Oasis (2) – Definitely Maybe

Just checked my copy and it’s this Damont pressing. Thank goodness for that!!
I bought this from a friend back on 2002 I think it was for €10!😂

Only in Mexican edition CD track 12 is "Whatever" like a bonus track.
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They saved the entire UK from Grunge. Job well done.

Oasis launched simultaneously as British guitar bands appeared to be on the cusp of dethroning grunge, dance, shoegaze, hair metal and synthpop as the dominant musical forms of the past decade. Seasoned without being experienced, self-indulgent and generally cocksure, Oasis were oozing with confidence and ideas, possessing enough attitude, style and wit to supply three bands, let alone one. Evolving from another group that Liam Gallagher was invited to front, they performed for the first time in this line-up and were judged by Liam's older brother Noel, a roadie already familiar with the alternative rock scene. Noel did not see any potential for the band other than as a conduit for the songs that he been writing for many years. Fully aware of Noel's arsenal of fully-formed, catchy songs and industry s, the band were in no position to refuse his demand to take full control and steer them in a more commercial direction. Upon renaming themselves Oasis and sustained with an influx of creativity, the band performed demos and rehearsals for over a year until Noel and Liam's mutual desire to become rock stars was on the verge of transpiring when they signed with Creation Records and began recording what would become their debut album, "Definitely Maybe". Taking a simplistic approach to music rather than complex or pretentious, Liam's mix of Johnny Rotten-esque vocal sneering and Noel's melodic songwriting superseded the instrumental basis composed of power chords and rhythms amplified to the point of distortion. Such a wall of noise would struggle to be mixed according to the band's wishes, and in an attempt to replicate the pulverising sound of their live shows, the aggressive, incredibly layered cacophony was transmuted even further with a catalogue of production techniques courtesy of studio engineer Owen Morris, who managed to create immediacy and incorporate grooves into the guitar-heavy brew. However, this heavily compressed, brick-walled final mix was devoid of dynamics and only suited to jukebox or radio playback rather than audiophile listening, though perhaps that was the point. Oasis were self-taught musicians elevated by the unification of a irascible, pop savvy lyricist and an insouciant, premier frontman; they were meant to as sound as in-your-face and energetic as possible, thus concealing their lack of proficiency and mirroring the shrewd, streetwise Madchester pioneers of dance rock. Oasis represent a generation of beer-swilling hell-raisers and cigarette-smoking reprobates, not those who favour high quality sound reproduction over memorable hooks you can sing along to in a crowded pub. It is this pure ambition, impudence and imprecision that adds to the charm of this vital classic, a coherent, expertly executed record exuding certainty, Northern quintessence, working-class exultation, and loutish cool.

Oasis' debut is ostensibly a statement of aspiration, with the creators, firmly placed in their self-assured pre-fame phase, resonating with an audience yearning restlessly for a better life. Throughout the album, Liam and Noel communicate their dreams of becoming rock stars whilst leading relatively humdrum lives, and it was this heartfelt emotion that carried a universal appeal, with Oasis becoming integral to the artistic reactivation in Britain during the mid-to-late '90s, capturing the mood of the time effortlessly and forcing it into the public consciousness. Oasis pilfered the past three decades of music and created a swaggering and strangely mellifluous fusion of glam, noise and blues rock, exhibiting all the hedonism and egocentrism of rock stars before they had even acquired the requisite stardom associated with such behaviour. Behind all of the blowhard insolence and sheer bravado, exemplified by "Rock 'n' Roll Star", "Cigarettes & Alcohol" and "Supersonic", was a reflective restraint demonstrated by "Slide Away", "Live Forever", and "Married With Children". Such underlying poignancy would be unveiled and emphasized on their second album, but "Definitely Maybe" caught the band at the perfect moment, when they were fearless, optimistic, self-aggrandizing proles hellbent on revitalizing the, as they perceived it, contemptible musical and troubled political landscape. Along with the rest of the alternative rock mainstream, Oasis became proud paragons of a cultural movement accentuating Britishness and lucent lyrical themes, though they naturally rejected the label it was given - Britpop.

Oasis may have drawn on the Beatles and the Stones, but their distinctive rutting rock aesthetic is far more indebted to punk, glam and indie than harmony-laden, guitar-based pop of the 1960s. "Definitely Maybe" is a spunky, messy, noisy collection of derivative yet seminal songs coursing with a roaring earnestness, inciting a paradigm shift akin to the Sex Pistols in 1977. Now bitter enemies torn apart by the same tensions and arrogance that, apart from their wild lifestyles and disputes, would see them become tabloid regulars and come to define their sibling relationship, Noel and Liam's immense popularity has long since faded. Although they would improve further as musicians and songwriters, producing arguably more accomplished, mature and polished material, they would never better their transcendent, utterly addictive debut, a rippling classic of the alternative rock genre that fully deserves its legendary status.

Rating: 5/5

If anyone is interested in an unofficial release for $50, let me know?

This is the version you want to get. A bit more dynamic range than the US Epic CD version. Can't go wrong with Creation