Oasis – Definitely Maybe (1994)

[Album 335/1001]

20 Augusts ago, Oasis released Definitely Maybe (DM).

Conveniently, exactly 100 albums ago, I revisited (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, or for simplicity, MG.

Which is better?

It’s another one of those fun but ultimately fruitless debates: there’s no wrong answer.

Instead, in search of something more fruitful, I thought I’d look at the full Oasis discography; where do the individual tracks heard here stack up against the rest of the catalogue?

Since the Oasis logo is so aesthetically pleasing, an album art logo to introduce the challenge!

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Here goes:

Track	Definitely Maybe Song	Best Track ___ Ever?
1	Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.  Solid opener, as is often the case with Oasis records.	Acquiesce, from The Masterplan.  Technically a compilation album, and its live version is superior, but it’s among their best tracks overall.
2	Shakermaker.  A surprising single choice, not one of the more interesting DM tracks.	Go Let It Out, from the otherwise mostly forgettable Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.
3	Live Forever.  A triumph.	Live Forever, from DM.
4	Up in the Sky.  For the critics who claim Beatles plagiarism at every turn, I’ll concede: this riff is essentially Paperback Writer and Day Tripper combined.  You could do much worse though!	Don’t Look Back in Anger, from MG, also my favourite Noel-sung tune.  Yes its piano intro is essentially the same as Imagine.  You can’t do much better than that though!
5	Columbia. A decent mid-album track.	The Importance of Being Idle, the highlight of the mostly return-to-form 2005 album, Don’t Believe the Truth (DBTT).
6	Supersonic.  The first guitar solo I remember learning as a youth; every guitar lead pattern I’ve ever played/written likely leads back to this song.	Supersonic, from DM.  My gateway song and simply their best.
7	Bring it on Down.  A grittier sound, signposting the title track from the next album.	Guess God Thinks I’m Abel, from DBTT.
8	Cigarettes & Alcohol.  I doubt I’ll ever grow tired of hearing Liam say Sun-sheee-ine.	Don’t Go Away, from Be Here Now.  When I looked at Urban Hymns, I argued that this album would have benefited from more editing and less expectations.  Though Be Here Now was much maligned, this tune rightfully escaped most of the criticism.
9	Digsy’s Diner.  Short & sweet.	She’s Electric, from MG.  Quite similar to Digsy‘s in feel, slightly stronger overall.
10	Slide Away.  See right column.	Slide Away, joining Live Forever and Supersonic to form a terrific DM trifecta.
11 and beyond	Married With Children.  “Your music’s shite it keeps me up all night, up all night.”  Best rhyme of the album!	Tricky to do an apples-to-apples comparison as some albums have more than 11 tracks.  In terms of the career best closer, it’s tough to pick anything other than MG‘s Champagne Supernova.

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So what can be concluded?

Some tracks are better than others.  Track 3 (Wonderwall, Lyla), 6 (Little by Little), and 10 (Morning Glory, All Around the World) had some notable omissions whereas track 2s & 7s weren’t typically quite as strong.

Definitely Maybe and What’s the Story each have three track numbers that represent career peaks.

It would appear both are equally great.

Except that this one’s slightly better as it’s the one I had first. 😀

Agree/disagree?

Or agree to disagree?

Let me know!