Power. Adulation. Overdrive. Bands. Enduring forces of rock ’n’ roll. I watched and enjoyed the Oasis documentary, Don’t Look Back In Anger, this week. While it’s a film about the reconciliation of the Gallagher brothers and the 2025 Oasis reunion tour, more than that, it’s testimony to the mighty electric guitar, a sneering vocal, lyrics that speak to communities, the hook of a great song and full-blast celebration!
The Gallaghers are Irish in every way except the geography of their upbringing. They combined the warmth and love of the Irish with the music-maddened edge of Manchester. Their 1990s songs were honest, powerful and catchy, and they didn’t seem to care, driving the “battle of Britpop” with Blur amid sell-out tours and shipping millions of albums.
The myth, the music, the sibling strife
The language was peppered with expletives, the songs singable and they stuck, building a myth fuelled as much by the music as it was by the feuding of Noel and Liam. That combined trajectory has turned the songs from hits to definitive moments in the rock ’n’ roll canon.
This week I put on my headphones and worked my way through some of the massive hits after watching the film. Listening with headphones is a good way to hear Oasis, as the seemingly absent “bottoms” come through, adding dynamism and even nuance! Noel Gallagher loved to “nick”, “pinch” and “steal” from the acts of his youth. Those songwriting tricks abound and are in plain earshot: T-Rex, David Bowie, R.E.M, Gary Glitter, John Lennon, Slade and The New Seekers are present, but all spun with the Oasis trademarks of an ear-splitting Gibson Les Paul or jangling Rickenbacker, paired with epic vocal singalongs.
Even the biggest Oasis fans have to recognise that although there are standout tracks from album three onwards, most of the real scorchers are on albums one and two, Definitely Maybe and(What’s The Story) Morning Glory. I could have picked any one of more than a dozen from them, so chose to start at the beginning, with Supersonic – their debut single from their first album – chosen for today.
‘Supersonic’ stylings
Supersonic kicks off with a simple straight four drum beat, before Noel Gallagher’s opening string scratch gives way to what was to become his characteristic guitar crunch. Although he isn’t top of the technical pile, his playing is all feel.
Liam adds his tambourine and syllable stretches. You know his thing; “action” becomes “acsheeyun” and the lyrics jump from the absurd to the more insightful, “I need to be myself / I can’t be no-one else”. George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord is the obvious borrow on the first of many to follow. It’s an epic, no-nonsense rocker and a noisy weekend wake-up.
Listen to Supersonic on Spotify here.
And on Apple Music here.
I started a music WhatsApp group in 2023. I send one song a week on a Friday, with links to both Apple and Spotify, and an accompanying narrative/capsule piece. If you want to engage about a song, get a playlist or just get in touch, email me on markgrosin@gmail.com.
