I could elaborate on the music and more specifically the album itself.. the ferocious introduction, the life affirming melodies, the raw production, the psychedelic world it creates, the power in a simple lyrical phrase, but we all know it already. Like any classic album it's woven into the fabric of the musical timeline like the recent discovery of space time waves.
Definitely Maybe is the catalyst for millions of people to turn their ears to popular music and many people try to deny its reach, scope, and influence but it is in everything you hear when a band pick up the classic arrangement of guitars, drums and vocals. You can't shake it because it is a right of passage piece of work. Like the many classic albums before that the album took its influences from, it has become a reference point standing like a titan of early 90s popular culture and everything before it, and it's resonance still holds power and grace today.
Whether you liked the band or not so many of your brothers, sisters, friends, other bands you have met or are fans of, have started playing guitar because of this record. Yes it spawned many inferior copies or just plain lazy songwriting from a million other bands, but it also created genius and inspired future generations of musicians to even bother restringing the old beaten up acoustic that no one ever knew why was in the loft.
Much talk of its class and social comment have led to an 'us and them' style debate over the years with Oasis being the voice of the working class. It is arguably hard to escape this.... I was a normal kid with a good upbringing, Mum's during the week, Dad's during the weekends.. I never wanted for much and I was looked after well... but we were working class, my friends were and my schools were, I spent every night out with friends prowling the streets and I felt like most teenagers, the need to express myself. The album tapped into something that kids like me identified with, a slight grittiness, a truth, melon-collie, aggression, the need to escape but delivered in an aggressive life affirming manner. The fundamental message in definitely maybe to me is hope. Grunge although is another massive influence to me was always far too self absorbed and contained too much self loathing to ever fully embrace. I wanted something that celebrated life because I like being alive and I love those moments that make you feel alive. That's what Oasis did for me.
Something that shouldn't be overlooked is the window of music Oasis opened up for so many people. Oasis fans are often condemned as being narrow minded and devout followers of just the Gallagher's and their friends, but this is just not so for so many music lovers like myself. Oasis opened the door to Bowie, The Beatles, TRex, the Stone Roses, the Velvet Underground, Neil Young and to even being interested in rock & roll..period. From this benchmark I went on to love a huge wide range of sonic art that had nothing to do with my indie roots or Oasis. Dance, jazz, blues, psychedelia, heavy rock, even a touch of world music yes...world music! Noel's collaborations only further cemented the impact of the bands endeavours with Knebworth being the epicentre of the British music scene with bands like Cornershop, The Prodigy, and the Chemical Brothers being linked to the band at the time opening more doors to open minded discovery of new edgy pop music.
Before the age of the internet and the constant 'big brother' style window into media and bands lives, the myth was still intact. Fans would have to wait for articles and live performances on the TV to get a glimpse of their heroes. Magazines like NME, melody maker, Q, Raw, Select, Uncut, were collected and poured through. Studying there every move I obsessed about everything....the artwork, magazine articles, newspaper stories, live TV performances, what clothes they wore. Even down to the strings they used, the guitars they played, what amps they used. For me it was a life choice, a sense of belonging and a Narnia of possibilities within the world of music was opened because of it.
I was the perfect age when Definitely Maybe came out. I loved the melodic sensibilities of pop, the power of grunge/punk, and a band had fused these two elements together to form a life affirming celebration of being alive, ready to take on the world with a soundtrack to shadow your every move.
The creams and greens of the artwork, the perfect earthy everyman feel, but with a slight psychedelic distortion. The inside photos were classically shot, reminiscent of The Beatles and late 60s album shoots. Simple, iconic, perfect.
I am a songwriter and performer now and I have this album to thank for this sharp turn in my teens. I was going to be a computer programmer...I was going to code games, software, applications and make money this way in a easy structured life of Volvos and coffee percolators. Then I realised there was a whole world of expression, creation, a voice for all this confusion and static in my head. I would take 100 years struggle playing to 2 people in a pub, than a lifetime of dull drudgery.
The band changed my life and definitely maybe will always be a pillar, a milestone if you will, to when I found what I love doing with my life. Making, performing, and listening to music.
Definitely Maybe fuelled the fire in millions, to me and many others it's existence omnipotent.
Stay Safe
Andy xx
Listening to 'Columbia'
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