ALBUM REVIEW: Oasis - Definitely Maybe

    Looking back, the 1990s really did feel like a reset of rock music after the vice-ridden years of the 1980s, filled with hair spray and flat power ballads that seem more regrettable than initially suspected in hindsight. This is the part where I do the usual praise of Nirvana as being the thing that really got us back on track, but Seattle wasn't the only thing going on in rock at this time - Britain was still there, and it was in the year of Nevermind that Oasis first formed under the name The Rain with members Bonehead and Guigsy (as well as original drummer Tony McCarroll), shorty before lead singer and Premiere Parka Paragon Liam Gallagher joined the group. Not long after Liam joined, his older brother Noel saw the group as an opportunity to get out the ol' songbook material. Noel offered to join the group on one small, reasonable condition - he would be given all the songwriting control and would effectively usurp group power as the "leader". Seems simple enough. Under Noel's leadership, the group became committed to the art of simplicity in their music and a genuine effort to get some commercial success, and the various live shows, rehearsing, and demo taping began. Long story short, Oasis gets discovered, sign to Creation Records, and begin the developmental hell of recording their first album, a story that involves various production and mixing sessions and re-recording the entire album; when it was all said and done and on store shelves, though, it's safe to say the result was worth the few grey hairs that all the members inevitably gained from it. Definitely Maybe is an album that, in spite of its rocky development, oozes confidence in itself and irradiates energy from every facet of the group. From the get-go, Oasis are a band with a punching rock energy, a cache of hooks and melodies from songwriter Noel, and an instantly recognizable frontman and lead voice with brother Liam. A critical darling and record-setting success in 1994, Oasis' debut remains a powerhouse three decades after the fact, and shows little signs of slowing.

    While this album isn't exactly as simple as say a punk album, Definitely Maybe definitely prides itself on a more "back-to-basics" approach to rock music and songwriting in general, and you'll hear it all over the album - the influence from various 1960s and 1970s groups is shining throughout, from Slade to The Beatles (look, with Oasis it was inevitable that I would mention The Beatles. Best to get it out of the way early, ya dig?). This hearkening back to days of yore is ultimately the album's biggest break forward - technically speaking, Oasis isn't exactly breaking new ground, but they also aren't trying to. What Oasis does on this album, and what it does best, is take what worked before and add their own flare to it - the guitars are louder, the instruments thud, and it celebrates in the excess of rock and roll, drowned in power chords and half-poetic lyricism from Noel. You can get all of this in lead single (and Oasis' debut single by that measure) "Supersonic", written and recorded in a single day when the group needed a new song for lead single - the guitar is punching, the harmonies are light on the chorus, and the lyrics have virtually no meaning, and yet the immediacy of the gang's energy hooks you (the hook does that too, but that's neither here nor there), and Liam's distinct nasal delivery helps implant the song into your mind. This formula is replicated throughout many of the album's best moments, too, from the driving half-blues of "Shakermaker" to the tender love ballad "Slide Away" to punching "Bring It On Down" that was initially going to be their debut single, Oasis take from the past, throw in a healthy bit of British edge and wit, and throw it through their system to get the shaking going. One could brand it as repetitive, and that could certainly be the case if the songs weren't such a colorful bouquet of hooks and melodies, one that also helps to continue the great tradition of the pop songwriter.

    The real ace in the hole for Oasis is the immediate catchiness of the songs - straight from "Rock 'n' Roll Star", Noel Gallagher proves himself a more than effective pop songwriter with a serious ear for melody, and one that works surprisingly well with the music that Oasis created, and it's not all just pure driving rockers, although I'd argue that's what they do best - the six minutes of "Columbia" in the smack dab middle of the album prove one of the absolute greatest moments on the album. The group gets to show off some softer moments on the album, of which they can manage without a sweat - their first Top 10 hit in "Live Forever" is an upbeat and breezy pop number, one that stands in stark contrast to the still hot grunge movement from the start of the decade. It remains an anthemic and joyful moment on the album, a celebration of eternity and self-confidence. There's also the sweet love ballad "Digsy's Dinner", a simple little love song about asking a woman to tea and lasagna, playing like a more silly "Lovely Rita" - it's one of the album's weaker moments, certainly, but the chorus still manages a memorable quality. "Digsy's Dinner" is one of the few examples of more humorous moments on the record, like the ironically named "Married With Children" number that closes the record, a song all about petty annoyances that you hate about a person - no metaphors or references here (outside of the title, I suppose), just a very direct song about how the narrator doesn't like the person the song is directed about. Of course, there's also some instant rock anthems on the album, from the opening track "Rock 'n' Roll Star" about escaping mundane life to the glam rock-inspired "Cigarettes and Alcohol", a song that helps to encapsulate many of the themes of the album - drugs and living life freely.

    While that last part may be a bit of an oversimplification, Definitely Maybe is undoubtedly an album that aims for a feeling of freedom and energy, and it achieves this in droves. Oasis waste no time on their debut in making themselves known and immediate; while the formula may be one of old, they do good on the tradition of classic rock groups, cranking out catchy melodies and anthemic rockers from start to finish, all with a good sense of humor and clever lyricism at the heart of it. Definitely Maybe is more than just a fantastic rock record, but it's also a significant one - it quickly became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK upon release, and remains a beloved watershed moment in britpop (a 2006 NME poll even had the British public calling the record the greatest of all time, with The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper placing second). Oasis had also managed to meet much success overseas in the US with Definitely Maybe, I suppose a very fitting thing for the group - they wear The Beatles on their sleeve, so it's only natural a British Invasion would follow. It's a landmark debut album in many ways, and one that helped to establish one of the most beloved rock outfits of the 1990s - if only they knew what would come next.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Definitely Maybe.