Oasis’ ‘Definitely Maybe’ Still Sounds Fresh After 30 Years

As Definitely Maybe turns 30 this month, Oasis are releasing their Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition. Plenty of ink has already been spilled on the work’s legacy, including the sheer volume of the over eight million copies sold worldwide, not to mention its role in the Britpop cultural movement. After much speculation, we know Oasis will reunite for a string of shows next summer. Amidst the hype, such a milestone should allow fans to pause and reflect on their unlikely debut masterpiece released in 1994.

Oasis formed in Manchester in 1991 and consisted of band members Liam Gallagher (vocals), Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (guitar), Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan (bass), Tony McCarroll (drums), and, eventually, Noel Gallagher (lead guitar, vocals), who Liam asked to join following Noel’s stint as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets. As the story goes, Noel saw Oasis play a show, and he was impressed by his younger brother’s band; he agreed to join so long as he would be the group’s leader and primary songwriter (which remained in place until Liam began writing some tracks starting with 2000’s Standing on the Shoulder of Giants).

Following a demo tape, Oasis signed to Creation Records. The label initially sought to put out their debut while everybody waited for the Stone Roses’ much anticipated sophomore release. The surprising (and perhaps most alarming) fact is that Definitely Maybe, as we know it, almost didn’t happen. At least if things had progressed the way they had, the album wouldn’t have sounded like it does today.

The band originally recorded at Monnow Valley, a big studio with separate areas. Not only were Oasis recording down the way from the Stone Roses, which allowed for drinking and drug-fueled escapades, but the sound wasn’t quite right because they were so used to playing live. According to one of the producers, Mark Coyle, who was featured in the Definitely Maybe Documentary (2004), the recording “just sounded soft… there was no edge to it”. Alan McGee, who co-founded Creation Records, can be credited with making the extra investment to re-record the album. He later admitted that they needed to get the record right because the label were slowly going bankrupt. 

Oasis then recorded at Sawmills Studio, which was only accessible by boat, and that limited the partying. With the exception of Liam, who did his vocal takes in a separate booth, the band played together in a small room with no frills, not even headphones. For the most part, this recording session gave Definitely Maybe the punch it needed. They also brought on Owen Morris, who mixed the LP in a manner that provides it with its signature sound, including that little hiss of feedback we hear today (he also used what he described as “brick-walling”, which produced the highest possible decibels and, in turn, played louder on jukeboxes than anybody else).  Morris had the discerning ear to take all the best parts and leave the rest. 

In retrospect, other aspects of the recording process seem like pure kismet. At the time they were recording some demos at the Pink Museum in Liverpool, “Bring It on Down” was initially supposed to be the first single, but they couldn’t get it right, and that is when they wrote “Supersonic”.  The lore is that Noel wrote the lyrics in a half hour during some downtime, and the track was arranged and recorded in a day.  That version is actually the track we hear today, and it still stands as one of their best songs ever recorded. 

Definitely Maybe’s second single was a surprising choice, the psychedelic “Shakermaker”. According to Oasis, the song’s last verse hadn’t been written, and Liam pestered Noel to finish the song during a taxi ride to the recording studio. The result was “Mister Sifter sold me songs / When I was just 16 / Now he stops at traffic lights / But only when they’re green.” It was pure happenstance that at that moment, they were driving past Sifter’s, a local music store; however, the abstract ideas contained within are pure John Lennon, a musician Oasis idolized. In addition, “Shakermaker” notoriously ripped off “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” by the New Seekers, which was used as a Coca-Cola jingle. 

At least initially, Oasis came across as decidedly British, with influences such Slade, T. Rex, the Sex Pistols, and the Beatles. That is probably why Oasis didn’t really take root on the other side of the pond until “Live Forever”, which became an MTV Buzz Bin track, alongside “What Would You Say” by Dave Matthews Band and “Everything Zen” by Bush. The first part of “Live Forever” was cut entirely during editing, and the track begins with the now-famous drum introduction. For an album featuring a drummer who supposedly couldn’t drum (McCarroll could drum, of course, but he had limitations, especially with keeping time), the opening to “Live Forever” is one of the most iconic in music history. On Definitely Maybe, it’s second to his playing on the punk-fueled “Bring It on Down”, recorded when the band threatened him with his replacement.       

At that time, the US didn’t fully understand the superstars they had in this new British act that was now broadcast on the airwaves.  There was no Beatlemania taking place in the States (however, Oasis were experiencing a comparable fanatical reception in Britain), and the closest they would come to being fully embraced was with the release (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (1995).  Still, “Supersonic” and “Live Forever” were well-received (if not the record as a whole), and Oasis soon became a household name.  

Anyone hearing the singles and only just discovering Definitely Maybe might miss the story arc, which begins with the undeniable vision statement of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”. On the track, Liam pronounces authentically, “I live my life in the city / And there’s no easy way out.” Things were bad from a social and economic vantage point, and making good on their musical ambitions was the only way to break free. That desperation could be turned into reality with a few simple lines, including “In my mind, my dreams are real” and “Tonight I’m a rock ‘n’ roll star.” In the documentary, Liam said, “Every day you get up in the morning, you should live your life like a fucking star.” That sentiment sets the stage for Oasis’ brand of straight-ahead rock (perhaps foreshadowing their eventual collapse).    

Noel’s songwriting contained a sense of urgency that he wouldn’t again match, and maybe that was impossible because they had become overnight sensations. As much as Noel claims his songwriting is apolitical, many aspects would suggest otherwise. He said, “I wasn’t trying to impress anybody with my lyrical prowess… and I wasn’t trying to make a point, and I wasn’t trying to build myself a platform where I could go preach to the nation… I was writing about things that were true for me; it was about shagging, drinking, and taking drugs.” That is all true.   

It’s also true that these lads felt compelled to rail against plenty of societal issues, so they became a voice of the people. Nowhere are their feelings more evident than in “Bring It on Down”, with the lyrics, “You’re the outcast / You’re the underclass / But you don’t care, because you’re living fast.” “Up in the Sky” was all about how conservatives in power didn’t know how people lived at the time, a recurring theme in their songs (whether implicitly or explicitly). Even a track like “Cigarettes & Alcohol” contains the line, “Is it worth the aggravation / To find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for?”, not to mention the sentiment that any effort is for naught (e.g., “You might as well do the white line”). Noel was not wrong to say Oasis are not a political band, at least at their core, but they were very much a part of their milieu.   

At this point in their career, Oasis were just brash enough to be charming and not arrogant, as portrayed in the press over the next 15 years. If “Cigarettes & Alcohol” aped T. Rex, Noel wasn’t worried because the only people who would hear it were fellow Mancunians at their next show at the Boardwalk.   

Regarding the Gallaghers’ relationship, 1994 was a simpler time when brotherly love trumped hatred, which they eventually acknowledged on “Acquiesce”, from the B-Sides compilation The Masterplan (1998). On Definitely Maybe, listeners arguably get an even more intimate portrayal of their bond through the bedroom-recorded “Married With Children”. The unpolished track serves as the perfect album closer and foreshadows much that would transpire between Liam and Noel, even though that was not the inspiration for the song. The lyrics, when taken alone (“There’s no need for you to say you’re sorry / Goodbye I’m going home” and “And it will be nice to be along / For a week or two / But I know that I will be right / Right back here with you”) speak to any number of skirmishes and the recurring image of Liam stamping offstage. At this point, however, their brotherhood was too pure to consider it anything but unbreakable. 

Definitely Maybe remains a quality listen from top to bottom. That is due in no small part to the aforementioned songs that play like one hit after another. However, the sure sign of a great album is when the deep cuts become fan favorites. On Definitely Maybe, “Columbia” and “Slide Away” have become almost as big as the classics.   

“Columbia” could work just as naturally as an instrumental track (as it was originally conceived), with deft guitar playing and a swaggering rhythm, but Liam’s lyrics add another stylish layer. The “c’mon” outro becomes a rallying cry for the disaffected (and is a trope that eventually resurfaces on a hidden track by the Verve, not surprisingly titled “Come On” and featuring Liam). One can even ignore the frivolous “Digsy’s Diner” in anticipation of the next track, “Slide Away”. “Slide Away” remains their most heartfelt tune. It is a quintessential love song, and as vulnerable as fans will hear Liam sing. These cuts should equally be credited with making the album a timeless classic.  

Definitely Maybe is the definitive statement in the Oasis catalog, but it is also a defining moment in Britpop history. It will go down as a significant entry in the annals of rock and roll. On the surface, it hits like the no-frills rock that listeners eventually came to expect from the band, but so many little things had to fall right for the record to be the compelling statement we know today. That is assuming the LP would have seen the light of day, which it may not if not for some bullish champions. After 30 years, Definitely Maybe still reflects the youthful energy and courageousness in the face of uncertainty. It is of a particular place from a bygone era, but the record still sounds as fresh today as the first time you hit play.