I recently introduced a friend of mine to (WTS)MG. She'd previously only known Wonderwall (which she loved - had it mixed on a lot of her CDs and on her iPod) and Champagne Supernova.

She really responded well to (WTS)MG, in particular 4 tracks: Wonderwall, DLBIA, Cast No Shadow, and Champagne Supernova.

So I think I'm going to put together for her an Oasis mix. I plan on limiting it mostly to MG/DM-era tracks. I might throw on one or two BHN tracks.

Help me put this CD together. I do like SOTSOG and HC but I don't plan to put any of their songs onto the mix. The guidelines are as follows:

1. Up to 14 tracks (Okay, maybe 15 or 16 - must fit on one CD though)
2. Draw tracks from Morning Glory and Definitely Maybe, for the most part.
3. B-Sides from those two albums and the Masterplan, plus WHATEVER (I really think I should include that song) ARE eligible for selection.
4. Limit to one BHN-era track at most, if any. She wouldn't really be into the whole big BHN sound.
5. Must include 4 earlier mentioned MG tracks

She likes rockers, but is generally less into the big stadium rockers and more into the ballads, so I'd say try to strike a balance between mid-tempo rockers and ballads, although a couple faster rockers would be fine.

One other song I should put up for special mention is Slide Away (my "namesake"). I really think that should be on there.

Any suggestions? I DO have my own mix, but I'm curious to see what others think. Here is mine:

1. Rock n' Roll Star
2. Acquiesce
3. Live Forever
4. Wonderwall
5. Don't Go Away
6. The Masterplan
7. Cigarettes & Alcohol
8. Slide Away
9. Underneath the Sky
10. Cast No Shadow
11. Don't Look Back in Anger
12. Supersonic
13. Whatever
14. Fade Away
15. Champagne Supernova

Update

Okay, so here's the track order as it currently stands. This is still open to change, and I probably won't give this to her for a few weeks, b/c I won't see this friend until probably after Christmas.

Anyway, here's the track order and I'll explain some of my reasoning along with some of the dilemmas I'm currently facing.

1. Rock n' Roll Star
2. Live Forever
3. Wonderwall
4. Acquiesce
5. The Masterplan
6. Cigarettes & Alcohol
7. Slide Away
8. Underneath the Sky
9. Cast No Shadow
10. Talk Tonight
11. Don't Look Back in Anger
12. Fade Away
13. Whatever
14. Supersonic
15. Champagne Supernova

Current length: 1:15:47

I started with Rock n' Roll Star b/c I can't conceive of the song NOT starting out an album. It simply doesn't work out of the top spot.

I transitioned to Live Forever next. It was pointed out that Live Forever is, in the opinion of many fans, their best song. It was suggested putting it at the end, building up to it. The problem is that Champagne Supernova doesn't work anywhere but the end, so I have to build to that. Hence, Live Forever's next best position is the beginning. Plus, transitioning from Rock n' Roll Star to Live Forever is transcendent (check it out!).

Wonderwall follows b/c it's sort of a sequel to Live Forever with some common motifs (the plaintiveness, the "maybe"'s). Acquiesce works well next b/c it's a hard rocker and the transition works pretty well.

I put Cigarettes & Alcohol after The Masterplan b/c it creates an interesting dichotomy - one idealistic, one cynical. And transitioning from C&A to Slide Away is great. Plus, throwing Slide Away into the middle creates one climax.

Underneath the Sky is where it is b/c it's a nice, light tune that sounds kind of different from most Oasis tunes and it sounds real good after Slide Away. The positioning of the next few tracks doesn't have a lot of method to it - I tried to keep "strings" tracks alternated, rather than piling Whatever, Cast No Shadow, and DLBIA all close to each other.

The transition between DLBIA and Fade Away is excellent, the transition from Fade Away to Whatever is ok, but Supersonic sounds good after Whatever, and it builds a nice epic rocker that feeds into the melody of Champagne Supernova.

A few words on inclusions and noninclusions. There are some great songs left off: Some Might Say, Roll With It, Stay Young, Don't Go Away, Columbia, Bring it on Down, Stand By Me, Rockin' Chair, Listen Up, Going Nowhere, AATW (although I don't like that tune). I didn't include Roll With It b/c in listening to Morning Glory she didn't respond to it so well. Stay Young is great and if I could fit it on, I would, but I can't decide what song to replace it with. Stand By Me is good and might go well somewhere on the album, although I think it may be a bit over-the-top for her.

I would have liked to include Don't Go Away, esp. b/c I don't want to leave BHN totally unrepresented. The problem is that there are plenty of ballads as is and if there are too many songs that sound similar, you kind of get numbed to the individual ones. Plus, it has a similar melodic structure to Slide Away, which is a better song in my opinion.

I am strongly considering replacing Underneath the Sky with Some Might Say. The reasons I left it off are two-fold. Number one, she didn't respond as well to it or the song Morning Glory when she heard the album. Number two, I think Underneath the Sky sounds good after Slide Away. However, I think SMS works after Slide Away also, so I may exchange those. Some Might Say could also build well to Champagne Supernova.

I think she'd like Rockin' Chair and Going Nowhere too, but I don't know where to put them. I'm really not considering DYKWIM (she wouldn't like it) or AATW (too long for this compilation and anyway, Whatever sounds better). Listen Up is good, but it sounds too similar IMO to Live Forever and Supersonic to warrant inclusion.

To be honest, I'd probably like to cut Cast No Shadow - it's a great song, but it sounds a lot like Wonderwall and there are better songs anyway. But she really liked it when she heard MG so I'm keeping it on.

I'll update again or reply in a few days!

P.S. Oh, about Champagne Supernova - does anybody know where I can find a mix of it without the water sounds that carry over from the Swamp Song snippet? It's not a big problem, but if it's mixed onto the CD without Swamp Song and Morning Glory it sounds kind of abrupt with the sound of water suddenly kicking in. Any suggestions? It's not a big deal, and I'll probably leave it as is, but wanted to know.