Album of the Week: Oasis’s “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” (1995)
Album of the Week
Oasis
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (Epic; 1995)
***
RATED 8 of 10: England slowly slumped into post-industrial decline for two decades. Then came the ‘90s. The economy improved, the Labor Party and Tony Blair took over, Manchester United won their first title since 1967 and Oasis became the band of the decade with (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? The album is brimming with familiar singles: “Wonderwall,” “Champagne Supernova,” and the best song, “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” Morning Glory blossoms with the elements of British pop music, from the melancholic violins of the Rolling Stone’s “Ruby Tuesday” to the tambourines and jangling guitars of the Hollies to the tinkling piano of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Another common thread is frontman Noel Gallagher’s notorious arrogance. In “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” he warns “please don’t put your life in the hands, of a rock n’ roll band/And will throw it all away.” Gallagher’s nasal voice and Mancunian accent is eerily similar to Lennon’s Liverpudlian; the similarity, however, did not justify his claim that Oasis was better than the Beatles. And Gallagher’s arrogance proved destructive, as the band peaked with this album before devolving into pointless feuds and drug addiction. By that point, the ‘90s were wrapping up, England slipped into two unpopular wars—dragging Tony Blair down with them—the economy tanked again and Manchester United fell into crushing debt. The new century had begun. — by Ben Lowenthal
All albums reviewed in this space are available at Maui’s only record store, Requests (10 N. Market St., Wailuku, 808-244-9315)
A version of this article appeared in print on May 5, 2011, on page 14 of MauiTime (volume 14, issue 46)
