Search - Oasis :: Masterplan

Get. All. This.

JLR | Staten Island, NY USA | 06/07/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oasis were untouchable in the mid 1990's. At a time when Britpop was at its creative peak, bands like Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Suede, Radiohead and the Verve dominated the UK charts while achieving some moderate success in the USA. Yet Oasis stood head and shoulders above the rest at the time because of their ability to craft gorgeous pop melodies that recalled the Beatles and ferocious rockers that were just as thrilling as the Sex Pistols and T.Rex. No doubt Oasis' legacy is cemented with DEFINITELY MAYBE and (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY?. With those two albums, the band merged the best of British rock into two stellar, comprehensive packages, wielding out brutal rockers ("Rock N Roll Star", "Cigarettes and Alcohol", "Some Might Say", "Morning Glory"), lovely ballads ("Slide Away", "Wonderwall", "Cast No Shadow"), life-affirming anthems ("Live Forever", "Supersonic", "Don't Look Back at Anger") and masterful epics with virtuoso guitar solos ("Columbia", "Champagne Supernova").



Yet many fans fail to notice that they had an even greater selection of brilliant songs that went unheard of, most which were relegated to B-sides to a single. Like their idols the Smiths and the Stone Roses, Oasis released songs on B-sides that wound up surpassing the material from their two albums. Fewer songs rocked as viciously "Fade Away", "Headshrinker", "(It's Good) to be Free" and the Noel/Liam duet "Acquiesce"; fewer songs were as melodic as "Stay Young" and "Rockin' Chair"; and fewer ballads were as gentle, sweet and beautiful as "Talk Tonight" and "Half the World Away" (both sang by Noel).



All these songs can be found in THE MASTERPLAN, which collects most of the B-sides that were released during the band's early years, plus a whopping live cover version of The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus". All these songs are so intoxicating to listen to that it is frustrating that Noel did not consider releasing them on the actual studio albums. With the exception of "Swamp Song", which is a muddle instrumental, there is not a weak track on the album and any of them could have been used for an upcoming third album.



Unfortunately, Oasis opted to release a single-disc compilation of the B-sides, thus negating some of their more essential tracks off the list. Many of these songs including "I Will Believe", "Cloudburst", "Do You Wanna Be a Spaceman?", "Take Me Away", "It's Better People", "Step Out", "Round Are Way", "(I've) Got a Fever", "My Sister Lover", "Flashbax" and the cover of Slade's "Cum On Feel the Noize" and the Stones' "Street Fighting Man" are greatly missed. Indeed, a two-disc compilation would have truly some these problems.



Still, for all its flaws, THE MASTERPLAN is a great purchase and a must-have, not only for Oasis fans but for music fans who crave for the best that 90's rock had to offer. Indeed, 90's hard rock does not get any better or more thrilling than this."