WTSMG? starts with Hello. There's immediately a wall of guitars and the characteristic overall sound of the album while Liam sings sharply. Some guitar uses wah-wah as well. A great opening.
I don't feel as if I know you
You take up all my time
The days are long and the night will throw you away
Coz the sun don't shine
Nobody ever mentions the weather can make or break your day
Nobody ever seems to remember life is a game we play
We live in the shadows and we had the chance and threw it away
And it's never gonna be the same
Cos the years are following by like the rain
And it's never gonna be the same
'Til the life I knew comes to my house and says
Hello
As a second track comes immediately a classic, Roll with It. I personally haven't fell in love with this one like many others, but the elements that people like can be clearly noticed. The song's not hard to listen or progressive, but unpretentious rock with the lyrics not going like crunge ”I hate myself and I wanna die” but with a great self-confidence. Liam's voice is what props this up while Noel works as kind of a echo as a big brother.
Then it's time for Wonderwall. The first listen has been clearly stuck in my mind and ever since then this has been one of my favourites. It was just that beginning of the summer of 2006 and the first round with this album. After the first listen I thought that this has to be among the three best songs ever in the world. I still just haven't found out surely what are the two other ones...
The chord progression played by acoustic guitar is a classic itself. Wonderwall's sound world is altogether soft, there's no overdriven guitars. A string section, piano and lyrics interpreted by Liam beautifully construct a great package. There's no better song about falling in love.
The text is a Noel masterpiece.
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
But I don't know how
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
Above all there's one line that says a lot in it's simplicity: ”I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now”.
Don't Look Back in Anger is a ballad sang by Noel that nods strongly towards the Beatles. The intro bears a resemblance to Imagine by John Lennon.
The songwriter himself has said that he doesn't know what he's singing about all the time. There is some arbitrage in the song, but the themes that are dealt with are the same as in many other songs.
"So I'll start the revolution from my bed
'Cos you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside 'coz summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out
So Sally can wait,
she knows it's too late
as we're walking on by
Her soul slides away,
"But don't look back in anger",
I heard you say”
The composition isn't anything revolutionary and the song is played in the key of C major. The uplifting after the pre-chorus is nice, from the line ”stand up beside the fireplace” onwards and the chorus is made to be sang in a stadium alongside the band. According to a story Noel had been singing this in soundcheck with the words ”So Crawley can wait” and Liam had came to say ”Did you sang ”So Sally can wait?” Well, you should”.
A special mention for the ending. The way the song is concluded is as beautiful as can be. ”Don't look back in anger, at least today”.
Hey Now is for me the filling track of the album. An idly song song that doesn't get to same heights as the others. The band could have chosen something from the B-sides instead. There's some nice lines on this one as well. ”I took a walk with my fame down memory lane / I never did find my way back”.
Then it's turn for the first of the two Untitled-tracks. These are snippets of The Swamp Song, an instrumental track played by the band during the gigs in the mid-90s. It has a nice groove and a great rock-attitude!
Starting with classical rock guitar is Some Might Say, a classic song demonstrating Oasis at it's best. ”Let the others say what they want, we'll go as who we are” is what the song says. It's a british rock song with a clear structure with Noel's lyrics being one of the best on the album. If the chorus was more powerful the song could be even better. Playing the drums is still the original drummer Tony McCarroll, whose heavier playing style can be clearly noticed.
Some might say they don't believe in heaven
Go and tell it to the man who lives in hell
Some might say you get what you've been given
If you don't get yours I won't get mine as well
Cast No Shadow brings the feel back to Wonderwall-like light. The song recycles a few section with the lyrics being about someone being so invisible that he doesn't even cast a shadow when meeting the sun. ”Bound with all the weight of all the words he's trying to say / chained to all the places that he never wished to stay / bound with all the weight of all the words he's trying to say / as he faced the sun he cast no shadow”.
Once again a little less jagged singing by Liam while Noel gets to sing as well with his falsetto voice.
The last clearly Beatles-like song on the album is She's Electric. A tasty chord progression (E-G#-C#m-A) that Oasis used in some songs carries the swinging song in which the text isn't extremely philosophic. The girl is ”electric” and there's all kinds of people met. Somehow from the line ”And I want you to know” onwards Nirvana comes to mind... It's not usual for Liam to sing in a falsetto. In general this song's sound is pleasant to my ears.
Starting with effects is the album title track Morning Glory which also works as the album's last crippled rock song. The intro uses only two notes but kicks harder than 95 % of all the so-called-rocks. There's not many words or sections in this one either but the feel is irrestible. It's like Liam is asking all the time ”where are you and we going?”
All your dreams are made
When you're chained to your mirror with your razor blade
Today's the day that all the world will see
Another sunny afternoon
Walking to the sound of your favorite tune
Tomorrow never knows what it doesn't know too soon
Need a little time to wake up
Need a little time to wake up wake up
Need a little time to wake up
Need a little time to rest your mind
You know you should so I guess you might as well
What's the story morning glory?
Well, you need a little time to wake up, wake up
Well, what's the story morning glory?
Well, need a little time to wake up, wake up
After the second Untitled-track comes the last epic, Champagne Supernova. For me this hasn't struck like it did for a generation of brits. The first verse is the best in this song that was streched a little bit too far.
I perceive that Champagne Supernova is a song anticipating the ones to be released on Be Here Now a couple of years later: songs that were too long and featured too much guitars making them sound puffy.
How many special people change
How many lives are living strange
Where were you when we were getting high?
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannon ball
Where were you while we were getting high?
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? has sold about 22 million units. It's easy to believe that it was the soundtrack for the mid-90s British teens and left an indelible trace in their hearts. It clearly did it a decade later for one 14-year-old kid from Lieksa...
Manchesterilaisrokkarit kuuluvat erottamattomana osana omaan musiikilliseen historiaani. Kesäloman 2006 aluksi bongattiin velipojan kanssa teksti-tv:stä, että Oasis oli saanut brittien kaikkien aikojen biisi -äänestyksessä kaksi laulua kolmen parhaan joukkoon ja että alku-uran klassikkolevyt löytyvät hyllystä. Siispä albumit kuunteluun ja ne veivätkin heti ensikuulemalta mennessään. Nyt käsittelyyn kakkosalbumi, debyytin ja ehkä jonkin muunkin vuoro tulee myöhemmin.WTSMG? käynnistyy Hellolla, jossa ollaan heti kitaravallin ja levylle ominaisen yleissoundin keskellä Liamin laulaessa terävästi. Wah-wahiakin kuullaan mausteena. Toimiva avaus.
I don't feel as if I know you
You take up all my time
The days are long and the night will throw you away
Coz the sun don't shine
Nobody ever mentions the weather can make or break your day
Nobody ever seems to remember life is a game we play
We live in the shadows and we had the chance and threw it away
And it's never gonna be the same
Cos the years are following by like the rain
And it's never gonna be the same
'Til the life I knew comes to my house and says
Hello
Kakkosena tulee heti levyn oikeaa klassikko-osastoa, Roll with It. Itse en tähän ole ihan niin tykästynyt kuin monet muut, mutta tarttuvuuselementit ovat havaittavissa. Ei mitään progea, vaan konstailematonta rokkia ja teksti, jossa ei mennä grungemeiningillä ”I hate myself and I wanna die” vaan itseluottamus edellä. Liamin laulu kannattelee tätäkin, Noelin toimiessa kuin kaikuna isoveljen ominaisuudessa.
Sitten onkin vuoro Wonderwallin. Ensimmäinen kuuntelukertakin on mielessä, ja siitä asti tämä on ollut suosikeita. Se oli juuri tuo kesän alku 2006 ja ensimmäinen kierros tämän levyn parissa. Ensimmäisen kuuntelun jälkeen mietin, että tämä on varmasti maailman kaikkien aikojen kolmen parhaan biisin joukossa. Vieläkään vain ei ole varmuutta, mitkä ne kaksi muuta ovat...
Akustisella kitaralla soitettu sointukierto on jo itsessään klassikko. Muutenkin Wonderwallin äänimaailma on pehmeä, tällä kertaa sitä ei ole tungettu täyteen särökitaroita (itseasiassa niitä ei ole ensimmäistäkään). Jousisektio, piano, ja Liamin tällä kertaa kauniisti tulkitsema teksti ovat sellainen paketti, että eihän tästä parempaa laulua ihastumisesta oikein voi tehdä.
Teksti on Noelin masterpiece:
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
But I don't know how
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
Ennenkaikkea laulussa on kuitenkin yksi pätkä, jossa on yksinkertaisuudessaan sanottu aika erittäin paljon: ”I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now”.
Don't Look Back in Anger on Noelin tulkitsema balladi, joka nyökkäilee vahvasti The Beatlesin suuntaan, intron ollessa suora kopio Lennonin Imaginesta.
Lauluntekijä on itse sanonut, ettei ihan tarkkaan tiedä mistä laulu kokonaisuudessaan kertoo. Tässä on kyllä jätetty tulkinnan varaa, mutta samoja teemoja tässäkin pyöritellään kun monissa muissa.
"So I'll start the revolution from my bed
'Cos you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside 'coz summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out
So Sally can wait,
she knows it's too late
as we're walking on by
Her soul slides away,
"But don't look back in anger",
I heard you say”
Sävellyksellisesti ei mitään ihmeitä C-duurissa. Pre-choruksen jälkeinen nostatus on mainio, ”Stand up beside the fireplace”-kohdasta eteenpäin ja kertosäe on tehty stadioneilla mukana laulettavaksi. Noel oli tarinan mukaan laulellut tätä soundcheckissä ”So Crawley can wait”, ja Liam oli tullut kysymään että ”lauloitko sinä että ”so Sally can wait”? No, sinun pitäisi”.
Erityismaininta lopetuksesta, jollaista ei kovin monessa biisissä ole. Tapa, jolla laulu paketoidaan on lyömättömän kaunis. ”Don't look back in anger, at least today”.
Hey Now on itselleni tämän levyn täyteraita. Vähän tyhjäkäyntinen biisi, joka ei kanna läheskään samoihin mittoihin kuin muut. B-puolista olisi löytynyt paljon parempaakin materiaalia. Hyviä rivejä tässäkin kuitenkin on. ”I took a walk with my fame down memory lane / I never did find my way back”.
Sitten seuraakin ensimmäinen levyn kahdesta Untitled-raidasta. Kyseessä on pätkiä The Swamp Song-instrumentaaliraidasta, jota bändi soitteli keikoillaan tuolla 90-luvun puolivälissä. Siinä on mukava groove ja rock-attitude!
Klassisella rock-kitaroinnilla käynnistyvä Some Might Say on jälleen klassikko-osastoa ja Oasista parhaimmillaan. ”Sanokoot muut mitä tahansa, niin näillä mennään” on sanomana. Selkeärakenteinen brittirokki, jossa Noelin teksti on levyn parhaimmistoa. Jos kertosäe olisi vielä tykimpi, niin tämä olisi todella kova. Rummuissa on vielä alkuperäinen rumpali Tony McCarroll, jonka raskaampi soittotyyli erottuu levyllä selvästi.
Some might say they don't believe in heaven
Go and tell it to the man who lives in hell
Some might say you get what you've been given
If you don't get yours I won't get mine as well
Cast No Shadow palauttaa tunnelman Wonderwallin kaltaisen kepeäksi. Paria osaa kierrätetään laulussa, jossa joku on niin näkymätön ettei auringon kohdatessaan muodosta edes varjoa. ”Bound with all the weight of all the words he's trying to say / chained to all the places that he never wished to stay / bound with all the weight of all the words he's trying to say / as he faced the sun he cast no shadow”.
Jälleen vähemmän rosoista laulamista Liamilta ja Noelkin pääsee ääneen falsetteineen.
Levyn viimeinen selkeästi The Beatles-vaikutteinen raita on She's Electric. Maukas ja Oasiksen silloin tällöin käyttämä sointukierto (E-G#-C#m-A) kuljettaa keinuvaa biisiä, jonka teksti ei ole mitenkään äärimmäisen filosofinen. Tyttö on ”sähköinen” ja kuvioon liittyy kaikenlaista sakkia. Jostain syystä kohdasta ”And I want you to know” eteenpäin tulee mieleen joku Nirvanan laulumelodia.. Aika harvoin Liam muuten nostaa soundinsa falsettiin. Ylipäänsä tämän kappaleen soundi on minusta miellyttävä.
Efekteillä käynnistyvä levyn nimiraita Morning Glory on albumin viimeinen rouhea rokki. Introssa käytetään vain kahta nuottia, mutta potkii kovemmin kuin 95 % muka-rockeista. Tässäkään ei hirveästi ole sanoja tai osia, mutta meininki on vastustamaton. Liam tuntuu koko ajan kyselevän, että missä mennään?
All your dreams are made
When you're chained to your mirror with your razor blade
Today's the day that all the world will see
Another sunny afternoon
Walking to the sound of your favorite tune
Tomorrow never knows what it doesn't know too soon
Need a little time to wake up
Need a little time to wake up wake up
Need a little time to wake up
Need a little time to rest your mind
You know you should so I guess you might as well
What's the story morning glory?
Well, you need a little time to wake up, wake up
Well, what's the story morning glory?
Well, need a little time to wake up, wake up
Toisen Untitled-raidan jälkeen käynnistyy viimeinen epiikki Champagne Supernovan muodossa. Itselleni tämäkään ei ole iskenyt niin lujaa kuin sukupolvelliselle brittejä. Ensimmäinen säkeistö on paras osio tässä vähän venytetyssä laulussa.
Itse miellän Champagne Supernovan ennakoksi siitä, mitä pari vuotta myöhemmin Be Here Now-levyllä oli tapahtuva: ylimitoitettuja ja ylisoitettuja ja pahoin pöhöttyneitä lauluja.
How many special people change
How many lives are living strange
Where were you when we were getting high?
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannon ball
Where were you while we were getting high?
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? on vuosien saatossa myynyt noin 22 miljonaa kappaletta. On helppo uskoa, että se on ollut 90-luvun puolen välin brittinuorison soundtrack ja jättänyt lähtemättömän jäljen monen tuolloin nuoruuttansa viettäneen sydämiin. Tekihän se saman vaikutuksen vuosikymmenen myöhemmin yhteen 14-vuotiaaseen lieksalaiseenkin...
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