Rocktrospectiva: The Brilliant And Massive Succesful Britpop Igniter "Definitely Maybe" Turns 30

 

Released on 29 August 1994, "Definitely Maybe" was the debut studio album by the English rock band Oasis, the album was an immediate commercial success in the United Kingdom, having followed on the heels of the singles "Supersonic", "Shakermaker", and the UK top-ten hit "Live Forever". It went straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history at the time. It is the only Oasis album to feature all five original members completely; drummer Tony McCarroll was ejected from the band in early 1995, but he would still partially appear on their second album on the track "Some Might Say". 

 

The album spawned four singles "Supersonice", "Shakermaker", "Live Forever", & "Cigarettes & Alcohol", this was positively appreciate by critics that acclaim the album and helped to spur a revitalisation in British pop/rock music in the 1990s. It was embraced by critics for its optimistic themes and rejection of the negative outlook of much of the grunge music of the time and is regarded as a cornerstone of the Britpop genre.

 

Oasis aren't looking to redefine rock & roll here; they'd rather inhabit it. They scour through the remnants of the past three decades to come up with a quintessentially British rock & roll record, one that swaggers with the defiance of the Rolling Stones, roars with the sneer of the Sex Pistols, thieves from the past like the Happy Mondays, and ties it all together with a melodicism so cool, even if Definitely Maybe never quite sounds like the Beatles. 

 

Definitely Maybe. It is a furious, inspiring record, a rallying cry for the downtrodden to rise above and seize their day but, most of all, it's a blast of potent, incendiary rock & roll. Soon after its release, Noel Gallagher would be hailed as the finest songwriter of his generation, an odd designation for a guy drawn to moon June rhymes, but his brilliance lies in his bold strokes. He never shied away from the obvious, and his confidence in his reappropriation of cliches lends these bromides a new power, as do his strong, sinewy melodies so powerful, it doesn't matter if they were snatched from elsewhere. The other secret is of course Noel's brother, Liam, the greatest rock & roll vocalist of his generation, a force of nature who never seems to consider either the past or the present but rather exists in an ever-present now. He sometimes sighs but usually sneers, shaking off any doubt and acting like the rock & roll star Noel so wanted to be. 

 

Definitely Maybe Track List:  

 

1. Rock 'n' Roll Star

2. Shakermaker

3. Live Forever

4. Up In The Sky

5. Columbia

6. Supersonic

7. Bring It On Down

8. Cigarettes And Alcohol

9. Digsy's Dinner

10. Slide Away

11. Married With Children