Twenty years ago, grunge music dominated the music charts in the United States, while Britpop dominated in the UK. Britpop came from Britain’s indie scene and was heavily influenced by The Beatles. It did not attract much attention in the U.S., but there were a few bands that caught America’s fancy. Of these, Oasis and Blur seemed to stick out. The two bands publicly feuded with one another, but Oasis eventually came out on top. Although their sophomore album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” received mixed reviews at the time of its release, Oasis became a worldwide phenomenon, and since its debut in 1995, many critics have changed their mind about the album and recognize it for the modern classic it is.
“Morning Glory?” spawned many hits, such as the anthem “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and the worldwide obsession “Wonderwall,” which has become one of the most-covered songs in recent history. Combining the genius songwriting of Noel Gallagher with the fantastic vocals of Liam Gallagher, the only song that actually feels out of place is the rather dry “Roll With It.” Even then, it is still compelling and fits the atmosphere of the album. The album has a calm feeling throughout, with orchestration in almost every song, making for great background music. Each song transitions perfectly to the next.
When the album reaches the tenth track (the titular track) everything changes. Helicopters fly in, and it turns it up to 11, strong and heavy. Out of nowhere, after the song ends, an untitled track of water flowing appears (the second time the album has an untitled break), a perfect way to transition into the album’s grand finale: “Champagne Supernova.” Although the lyrics are somewhat strange (“slowly walking down the hall/faster than a cannon ball”) it builds up to an unforgettable chorus (“someday you will find me/caught beneath a landslide/in a champagne supernova in the sky”).
This album is not perfect. The biggest issue it has is the production, where loads of compression is evident. The vocals often get drowned out in the music (especially during the distorted chorus of “Champagne Supernova”). Sometimes, the lyrics don’t make much sense (Noel Gallagher admitted that he was under the influence of illegal substances when he wrote most of the lyrics).
Although Oasis is no more, the influence they’ve had is present in many artists today (including Ryan Adams, whose cover of “Wonderwall” is so masterful that Noel Gallagher would often perform it in a similar way), with many stating it was this album that gave them inspiration to become a musician. This album still holds strong 20 years later and was recently remastered, making it sound even more amazing (fixing most of the compression issues). Even with a successful solo career, Noel Gallagher continues to play “Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Champagne Supernova” on tour. The influence of this album is present in many other groups, such as Maroon 5, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and The Killers.