So I was going through Stylus Magazine - an online music magazine. Incidentally, given that they're a more recent outfit (I think they're American, although they have British contributors), their only Oasis reviews are a scathing review of Heathen Chemistry, a great one-song review of Talk Tonight, and this - a feature called "Playing God" on Definitely Maybe.

The writer of the piece writes of how he wishes Definitely Maybe had been released. He cuts 3 tracks off and throws Going Nowhere onto it, along with jigging the tracklisting.

Anyway, here's a response to his fiddling with the album. I can't say I agree with all of "capnandtennile's" criticisms of some of their later stuff (says "Wonderwall and "CS" appeared to come from a band of "monumental stupidity"), but his analysis of DM is spot-on. Check it out:

www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=1145

Posted 08/03/2004 - 01:09:04 PM by capnandtennile:

As I have on occasion in the past, I'm going to respectfully disagree with a few--though not all--of the things Mr. Mathers has written.

It is truly unfortunate that nobody respects Oasis these days--including most of those who enjoy their music. I have to admit I was among them myself for some time, and I too think that the choice of songs for their albums is at fault. But to me taking three tracks away from Definitely Maybe isn't far from taking three tracks away from The Stone Roses. The problem with the tracklisting on Definitely Maybe isn't that it makes for a bad album, but that it obscures the center of Noel's songwriting. And although some may disagree, I think our sense of this center influences the way we hear the music.

'Fade Away' and 'Listen Up' are the important b-sides from the time, each on the 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' single. They show that Oasis was as much about desperation as about dreams. And the significance of the dreams is only clear when it is understood beside the desperation. A consciousness of the passing of time, never made too obvious on their albums, was always the center of their b-sides--even those to the Morning Glory singles. And even though it isn't obvious on their albums, it's this background that gives 'Digsy's Diner' its power, makes the hedonistic 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' and 'Supersonic' so intoxicating, and makes 'Slide Away' the very heart of Definitely Maybe and not just another love song.

'Fade Away' reveals the depth of Noel's doubts about the possibility of his success. And what would have happened if Oasis hadn't made it? He would have been nobody, trapped in an ugly, depressing city with no possibility of escape. Speaking about Manchester's music in a recent interview, Morrissey spoke of the desperation of the city and said that there were only two ways to escape: music and football. You may recall the Smiths' lines 'what do we get for our trouble and pain?/Whalley Range'. Some of the early Smiths songs(many of which only really worked in a live setting) were motivated by the same feeling of being caged that lies beneath 'Bring it on Down'. That latter song adds hedonism to music and football as a third possibility: hence the lines Mr. Mathers mentioned: 'you're the outcast/you're the underclass/but you don't care/because you're living fast'.

And Noel does more to universalize his feelings than Morrissey did. A few lines from 'Fade Away' and 'Listen Up': 'while we're living/the dreams we had as children fade away', 'one fine day/I'm gonna leave you all behind/it wouldn't be so bad if I had more time', and the lyric that perhaps captures it best, 'take me up to the top of the world/I want to see my crime'. This last reveals the other side of Noel's pursuit of glory: to overcome the feeling that he has committed a crime; that he has been _accused_. A cry against the possibility that life is a punishment for something--a punishment not only because Noel is one of the 'outcast' and the underclass, but because of the speed of its passing.

If there could be any doubt that 'Slide Away' springs from the same root as the rest of the songs, these lines should erase it: 'my today/fell in from the top...I dream of you/and the thought of growing old/but you said "please don't"'.

I think there's a lot more to say about Definitely Maybe, but this post is already long enough. I can understand not liking 'Shakermaker' (although I do), but there has to be and end to the days where people feel obligated to make excuses for liking Oasis and lose sight of what made the band so great. 'A bunch of do-nothings from Manchester with a bunch of songs about being do-nothings that wished/pretended to be rock stars.': there's some truth to this, but in the end it misses the point. Mr. Mathers writes that he wants to return some respect to Oasis' early work, but I don't see shuffling up Definitely Maybe as the best way to achieve that. Leave the album as it is; just listen to The Masterplan as well.

Reply by IanMathers:

Neither "Listen Up" nor "Fade Away" do much for me, and I'm surprised you didn't mention "Going Nowhere" (which is far more direct than either) at all. My line about do-nothings from Manchester wasn't about the point of the band so much as what I'd heard the first album was like before I picked it up. I'm not sure what the point of Oasis is, or any band really, although I would be interested in hearing others' versions. And The Masterplan is, to me, only about half classic ("Acquiesce" yes, "The Swamp Song" no, and so on). But, as always, good to get another perspective (even if you're WRONG, John, WRONG! Hahahahahaha!).

Reply by capnandtennile:

It's too bad 'Fade Away' doesn't do much for you. It was the song that first made me a fan of Oasis, several years after 'Champagne Supernova' and 'Wonderwall' were radio hits that appeared to come from a band of truly massive stupidity. Apart from 'The Swamp Song' and 'Masterplan', I think every track on The Masterplan is great (and yes, I include 'I am the Walrus')--although it took me a long time to come to that conclusion. Because of its Burt Bacharach-esque production, I find it hard to think of 'Going Nowhere' being on Definitely Maybe, although it is a great song. Sadly, my talents are too limited to envision it with a rougher sound.

I also surprised you didn't use 'Sad Song' (an acoustic vinyl-only bonus track to Definitely Maybe) in its place--and even more that you took 'Digsy's Diner' off the album. I do like concluding the album with 'Married with Children'. A number of great albums end with a short, light song to ensure that the album doesn't get weighed down by too much heavy stuff at the end ('Her Majesty', 'Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others', and even 'Thorn Tree in the Garden', if anyone remembers that one).

Definitely Maybe goes so far as to surround 'Slide Away' with two lighter songs, just as The Queen Is Dead did for 'There is a Light'. I should also admit that my perception of Oasis is influenced by miscellaneous bootlegs of Noel's solo-acoustic performances, which bring out another side of the songs. I can only hope that they'll be released someday--maybe under the title Another Side of Noel Gallagher.

Posted 08/03/2004 - 07:14:14 PM by AUnterberger:

I am so fucking sick of Oasis fans shitting on "Champagne Supernova". Quite possibly their finest moment.

Posted 08/03/2004 - 07:49:37 PM by capnandtennile:

Well, I didn't say it was bad, only that it gave the appearance of stupidity--especially if it's the only Oasis you've heard. I do occasionally find it to be painful, probably because it sometimes conjures up memories of the oncoming 'All Around the World'. But you make a good point, even though I would never call it their finest moment.

Posted 08/04/2004 - 12:40:36 AM by IanMathers:

"Champagne Supernova" = genius, in my opinion, although moreso in the context of the album that out. It frustrates me that "(What's The Story) Morning Glory" feels so much more _consistent_ than "Definitely Maybe", as I like the sound of DM more,and think the highs are higher. But I'd be forced to admit that, as released, I think "...Morning Glory" is a better album. I've never heard "Sad Song", which is my bad.

Posted 08/04/2004 - 04:49:38 AM by AUnterberger:

haha, I think I'm also the one Oasis fan in the world who loves "All Around the World". Not one of their finest, but it's so obnoxious, how could you not love it?

Posted 08/04/2004 - 12:24:10 PM by IanMathers:

I can't even _remember_ "All Around The World", so I don't know if I like it.

Posted 08/05/2004 - 04:14:52 PM by scottw:

I can't fathom "going nowhere" stuck in the middle of this album (which I've listened to more times than almost any other I can think of); perhaps w/o the bacharach production it could work.

"Shakermaker" is subpar, but I like "digsy's diner," and "fade away" should definitely be involved because it's awesome. I have a CD-R from ebay labeled "Definitely Maybe B-Sides" which I think includes some later songs in spite of the title. I mention this because "Good to be Free" is another of my favorites, but it sounds like it was actually recorded later on (although it shows up on this compilation disc); in any case, it is another excellent song which I think sort of fits in this discussion as a kind of inversion of your loser-becomes-rock-star self-fulfilling prophecy theme.

Posted 08/06/2004 - 08:15:49 AM by scottw:

Also, forgot to mention, "all around the world" is shit.