase as everyone made sure to put in their vote for who they prefer. In September, Noel caused a controversy by telling the Observer that he hoped Damon Albarn and Alex James would catch AIDS and die due to his hatred for the pair. Noel would later retract the comments saying that “AIDS is no laughing matter.” In 2005, Graham Coxon of Blur would say in an interview, there were no hard feelings over the comments. “At least they were outright about it. They weren't pretending to like us and then slagging us off, which is what we'd been used to. In that way, I quite appreciated them."

Upon its release, critics were less than thrilled with (What’s the Story) Morning Glory at first. They saw it as a letdown compared to Definitely Maybe. Q Magazine wrote, “They scan; they fill a hole; end of story. They [say] nothing much about anything." Spin labeled their music on this LP as “generic classic rock.” Melody Maker represented the most critical publication commenting, ‘What's the Story [sounds] laboured and lazy. On this evidence, Oasis are a limited band ... they sound knackered." Not every publication came out against the release. NME said that the band was going for “‘an altogether different direction; away from the conscience-free overloaded hedonism towards an understanding of its consequences.” Rolling Stone echoed those words in a similar fashion, as well as complimenting the tense dynamic between Liam and Noel as a good thing. The “tension and instability have been inherent traits of great rock teams ... for Oasis, the addition of shared genes gives their songs extra impact and dimension." The Los Angeles Times noted that it was a welcome addition contrasted against most of the “despair” found in current rock music. The album did make a few end of year lists for best album including number two on Select’s list. Robert Christgau of Allmusic would only give the album two stars, but at the end of the year listed it as honorable mention, most likely due to the changing attitudes towards the release. Critics' attitudes changed fairly quickly as Britpop began to dominate everything music related in the UK. They started to realize that a good number of publications misread the impact and potential of the release. John Harris would talk about this in his book on Britpop. “Those who fussed about the music's more artful aspects were missing the point. The fact that [Noel's] songs contained so many musical echoes seemed to couch the album in an air of homely reassurance." He further wrote about the overall legacy of the record and “Wonderwall” in the book. “When (Oasis) released “Wonderwall,” the rules of British music were decisively changed. From hereon in, the lighter-than-air ballad became obligatory, and the leather-trousers era of rock'n'roll was over."

Behind The Album: Be Here Now

The band’s third studio album was released in August 1997 from Creation Records with many writers and fans alike panning the release as the worst in the group’s catalog. The album relied heavily on longer running times for each track and many guitar overdubs via Noel Gallagher. His reasoning was to make the music as “colossal” as possible, which led to an inevitable backlash. The record would be recorded at two locations, Abbey Road in London and River Ridge in Surrey. The entire world seemingly had been waiting for the group’s next effort following the massive success of their second album. Creation Records remained keenly aware of Oasis overexposure, so promotional efforts were limited before the release. In an ironic twist, the album was a commercial success immediately selling the most albums in the UK that year. Be Here Now has gone on to sell 8 million copies around the world. This marked the third and final album to be deemed platinum in the US.

The LP would be fraught with numerous issues that would see everyone including the group call Be Here Now an absolute disaster. Producer Owen Morris would say that the sessions in making the record were highlighted by endless arguments and massive drug abuse. He believed that the group’s only motivation in doing the album was financial. The origin of Be Here Now started when the band spent a vacation with Johnny Depp and Kate Moss in Musique staying at Mick Jagger’s villa. The majority of the album would be written during this time, only after Noel had suffered from a severe bout of writer’s block following What’s The Story Morning Glory. He would describe his writing process about being more disciplined as he went “into this room in the morning, come out for lunch, go back in, come out for dinner, go back in, then go to bed." The fighting between the Gallagher brothers had already begun in earnest following the legendary shows at Knebworth in 1996. Liam refused to play at a televised Unplugged show for MTV citing laryngitis, but did heckle his brother from the audience, who had taken over singing duties for the night. Liam went on to skip the first part of their latest tour, then later at an awards show performance sang off key on purpose. Shortly after, Noel announced that he was quitting the band. “If the truth be known, I didn't want to be there anyway. I wasn't prepared to be in the band if people were being like that to each other." He would rejoin the band a few weeks later, but many around the band were worried how they would get any kind of finished product completed at all. Manager Marcus Russell, would observe that "in retrospect, we went in the studio too quickly. The smart move would have been to take the rest of the year off. But at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. If you're a band and you've got a dozen songs you think are great, why not go and do it." In 2006, Noel agreed that the band should have gone on hiatus for a couple of years, while Owen Morris put much of the blame on himself for overproducing Be Here Now. Morris would comment even further on the deterioration of band relations at that time in a later interview. “It was a mistake on everyone's part, management very much included, that we didn’t record Be Here Now in the summer of 1996. It would have been a much different album: happy probably."

The group instead began recording Be Here Now in October of 1996 long after the euphoria of the two Knebworth shows had passed. Morris wanted to quit after the first week, but Noel advised the producer to soldier on and everything would work out. In November 1996, Liam would be arrested at the Q Awards for cocaine possession, which sent the tabloids into a frenzy since they had increased their attention to the singer over the course of the previous year. For their part, the band began cutting themselves off from a good number of people, who knew them prior to 1996. A publicist from Creation Records would observe, “People were being edged out of the circle around Oasis. People who knew them before they were famous rather than because they were famous."

Producer Morris would say that the first week of recording did not improve the work conditions. “In the first week, someone tried to score an ounce of weed, but instead got an ounce of cocaine. Which kind of summed it up." Noel was never present when Liam recorded any of his vocals, while any concerns from Morris about the quality of the material would be quickly shut down by the guitarist. His original intention was to use the demos, but the machine in which he tried to create overdubs made it practically impossible. For his part, Noel wished to make the sound on the album densely layered, which meant that tracks had as many as 10 channels being used for the guitar sound. Alan McGee would later talk about visiting the studio to see the progress. “I used to go down to the studio, and there was so much cocaine getting done at that point ... Owen was out of control, and he was the one in charge of it. The music was just fucking loud." The tracks on the record followed pretty much the same premise as Definitely Maybe and What’s the Story Morning Glory relying on sing-along anthems. Jonathan Cohen would write that the three albums are almost interchangeable as musical works. Yeah, the aptly named LP is different in the fact that each track is remarkably longer than anything Oasis had ever recorded in the past. For example, “All Around the World” included three key changes that brought the runtime to almost 9 minutes, while their first radio single “D’ You Know What I Mean” came in at eight minutes long. Noel thought that someone would eventually ask him to cut down the track lengths for the first single, but it never happened because nobody had the guts to say it to him. Their debut album had guitar overdubs removed when it was mixed, but here Morris was encouraged to excessively add as many overdubbed parts as possible. The track “My Big mouth” contains 30 guitar parts, but Rolling Stone would note that there was nothing complex about any individual sound. The band did experiment with using samples on the record including a slowed down loop from NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” on “D’ You Know What I Mean.” Bonehead would later say that the sound on the record had been mastered at such a high volume that it needed to be released on double vinyl. The lyrics for the release followed the same model as previous works, but Noel seemed to take things over the top increasingly more and more. Writer Cliff Wood stated that the lyrics were “hookline optimism, a swarm of Beatles and other '60s references, a gruff love song to Meg, and further tangled expressions of his inability/unwillingness to express profound emotions." David Frick of Rolling Stone accused Noel of just being lazy. The shooting of the cover image of the album took place at Stocks House in Hertfordshire, the former home of Victor Lownes, head of the Playboy Clubs in Britain until 1981. The day they shot the cover represented an unmitigated disaster as everyone went to the bar by 8 PM that night. Photographer Michael Spencer Johns would describe the scene, “There were schoolkids all over the set, and the lighting crew couldn't start the generator. It was Alice in Wonderland meets Apocalypse Now." Writers have tried to analyze the use of the props in the cover, but according to Johns they were merely selected at random by Noel and himself from the BBC store. One obvious reference that people made came in the fact that the Rolls-Royce in the swimming pool is talking about Keith Moon driving one into a hotel pool in 1967.

As mentioned previously, the promotion and release of Be Here Now represented a disaster just like everything else to do with this record. For starters, Alan McGee and the publicity department remained silent about several doubts regarding whether the album was actually any good. A few days later he told the press that the record would sell twenty million copies causing tremendous concern with Oasis and their management company, Ignition. He was immediately kept out of the loop concerning any part of the release campaign. The band became very concerned about overexposing the release, making sure that the only things leaked had been approved by the band themselves. Ignition planned to focus on a very modest strategy staying away from mainstream places like Billboard and national television. This campaign had the opposite effect creating much more hype than any other release, as well as the extreme lengths in which the company went to in order to stop any leaks whatsoever. Members of every form of media and Creation staff members got noticeably angry at the band and Ignition. BBC 1 received a cd with three new songs on condition dj Steve Lamarq talk while the songs were being played live. Ignition called him the next day after airing the tracks to inform him that he did not talk loud enough over the songs, so BBC 1 would not be receiving any new ones. “I had to go on the air the next night and say, 'Sorry, but we're not getting any more tracks.' It was just absurd." John Andrews, the head of marketing at Creation, noted how bad things really got there. “The campaign made people despise Oasis within Creation. You had this Oasis camp that was like 'I'm sorry, you're not allowed to come into the office between the following hours. You're not allowed to mention the word Oasis.' It was like a fascist state." Upon the distribution of cassette copies of Be Here Now, journalists were required to sign a nondisclosure agreement about the album until after its official release.

The critics on Be Here Now changed quite drastically over the years. Everyone universally praised the record upon its release, but that quickly changed the more that people listened to it. Now, the LP is widely considered a debacle to the greatest extent as Noel has pretty much disowned its existence. The only one that has anything good to say about it is Liam. John Harris would comment on the trend at that time, “To find an album that had attracted gushing notices in such profusion, one had to go back thirty years, to the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Q Magazine represented an outlier initially commenting on the flaws surrounding Be Here Now calling it “cocaine set to music.” In contrast, Mojo called it the “Oasis World Domination Album,” while David Fricke complimented the overall impact of the record. Ironically, the reviews in Britain for What’s the Story Morning Glory had been negative overall at first, but now talk about it in much more glowing terms. Be Here Now reviews seemed so positive at first because most critics got the previous one so wrong initially. Some rock writers did get it right initially like Spin, who called the lyrics on it “meaningless.” Entertainment Weekly said that the messy loudness of the record canceled any great melodies Noel had composed. Retrospective reviews have been much less kind to the album calling it “bloated and overproduced.” The observation over and over again was that the songs are much too long and it is much too loud. Some critics have eased off a little bit saying that tracks like “Stand By Me” do not deserve to be thrown into the trash bin, but the Guardian probably summed it up best by calling Be Here Now a “flawed masterpiece.”

Behind the Album: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

The fourth studio album by Oasis was released in February 2000 from Big Brother Recordings. This marked the first release from their new label after the downfall of Creation Records. This release saw the band completely change their sound from previous records moving away from Britpop into a much more experimental and psychedelic sound. This new approach included many more electronic instruments including drum loops, samples, electric sitar, mellotron, synthesizers. Another first for this release came in the fact that Liam Gallagher contributed as a songwriter with the track “Little James.” This trend continued with Liam on future albums, as well as new members Gem Archer and Andy Bell. The album title originated from a quote Noel Gallagher saw at a bar on the wall from Sir Issac Newton, but he drunkenly miswrote the actual quote. “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". The pack of cigarettes he wrote on that night also saw him write “bum title” instead of album title. The guitarist had made the decision to ditch many of the traditional instruments used on the first three records for “loads of really weird pedals, old guitars, and small amps." He was also forced to play a lot on the record due to the exits of original members Bonehead and Guigsy.

Due to the transition to Bell and Archer eventually, the only three band members on the LP sleeve were Liam, Noel, and drummer Alan White. Standing on the Shoulder of Giants would lead to four singles including “Go Let It Out,” “Where Did It All Go Wrong,” “Who Feels Love,” and “Sunday Morning Call.” Despite any mixed reactions to the new direction, the release sold very well with 310,000 copies in the UK and 208,000 in the US in its first week. Surprisingly, the album became the 16th fastest selling LP in UK history according to the British Phonographic Industry, The lead track on the album does not have any vocals, but instead utilizes sampled audio from a documentary on the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. The clip features the festival’s mc yelling at the crowd. “We put this festival on, you bastards, with a lot of love! We worked for one year for you pigs! And you wanna break our walls down and you wanna destroy it? Well you go to hell!" Walmart would ban the record from its shelves due the use of profanity in the song title. The cover of the release features an image of the Manhattan skyline with the World Trade Center appearing only eighteen months prior to 9/11.

The reaction to Standing on the Shoulder of Giants was lukewarm at best from the critics. One publication that embraced the new Oasis was Q Magazine giving it four out of five stars. Yet, the magazine would later name it as one of the fifty worst album ever made. New Musical Express said, “Oasis should have realised it wasn't going to get any better than Knebworth, but the brutal truth is that too many people were making too much money for it to be allowed to stop.” Rolling Stone gave the release 3 stars out of five. Allmusic wrote in their review, “This may result in the most cohesive Oasis record since Definitely Maybe, but that cohesion has come at a price. Few songs are as bracing as Noel's best work from the first three albums; not even the rockers have the giddy rush or alluring sparkle of classic Oasis.” Pitchfork in a review of the band’s greatness hits compilation observed, “Despite ever-worsening lyrics, the singles from 2000's Standing on the Shoulder of Giants are no longer such disappointments in fuller context.” The site is incapable of saying something positive without a certain degree of trash talking. Both Noel and Liam at the time defended the release in subsequent interviews. Liam told Gary Crowley in 2002, “Some people reckon the album is shit, but I think it's a great album ... it's just a bit different.” Yet, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants also represents the one album that remained on the US and UK charts for the shortest period of time throughout their entire catalog. The record would see a 64 percent decrease in sale in only its second week, but those sales picked up soon after due to the airing of a Behind the Music episode on the band.

Behind The Album: Heathen Chemistry

The fifth studio album from Oasis was released in July 2002 from Big Brother Records. This release represented the first one featuring Andy Bell and Gem Archer, while it emerged as the final one with Alan White. Noel Gallagher would later say that he did question White’s commitment to Oasis as a primary reason for the drummer’s termination. The album would be recorded between 2001 and early 2002 featuring songwriting contributions from all members of the band for the first time. Most of the instrumental work on the LP was done by late 2001, but the vocals were, according to Noel “needlessly” delayed by his brother Liam. “I was really happy with (the album) until recently, but I'm fucking livid now. I finished my bits three-and-a-half months ago, and then we handed it over to Liam, and in three-and-a-half months he's done nothing. Just concentrated on his drinking habit again. It's just drifting at the moment.

All the backing tracks are done and it's a fantastic album of instrumentals. Hand it over to the singer and it just slows down and becomes this one really long, drawn-out, painful process. So, to be honest with you, I don't know when it'll come out now. It's down to him.” Despite those issues with his sibling, the guitarist believed Heathen Chemistry was the group’s best work since their debut in 1994. The title of the album originated from a shirt that Noel bought in Ibiza during a photo shoot for Vogue on the 100 Greatest Guitarists. The shirt had a logo for The Society of Heathen Chemists on it. Another shirt that the guitarist saw inspired the track title name, “The Hindu Times.”

The release of Heathen Chemistry would be affected by an Internet leak of every track 3 months before its official release. This became very evident at one of their first shows on tour when the crowd knew almost every word to the brand new songs. The track “Better Man” has a length of 38:33, but that is because after 30 minutes of silence there is the hidden track, “The Cage.” The album sold very well in the UK going all the way to number one on the charts, but sold quite poorly in the US making it only to number 23. The band released four singles including “The Hindu Times,” “Stop Crying Your Heart Out,” “Little By Little/She Is Love,” and “Songbird.” The last of which was written by Liam, not Noel. The record would go on to sell 154,000 copies making it eligible for triple platinum certification, but in stark contrast, critics had a very mixed reaction to Heathen Chemistry. Alt Rock Chick sang the highest praises writing, “It's one of Oasis' best rockers; certainly the best since “Some Might Say” and “Acquiesce.” Liam may have been late to the party, but he hits all the right moods and modes on this one. Maybe I was in a pissy mood because I was expecting so much; maybe it was the lingering 9/11 blues.” Rolling Stone gave it a 3 out of 5 stars showing how the band was gradually falling in some mainstream critical perspectives. Yet, this showed the contrast between the US and British critics as New Musical Express gave the release four out of five stars meaning on that side of the pond Oasis could still do no wrong. For example. The Guardian titled their review of the LP as “Yawning Glory.” For critics and fans alike, you either really loved or really hated Heathen Chemistry. Yet, one very evident takeaway came in the fact that average fans liked it much better than the last record.