When: October 2, 1995
Why? I’m continually reading about Oasis in British magazines, this is one of the best-selling albums of all time (estimated around 20-22 million), and I can’t recall ever having heard a single Oasis song.
What? This is a 12-song album that clocks in at just a fraction over 50 minutes. So how come it seems to fly by?
First Impressions: Each song is distinctive and highly melodic, with emotive lyrics that feel fresh over 25 years later. The British press initially dismissed this as derivative and “uninspired,” but maybe I just don’t know all of the influences on display here. To me, while the Beatles inspiration is clear, the songs are very much of their time, not Sixties nostalgia. While the opener, “Hello,” is something of a sonic onslaught—an entire album maxed out like this in terms of volume and compression would have been exhausting—the melodies still come through. And, thankfully, the rest of the album settles down.
So? I need to give this another listen with the lyrics in front of me (I listened while running errands), but my initial impression was very favorable. For me, this one ticks all the right boxes.