FEATURE:
Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
Oasis’ Definitely Maybe at Thirty: The Greatest Debut of the 1990s?
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IT is quite a big claim…
IN THIS PHOTO: Tony McCarroll, Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan photographed in 1994/PHOTO CREDIT: Michel Linssen/Redferns
but Definitely Maybe might be the best debut album of the 1990s. In a year where there was stellar competition, how many made as big an impact as Oasis’ Definitely Maybe?! On 29th August, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan and Tony McCaroll laid down one of the biggest statements of the decade. Oasis booked Monnow Valley Studio in late 1993 to record Definitely Maybe. They initially worked with producer Dave Batchelor. It didn’t amount to much, as the sessions were unsatisfactory (Batchelor was subsequently fired). In January 1994, Oasis set about re-recording the album at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall. These sessions were produced by Noel Gallagher and Mark Coyle. It was still not an ideal outcome. Creation's Marcus Russell contacted engineer and producer Owen Morris. He then worked on mixing the album at Johnny Marr's studio in Manchester. It sounds like the album would be a mess. Given the producer changes and disruption, what we have is a consistent and brilliant album. You cannot really tell that it has a few different producers. It is confidence and timeliness of Definitely Maybe that makes it among the best albums of the 1990s. Opening with the magnificent Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, Definitely Maybe captures your attention right away. Released on 29th August, 1994, I wanted to look inside the album ahead of its thirtieth anniversary. As Supersonic and Shakemaker were successful singles, it was no surprise that Definitely Maybe was a chart smash. Live Forever was released three weeks before the album. I remember when Definitely Maybe came out. The sheer excitement and anticipation of it. At the time, there was not really this rivalry with Blur that would be stoked by the media. The Manchester band came onto the scene with a distinct sound and ambition. Not trying to fit into any scene or compete.
There is that swagger and confidence. A band fully formed and ambitious. Some might argue there are stronger and more important debut albums in the 1990s. Consider the impact Definitely Maybe made and how acclaimed it is. So many artists influenced by it. In terms of defining the sound of the 1990s in British music, few other albums made as big an impression as Oasis’ debut. It is amazing how little is written about Definitely Maybe. Considering it is seen as one of the best albums of the 1990s, there are not that many reviews. Not that many long ones anyway. Fairly few features about its making. It is a real pity. One hopes that this will be rectified ahead of the thirtieth anniversary. One cannot deny the consistency and potency of Definitely Maybe. How many songs from the album are anthems of today. As someone who can pick at flaws with the album – Noel Gallagher pinching riffs and sounds from other artists quite blatantly; the second half of Definitely Maybe loses some momentum -, it was such an important part of my musical childhood. I was eleven when the album came out. In terms of what Deifnitely Maybe did for British Rock. With U.S. Grunge and Pop being more important and popular prior, Definitely Maybe definitely helped shake things up and open doors. Rather than it being downbeat or angry, there was this celebratory and uplifting mood that was much needed. Not that this album was solely responsible for Britpop – Suede arguably got there first -, though you can trace a line back to Definitely Maybe and how it helped define this movement. I am going to close with a couple of reviews. Before 29th August, I will write at least one more feature about Definitely Maybe. There are many reasons to love it. There is that sense that, perhaps, Oasis never better it. Such was the quality of the music and the sense of importance about Definitely Maybe. Definitely among the best debut albums ever. The best debut of the 1990s? It is quite a declaration, yet consider all the album has done and how popular it is.
I am going to end with a couple of reviews for Definitely Maybe. Dead Good Music had their say on Definitely Maybe in 2021. It was clear that, thirty years ago British music saw this transformation and revolution. Oasis were very much at the forefront of that movement:
“1994: a year that saw the landscape of music change in Britain. It was a time to be proud to be British after so long embracing American culture.
By the time Oasis bulldozed their way onto the scene, other British bands were already starting to achieve mainstream success. Acts such as Suede and Blur were scoring their highest charting singles to date. As a young lad getting into guitar music at that time, I definitely felt a movement was beginning to take place.
In April, Oasis would release their debut single “Supersonic”. Although it would only reach a modest 31 in the UK charts, there was already a statement of intent “I need to be myself, I can’t be no one else” – a motto certainly to live by.
“Shakermaker” and “Live Forever” would quickly follow as singles in June and August that year, with songwriter Noel Gallagher already trying to emulate The Beatles by releasing singles every few months.
August 29th was the date Definitely Maybe was unleashed on the UK and it was the day I walked into Music Zone record shop in Stockport to purchase the CD. The album commences with the perfect opener to any album: “Rock n Roll Star”. Chin out and in your face. “I live my life for the stars that shine”, “Tonight I’m a rock n roll star” – You can imagine kids singing that in their bedrooms hoping one day that could be them. A song about dreams of escaping the hum drum life on a council estate.
That to me was the definition of early Oasis songs. Filled with hope about how good your life could actually be. Singing about subjects any kid could relate to. “Live Forever” relates to friendship, when you have two friends who get the jokes that no one else does, “Cigarettes and Alcohol”, a song about, well Cigarettes and Alcohol, and “Slide Away”, a song about love.
Ranking albums as the greatest is always a matter of opinion and is always based on your own personal experiences. For me, as a lad just leaving his teenage years, this album is special for so many reasons. It’s the album that got me into guitar music after the charts being dominated by blandness.
It’s cliche to say it but it’s also an album that made me think differently as an individual, took me on a different path musically and definitely changed my lifestyle both socially and culturally. I discovered so many different bands and went to so many gigs from that day forward.
To me that’s the sign of an era-defining album. Other people probably cite The Jam, The Smiths and The Stone Roses for the same reasons but they were before my time. Definitely Maybe was right here, right now for me.
With front man Liam Gallagher now playing to audiences as big as Oasis played to and Noel Gallagher also achieving great success, the iconic band are still relevant to kids not even born when Definitely Maybe was released. A definite sign of a crossover in eras showing the long-term legacy of Oasis”.
I shall end with a review from AllMusic. A number one success in the U.K., there is no denying how Definitely Maybe captured a mood. It really shook of the scene here. This new band coming through and releasing an album that was so immediate and rich. Not just mindless anthems and noise. It is that blend of anger and depth. With Liam Gallagher pouring his heart out in every song, you can feel the authenticity:
“Definitely Maybe begins with a statement of aspiration, as Liam Gallagher sneers that "tonight, I'm a rock & roll star" -- the words of a bedsit dreamer hoping he'd break out of those four walls and find something greater. Maybe all he could muster is a fleeting moment of stardom as he sings in front of a fleet of amps pushing out power chords, or perhaps he'd really become a rock & roll star; all that matters is he makes the leap. This dream echoes throughout Oasis' debut, a record which takes the dreams of its listeners every bit as seriously as those of its creators. Both the artist and audience desire something greater than their surroundings, and that yearning gives Definitely Maybe a restlessness that resonates. Certainly, Oasis aren't looking to redefine rock & roll here; they'd rather inhabit it. They scour through the remnants of the past three decades to come up with a quintessentially British rock & roll record, one that swaggers with the defiance of the Rolling Stones, roars with the sneer of the Sex Pistols, thieves from the past like the Happy Mondays, and ties it all together with a melodicism as natural as Paul McCartney, even if Definitely Maybe never quite sounds like the Beatles. All the Fab Four comparisons trumpeted by the brothers Gallagher were a feint, a way to get their group considered as part of the major leagues. Soon enough, these affirmations became a self-fulfilling prophecy -- act the way you'd like to be and soon you'll be the way you act, as it were -- but that bravado hardly diminishes the accomplishment of Definitely Maybe.
It is a furious, inspiring record, a rallying cry for the downtrodden to rise above and seize their day but, most of all, it's a blast of potent, incendiary rock & roll. Soon after its release, Noel Gallagher would be hailed as the finest songwriter of his generation, an odd designation for a guy drawn to moon/June rhymes, but his brilliance lies in his bold strokes. He never shied away from the obvious, and his confidence in his reappropriation of cliches lends these bromides a new power, as do his strong, sinewy melodies -- so powerful, it doesn't matter if they were snatched from elsewhere (as they were on "Shakermaker" or the B-side "Fade Away"). The other secret is of course Noel's brother, Liam, the greatest rock & roll vocalist of his generation, a force of nature who never seems to consider either the past or the present but rather exists in an ever-present now. He sometimes sighs but usually sneers, shaking off any doubt and acting like the rock & roll star Noel so wanted to be. This tension would soon rip the group apart but here on Oasis' debut, this chemistry is an addictive energy, so Definitely Maybe winds up a rare thing: it has the foundation of a classic album wrapped in the energy of a band who can't conceive a future beyond the sunset”.
There is so much to say about Definitely Maybe. A debut album that proudly can sit alongside the absolute best ever. I think about the 1990s and Oasis’ 1994 debut springs to mind. It was this massive release. This revolutionary working-class band from Manchester striking against decades of political strife. Songs about aspirations, youth and freedom. It offered something hopeful and relatable for the youth of Britain in 1994. The reason it sustained and was so enduring is because it did give people something to cling to. Britain was under Tory rule until 1997. In the three years before government change and the release of Definitely Maybe, this album spoke more truth than any politician.
I want to bring in a final section about Definitely Maybe and its impact. I know Liam Gallagher has said he is going to tour and perform the album. Wikipedia have collated polls where Definitely Maybe has ranked high. How it has won such acclaim. There is no denying the place it has in music history. If you have not dug into the album in a while, then you really need to sit down with and experience this majestic run of songs:
“In 1997, Definitely Maybe was named the 14th greatest album of all time in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian, and Classic FM. On Channel 4's "100 Greatest Albums" countdown in 2005, the album was placed at No. 6. In 2006, NME placed the album at No. 3 on its list of the greatest British albums ever, behind the Stone Roses' self-titled debut album and the Smiths' The Queen Is Dead. In a 2006 British poll run by NME and the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, the album was voted the best album of all time, with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band finishing second. Q placed it at No. 5 on its greatest albums of all time list in 2006, and NME hailed it as the greatest album of all time that same year.
In a 2008 poll conducted by Q and HMV of the greatest British albums of all time, Definitely Maybe placed at No. 1. Rolling Stone ranked the album at No. 217 on its 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", No. 78 on its 2011 list of the "100 Best Albums of the Nineties", as well as No. 42 on its 2013 list of the "100 Best Debut Albums of All Time". The German edition of Rolling Stone ranked the album at No. 156 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.
On 29th August, we mark thirty years of Definitely Maybe. It is this album that still resonates to this day. There is a thirtieth anniversary edition you can pre-order. With relatively few working-class Rock bands at the forefront, I think that we need to look to Definitely Maybe and the influence it had. How it can kickstart something today. Alongside the singles and anthems from the album, there is so many other gems to be discovered. A debut like no other. There is no…
MAYBE about it!