Definitely Maybe by Oasis, the beginning of another “Great Rock’n’Roll Scam”
Malcolm McLaren dead and gone, the Pistols reduced to something worse than a parody of themselves and Oasis returning to the stage. It’s 2024, and times have changed…but not completely. At least not the formula of “The Great Rock’n’roll Swindle” (for those who want to delve deeper I recommend this beautiful piece by Domenico Paris). The architect of the “Great Rock’n’Roll Scam” is now no longer the brilliant Malcom, who was the creator of the Sex Pistols phenomenon, but is called Ticket One. The story of dynamic pricing, according to which prices increase as demand for concert tickets grows, in addition to filling the coffers of the online ticketing giant, has undoubtedly served as a sounding board for the Manchester band, amplifying a the announcement in August of his return to the scene after 15 years of absence is disproportionate.
What is dynamic pricing that has tripled ticket prices for Oasis?
Oasis-mania, again
Suddenly Oasis-mania (re)erupted, still fueled by the classic topos of the Gallegher brothers, or the family feud between the two, which has always been a fundamental element of their success since the days of “Definitely Maybe”, their debut album. And in fact Liam’s declaration (in response to a fan on Well, a little fear was needed for the fans, in a sold out tour already announced as the rock event of 2025. The trembling that everything vanishes due to a fight between the two is well known to the Italian fans who remained in 2009 empty-handed after the cancellation of the Milan concert due, needless to say, to a fight between the Mancunian prima donnas. However, you still have to wait for a date in Italy. For now there are only rumors about major maneuvers regarding a stop in Rome of a possible tour in 2026. We’ll see. The return in such a grand style of a group that formed in 1991 and disbanded in 2009 is however news on which a treatise on rock sociology should be written. The desire to listen to their debut album again – the deluxe reissue of which, on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary, was released a few months ago – is there and it is the opportunity to talk about this jewel of “Britpop”.
The return of Oasis is a film already seen, but rightly so
A supersonic debut
In 1994 Definitely Maybe projected Oasis onto the international music scene. Noel Gallagher and his brother Liam – the first guitarist and author of the songs, the second charismatic vocalist – are two boys from the working class of Manchester. One is 27 years old, the other 22, both, both grew up on fights, beer and rock, both irresistibly snooty and stubbornly determined to become rock stars. After countless concerts in Manchester pubs and troubled management, on 11 April 1994, seven days after Kurt Cobain’s death, they released the single Supersonic, an “instant classic” with an irresistible riff and lyrics that are a true anthem. to individuality and post-adolescent bravado: “I need to be myself/I can’t be no one else”. Supersonic is the first single from Definitely Maybe, an album that comes out in August and immediately makes a splash, placing itself at the top of the English charts.
Two thugs sons of the “working class hero”
On a musical level there is nothing new in Oasis’ music, but the way of mixing classic rock influences, especially from the 60s and 70s, and those of punk-rock with a new and rebellious attitude is an indelible marker for 90s Britpop.
Noel’s compositional genius in crafting enthralling pop gems and Liam’s unmistakable and arrogant voice are irresistible elements. The lyrics are certainly not elaborate poems, we are light years away from the cultured quotes of Morrisey or the desperate lyrics of Ian Curtis, fellow countrymen of ours. The lyrics are simple and direct, with that hint of alcoholic “surrealism”: the daily boredom of a highly industrialized city, the desire to escape and escape and above all to “make it” through a self-confidence dictated by pure youthful arrogance rock’n’roll style. The sound of the album is raw and powerful, the guitars are omnipresent and the energy in the songs is something unique. It’s called Britpop, but it reads like rock’n’roll, the kind that mixes the Beatles with the Rolling Stones, Inspiral Carpet with the Sex Pistols.
Supersonic recalls the raucous gait of Johnny Rotten. Rock ‘n’ Roll Star opens with repetitive guitar riffs reminiscent of 70s hard rock but also the energy of the Pistols and The Who. Shakermaker is a psychedelic ballad in which you can hear the riffs of the Fab Four from Magical Mystery Tour, while the ghost of John Lennon appears in Live Forever. Up in the Sky, with its pressing rhythm, harks back to the Kinks, that is, the ’70s remodeled for the ’90s. “Columbia” is dense, with a hypnotic and repetitive psychedelic sound that fades into a fade. The echoes of punk, but also of grunge, return in Bring It on Down, the most aggressive track on the album, with a pressing rhythm and distorted guitars. The frenzy fades with the last three tracks of the album: the carefree Digsy’s Dinner, with a more pop approach; “Slide Away”, with nostalgic melodies and an emotional crescendo and the final piece, “Married with Children”, with echoes of the acoustic Beatles again. A ballad that closes the album with a “reflective” and ironic moment at the same time. “Oasis Style”, in short.
Parka style
Definitely Maybe is the debut of a band destined to climb the charts and dominate the arenas starting from the end of the ’90s, as they will then do with the subsequent (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, until the first decade of the new millennium. And, given the results of ticket sales, their adventure continues. The stages of the tour will gather at least three generations under the stage. And bucket hats, along with parkas, are already coming back into fashion. Old Malcom would be happy, rest his soul, to see that the great, sublime, Rock’n’roll scam he invented still works.
Author: Oasis
Title: Definitely Maybe
Type: Britpop
Year: 1994 (Creation Records)
Editorial rating: 8/10