OASIS The Masterplan 25th anniversary 2xLP ( Big Brother )
When Oasis ’ debut Definitely Maybe reached American shores , I was smitten to the point of obsession . A fortune went to my local record shop for imported singles from the UK so I could own every nonalbum B-side from Definitely Maybe , **( What ’ s the Story ) Morning Glory , and couple from Be Here Now before I lost the fire . With Oasis being hyped as the world ’ s biggest rock and roll band circa 1997 , how could I not have expected the 1998 arrival of The Masterplan ? The album collected 14 B-sides in one package for less than the price that I ’ d spent on one or two of those imported CD singles .
Despite its inevitably disjointed construction , the collection reached # 2 on the charts at home in the UK and achieved multiplatinum sales . Not bad for a batch of leftovers . Many fans consider it Oasis ’ third-best album , edging out the overwrought Be Here Now . This was the last release to rely upon the Manchester band ’ s best-known five-piece lineup including guitarist Paul “ Bonehead ” Arthur and bassist Paul McGuigan alongside drummer Alan White and fractious brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher .
Morning Glory-era track “ Acquiesce ” is a hard-driving rocker with stadium-shaking ambitions . Noel and Liam share singing duties in a song about the bonds of friendship and possibly brotherhood . “ We need each other , we believe in each other ,” sings Noel in the chorus . With Noel ’ s hard-edged but swirling psychedelic guitar , “ Underneath the Sky ” veers into the territory of fellow British rockers the Charlatans UK . Liam ’ s melodic arch is nimble but unforced as ever , and it may have been a tough call to cut the song from Morning Glory . Similarly , feral grunge-pop rocker “ Fade Away ” with Liam Gallagher ’ s sneering and youthful vocal would have suited the Definitely Maybe track listing .
Sung by Noel , the understated and grateful acoustic rocker “ Talk Tonight ” is
disarmingly reflective and sensitive fare considering the writer ’ s pugnacious reputation . The song was inspired by a visit to a friend who cooled Noel ’ s jets and convinced him not to quit the combustible band as things were beginning to go its way . “ Going Nowhere ” is embellished by Bacharach-ian horns and George Martinstyled production , but the song doesn ’ t connect nearly as well . Still , the lyric has a pretty fierce bite , wit , and loads of ambition fueled by the fact that the band was still a struggling independent act at the time of writing .
Instrumental track and “ Wonderwall ” b-side “ The Swamp Song ” adapts the main riff to Norman Greenbaum ’ s “ Spirit in the Sky ” and adds bristling harmonica and guitar from band hero Paul Weller of the Jam , but the track is a static groove of caterwauling howl that never achieves liftoff . The band digs into the Beatles “ I Am the Walrus ” as an homage with an appropriate balance of reverence and irreverence to better success .
“ Rockin ’ Chair ” and “ Half the World Away ” were written for separate albums , but are similarly disaffected , dissatisfied , and disgruntled . Any young rocker is subject to ennui and wanderlust , but Liam ’ s nasal sneer coupled with brother Noel ’ s scrappy lyrics on the former song can combine into what might be interpreted by a casual observer as a whinge-fest . As if sensing this possibility when singing for himself , Noel adds the coda “ I don ’ t feel down ” to the latter song . Noel admitted lifting the yearning “ Half the World Away ” practically wholesale from Burt Bacharach ’ s “ This Guy ’ s in Love with You .”
The situation is more beatific with psych-rocker “( It ’ s Good ) To Be Free ,” in which Liam sings that the little things are what make him happy . What inspired Noel to such lyrical joy , we ask ? Apparently , he wrote the song during another short-lived band split from his brother and bandmates . “ Stay Young ” is an irrepressible and swinging glam-rocker with a posture that ’ s both rebellious and encouraging – in other words , a great shot of rock and roll spirit . The brittle blast of “ Headshrinker ” is a downer despite a blazing Mott the Hoople-meets-the Sex Pistols punk riff . The set wraps with its lush and Beatlesque title cut , connecting with the grand Magical Mystery Tour-styled production in a soulful way that “ Going
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