Oasis: Liam Gallagher (vocals); Noel Gallagher (guitar, background vocals); Paul Arthurs (guitar); Paul McGuigan (bass); Tony McCarroll (drums).
Additional personnel: Anthony Griffiths (background vocals).
Producers: Oasis, Mark Coyle, Dave Batchelor.
Engineers include: Anjali Dutt, Dave Scott, Roy Spong.
In 1967, Roger McGuinn laid down the blueprint for rock immortality in The Byrds' "So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star." The process, according to McGuinn, was an arduous one, involving taking "some time," learning "how to play," and generally accepting the prolonged pace at which stardom is achieved. Nearly two decades later, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher turns that road-tested advice onto its proverbial head. "In my mind my dreams are real," he exudes during DEFINITELY MAYBE's opening track. "Tonight, I'm a rock 'n' roll star." This is not a newcomer's brash, hollow hype; it's a statement of arrogant confidence.
Much of DEFINITELY MAYBE, written with tons of '60's Brit-pop appreciation by guitarist Noel Gallagher, reflects the band's poses. The songs are about what they like ("Cigarettes & Alcohol"), who they want to be ("Rock 'n' Roll Star," "Live Forever"), and what they want to avoid becoming ("Married With Children"); and they defy turning into typical rock star cliches only through sheer will, as well as simultaneously pretty and edgy guitars.
DEFINITELY MAYBE makes it supremely obvious that Oasis have studied the lessons of the English rock aristocracy--drawing on influences as superficially disparate as the Beatles, T. Rex and the Buzzcocks--and have learned them well. Nevertheless, it'll take some time to see whether or not the Gallaghers have rendered Roger McGuinn's blueprint anachronistic; DEFINITELY MAYBE confirms that they do begin with a more complete package than most.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.55) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (12/29/94-1/12/95, p.190) - "...Heavier on guitar than Suede or Blur, they're the heavier outfit. And with youth's blithe arrogance, they see the world solely in black and white..."
Q (12/99, p.82) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (10/01, p.92) - Ranked #11 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime"
Q (6/00, p.76) - Ranked #24 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"
Q (10/94, p.122) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...their collective gift: superheated, brazen guitar married to wonderfully daft and striking lyrics delivered with guttersnipe self-possession. A rutting mess of glam, punk, and psychedelia..."
Alternative Press (11/94, p.92) - "...yet another young, thrusting, white guitar band, a perfect hybrid of the Stone Roses' sun-kissed pop sense and Happy Mondays' thuggish laddishness..."
Melody Maker (8/27/94, p.37) - Bloody Essential - "...Oasis might last as long as the Smiths or shine as brightly and briefly as Suede..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.67) - Ranked #5 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "Scintillating."
Mojo (Publisher) (1/95, p.51) - Included in Mojo's "25 Best Albums of 1994" - "...full of fire. [Oasis] didn't just seize the day, they shagged it senseless and then took it out boozing."
NME (Magazine) (12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #1 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.'
NME (Magazine) (8/27/94, p.35) - 9 - Excellent Plus - "...Oasis have encapsulated the most triumphant feeling....Yeah, that good..."
