My Top 10 Oasis Tracks
- Andrew Jamison
- Jul 3
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 8
With the band's first gig in 16 years tomorrow evening, I've collated my top 10 Oasis tracks.
As someone who spent a disproportionate amount of their adolescence strumming along to Oasis songs at the end of their bed, with the band’s first gig in 16 years happening tomorrow night at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff I thought I’d put together my top 10 Oasis tracks.
Now, as someone who likes to think they have varied music taste, I’d be the first to state that I don’t think their music, itself, ranks in the pantheons of great artistry, however there is an unmistakable, irresistible sense of nostalgia about their music which possesses its own value. They represent a unique cultural moment of the 90s and for that reason I wanted to return to their music, as well as giving myself the chance to listen to these songs again. Indeed, my first album was ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and I listened to it repeatedly on our one CD player in the lounge. In short, to listen to Oasis (and I’d include other bands such as Ash or The Strokes) is to plug back into adolescence.
So, in no particular order, here they are:
‘There are many things that I would like to say to you but I don’t know how’ - I think this is an immortal line from pop music which signals not just the speaker’s frustration, but the frustration of that generation of young people (I’d argue largely young men) who came from similar backgrounds of socio-economic disadvantage, and struggled to express or articulate their emotions and the world around them. So much about Oasis is what they represent as opposed to any kind of originality or genius. Actually, that’s not fair. Their genius lies in the fact they were able to be the voice of a generation who didn’t quite know how to express and articulate themselves, and in expressing this frustration the band themselves were the wonderwall, they spoke for the longing and frustration of a generation. I think this goes some way in explaining the connection people like myself have to the band, even if they recognise the music itself isn’t groundbreaking; it’s the sensibility of the group that brings us back. And what song captures the sensibility of the group better than Wonderwall? ‘I said maybe, you’re gonna be the one who saves me’. This is the music of emotion over intellect. ‘And after aaaaaaall…’
What the hell is a champagne supernova? I suppose it doesn’t really matter, and isn’t that the case with all music lyrics in comparison to poetry? At any rate, there is a dreaminess about this song which is hard to resist, even if the lyrics become even more nonsensical as the song goes on e.g. ‘slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball’. It builds to a surprisingly rousing, memorable chorus and is a great showcase of Noel Gallagher as riff-meister general on the Epiphone Sheraton.
When I first heard this I had to check it was actually Oasis. There is something very vulnerable and tender about this one. I wish Noel Gallagher would write an album of tracks like this instead of all the big band stuff he’s tried to chase down in recent years. It’s a great example of Noel Gallagher’s songwriting ability, and ability to fuse memorable, heartfelt lyrics. Also, it’s a song of place, ‘I would like to leave this city, this old town don’t feel too pretty…’ and a song of hope and longing - plain and simple. And it’s refreshing not to have any of the posturing of Liam on this one, it’s stripped back and all the better for it.
Perhaps it’s just my taste, but are Oasis better when they’re stripping their songs back? ‘As he walks along he casts no shadow’ - I won’t go as far as to evoke T. S. Eliot’s ‘your shadow in the morning rising to meet you…’ from The Waste Land, but there is something quasi-poetical about the lyrics in this one and the slide guitar adds to the song’s searching, meditative quality.
To say this is one of their quirky numbers would be underplaying it, and heaven knows what was in their tea when they wrote some of these lyrics, but there is a sense of energy about this one which carries it through. And the playful, honky-tonk guitar riff comes to the rescue of some really quite awful rhyming-for-the-sake-of-rhyming lyrics.
I was going to include Supersonic for this one, but I’ve just re-listened to it and I just couldn’t help but think it sounds like a parody of an Oasis song, so this one seems like a much better option and comes from an album close to my heart. ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. There is nothing complicated about this song, it’s basically Noel Gallagher belting out ‘Because we neeeeeed one another…’ again and and again. But, as with so many of these songs, the simplicity of a repeated chorus of a few words just works. But more than that, its affirming message of togetherness speaks to the brotherhood at the heart of Gallaghers (who really do need one another with their reported dwindling finances and the boost this world tour will provide), the union of the band and speaks to their wider socialist beliefs. In short, it's an uplifting belter of a track which I’d be amazed if they don’t play in their comeback set.
Who hasn’t found themselves standing at the station in need of education in the rain? It’s hard to know why some songs make it into the public consciousness and some absolute bangers are left languishing on the sidelines - this is one such song. ‘Some might say we will find a brighter day…’ It’s uplifting, affirmative and catchy. Another surefire track for the setlist in Cardiff tomorrow night - how could they not play this on a sunny summer evening?
To say that Noel Gallagher relies on the blues pentatonic scale would be an understatement. But, his riffs in this track and distorted guitar playing give it texture, and the piano also helps. And is this their most iconic chorus line with the ‘And sooooooo Sally can wait…’? Whoever Sally is. I think what sets this track apart from others of Oasis is the sense of movement and dynamism between the various sections. They can be accused, particularly in their earlier albums of these very one dimensional songs which never really get out of first gear. However, we can’t level that accusation against this one.
‘I’m free-eee to be whatever I…’ This is a classic example of Oasis relying on strings to elevate what is notionally a pretty average song. However, it works. Like most of their tracks, there is a sub-Beatles element to it, circa Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Although, maybe that’s a disservice to Sergeant Pepper’s… All told, though, it’s catchy and one of their finest ear-worms.
This one has a bit more ambition, both lyrically and musically, and is more interesting in terms of the instrumentals, particularly with the strings and trumpets used. This L. S. Lowry inspired video also stays true to their Mancunian roots.
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