The Student Playlist

Showcasing the Best New Music, Curating the Classics

FROM WORST TO BEST: Oasis singles

  1. Some Might Say (UK #1, Apr 1995)

oasis_some_might_sayOasis’ first Number 1 single, and the lead-off for (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, was also their last track to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll, ejected from the band by Noel because of his technical limitations. ‘Some Might Say’ saw bizarre imagery filtering even more strongly into Noel’s songwriting (who could forget sinks full of fishes and dirty dishes on the brain?) alongside his populist messages of hope “some might say we might find a brighter day”. Described by its author as the “archetypal” Oasis song, it spoke volumes that a song as good as this sometimes gets forgotten among all the other brilliant moments they were coming out with at this time. Technically an EP, rather than a single, it also housed two of the band’s most fondly remembered B-sides: the towering sing-along anthem ‘Acquiesce’ and the wistful ‘Talk Tonight’.

  1. Shakermaker (UK #11, Jun 1994)

oasis_shakermakerA glorious piece of psychedelia based on the 12-bar blues, ‘Shakermaker’ was a perfect example of Noel Gallagher’s brazen magpie sensibility toward rock history and the world around him being put to great, original use. With references to ‘Mr. Soft’ (a Trebor commercial), ‘Mr. Clean’ (The Jam song) and ‘Mr. Benn’ (the children’s cartoon), all set to a rather obvious tune of ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)’ with other deliberately Lennon-esque lyrics (“now he stops at traffic lights / but only when they’re green”), it was an entertaining melange that nobody else at the time could have made, or would have even thought about making. Continuing to deliver upon the hype, ‘Shakermaker’ narrowly missed out on the UK Top Ten; little were the band to know that it would be their last single to do so for nearly 15 years!

  1. Stand By Me (UK #2, Sep 1997)

oasis_stand_by_meArguably the only moment of genuine quality on Be Here Now, ‘Stand By Me’ was a humanist anthem par excellence that stands up to ‘Champagne Supernova’ or ‘Slide Away’ in the Oasis canon. Brightly produced and effortlessly melodic with a series of rousing key changes, it would surely have been the band’s fourth UK Number 1 single but for the sales steamroller of ‘Candle In The Wind 1997’, and for a long time it was the only song from that ill-fated album to survive on Oasis live setlists. Check out the fantastic video, inspired by a famous series of pictures for The Guardian newspaper entitled ‘The Whole Picture’, and which shows people seemingly engaged in criminal and anti-social acts but who are actually revealed to be helping somebody else.

  1. The Shock Of The Lightning (UK #3, Sep 2008)

oasis_the_shock_of_the_lightningA conscious attempt to harness the energy of a demo recording, ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ was a force of nature. Harking all the way back to the walls of noise and punk energy of early tracks like ‘Bring It On Down’, the lead single from Oasis’ final album Dig Out Your Soul was a blast of raw power, a breakneck sprint that didn’t let up for its entire 4-minute running time as Liam broke out some of his best rock vocals ever. It missed out on the top spot in the UK, the first lead single from an Oasis album to do so since Definitely Maybe, but it became the band’s first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the States since 1995. It remains a criminally underrated gem, and deserves its place in any fan’s affections.

  1. Supersonic (UK #31, Apr 1994)

oasis_supersonicOne of the great debut singles, in the vein of ‘Teenage Kicks’, ‘The Drowners’ or ‘What A Waster’, Oasis’ first release was originally supposed to be ‘Bring It On Down’. Jamming idly in the studio as a warm-up, a sound engineer told the band that their song sketch had the makings of a hit record. Noel wrote the lyrics in about 10 minutes, and ‘Supersonic’ was recorded in a matter of hours. Displaying all the hallmarks of the greatness people would come to associate with them, it heralded their arrival in some style. Noel still cites it as his favourite Oasis song, and though people have variously told him over the years that ‘Elsa’ in the song means ‘Supersonic’ is about teenage prostitution, he maintains that the lyrics are all nonsense.

  1. The Importance Of Being Idle (UK #1, Aug 2005)

oasis_the_importance_of_being_idleProbably the most popular Oasis single outside of their Britpop heyday, critics and fans alike cited ‘The Importance Of Being Idle’ as clinching proof that the group had at last rediscovered their peak form. Influenced by The Kinks and The La’s, it was a breezy yet melancholic delight inspired by Noel’s own self-professed laziness. It was accompanied by a memorable video featuring Rhys Ifans as a high-kicking funeral director. Spending a week at the top of the charts at the end of the scorching summer of 2005, it marked the first time that two Oasis singles had reached #1 in a calendar year (‘Lyla’ did so three months before). Sadly, it would also be their last to do so before their split in 2009.

  1. Wonderwall (UK #2, Oct 1995)

oasis_wonderwallScandalously kept off Number 1 by Robson & Jerome, one of the biggest musical injustices in British chart history, ‘Wonderwall’ is simply one of those deathless pop songs that became an alternative national anthem. Though it suffered from overexposure at the time, that crystalline acoustic guitar intro and its video are some of the defining sounds and sights of Britpop. Becoming the group’s first million-selling single and containing three great B-sides (‘Round Are Way’, ‘The Swamp Song’ and ‘The Masterplan’), it was the point at which Oasis went stratospheric, hitting commercial heights that no British guitar group has done since. Oh, and its working title was ‘Wishing Stone’. Thank God Noel saw sense and changed that.

  1. Cigarettes & Alcohol (UK #7, Oct 1994)

oasis_cigarettes_and_alcoholThe group’s fourth single at last demonstrated the raw, rough energy that Alan McGee, Creation label head and the man who ‘discovered’ Oasis, had seen in them at that legendary Glasgow gig. A celebration of the escapism offered by booze and ciggies from the mundanities of ordinary working life, it cheekily nicked the riff from T.Rex’s ‘Get It On’ and saw Noel and the band turn their attitude and volume up to eleven. McGee himself said that the lyric “is it worth the aggravation / to find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for?” was one of the greatest social statements anyone had made in 25 years. One of the staples of Oasis setlists for the rest of their career, ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ was pure rock ‘n’ roll thrills.

  1. Don’t Look Back In Anger (UK #1, Feb 1996)

oasis_dont_look_back_in_angerApparently, Liam and Noel had a lengthy argument during recording as to who was going to sing ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. Thank goodness everything ended up the way it did, because it’s just so hard to imagine Liam bringing the kind of gravitas, poise and grace that Noel does, particularly to such an autobiographical song. “Stand up beside the fireplace / take that look from off your face”, for example, is a reference to the Gallaghers’ mother telling Noel to smile when taking family photographs because he always looked glum as a child. Telescoping from personal memories such as this to universal sentiment with one key change and a towering chorus, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ simply was not be denied, and remains a powerful soundtrack to joy and sadness 20 years later. Having a million-selling Number 1 hit with the fourth single from such a popular album is close to impossible – that’s how much of a chord it struck.

  1. Live Forever (UK #10, Aug 1994)

oasis_live_foreverThe song which regularly appears near (if not actually at), the top of those public polls you see of the greatest rock or indie songs of all time, ‘Live Forever’ was the finest display of melodic, cultural and emotional power that Oasis ever projected. Written by Noel in 1991 while working on a building site, long before he joined the group, as a contrast to the negative vibes coming from then-popular grunge bands dominating the British music scene. “I remember Nirvana had a tune called ‘I Hate Myself And I Want To Die’, and I was like ‘well, I’m not fucking having that’,” he said later. “Kids don’t need to be hearing that nonsense.”

Taking melodic cues from The Rolling Stones’ ‘Shine A Light’ and slowing the pace down a bit more, Liam’s vocals yearned rather than sneered, with Noel’s finest guitar solo embellishing the middle 8. ‘Live Forever’ received universally positive reviews, broke Oasis into Top Ten for the first time and, crucially, seized the attention of the world’s press, something in the band more significant than the usual industry hype, proof of substance behind Noel and Alan McGee’s rhetoric. Their ascent would be steeper and higher from this point onwards, stoking anticipation for Definitely Maybe even higher just before its release at the end of August. The one song that defines the revivalist sensibilities of Britpop more than any other, ‘Live Forever’ is, at the title suggests, deathless.

Do you agree with our list? What is your favourite Oasis single? Tell us below!

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