{"id":240280,"date":"2025-07-05T14:16:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T14:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/240280\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T14:16:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T14:16:15","slug":"the-17-best-oasis-songs-ranked-and-the-five-worst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/240280\/","title":{"rendered":"The 17 best Oasis songs, ranked (and the five worst)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Look at a picture of all five members of Oasis during their imperial phase. Just pick any photo \u2013 they\u2019re all the same. Up front there\u2019s Liam, exuding little brother energy; behind is Noel, scowling slightly; then placed at random around them are three men who look like they\u2019ve wandered into the back of shot en route to the chippy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They were the least likely bunch of rock stars you could ever imagine. And yet their return has been probably the biggest story in British pop<\/a> for the past decade.<\/p>\n

Although, let\u2019s be clear: the version of Oasis which reacquaints itself with the public this summer is a Frankenstein\u2019s monster of Oasises, v1.0 through 4.0. They\u2019ve got a brand new drummer \u2013 for about the fifth time in their history. There is no Guigsy on bass, the man who ranked his interest in being in the biggest rock band of their generation behind Manchester City, cricket, Doctor Who and marijuana (in Noel Gallagher\u2019s opinion, as per the 2016 documentary Supersonic). But really, all that ever mattered was the Gallagher brothers.<\/p>\n

They detest each other<\/a>, they love each other, and despite doing things like trying to batter each other with cricket bats or launching dustbins at each other, they somehow managed to make some of the most enduring tunes of the past 30 years together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"LiamLiam and Noel last year when their reunion tour was announced (Photo: Live Nation)<\/p>\n

They also made some of the least enduring tunes of the last 30 years, lest we forget \u2013 just think of the limp psychedelia and sludgy rock of the noughties, where decent singles ended up teasing dreck like Standing on the Shoulder of Giants and Heathen Chemistry. You had to be a real hardcore fan to make excuses for their work then, but I made an effort and found moments deserving of second listens even there. I\u2019d already invested too much time in working my way through the Oasis guitar songbook on the Noel-inspired Epiphone I\u2019d saved up for. Did I have a parka? Yes, I had a parka.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So that effort through perhaps the most depressing time to be an Oasis fan \u2013 too old to be really exciting, still trudging around stadiums rather than letting their legend grow \u2013 qualifies me, I think, to assess their back catalogue. These are their 17 best songs, ranked \u2013 and in the interests of balance, five of their most honking stinkers. And no, \u201cWonderwall\u201d isn\u2019t in the best of list.<\/p>\n

17. \u201cThe Shock of the Lightning\u201d, 2008<\/p>\n

Even during the slightly moribund Noughties \u2013 during which time they had four number ones, by the way \u2013 there were flashes of something thrilling. This is the only evidence that they ever even liked krautrock pioneers Neu!, but what a way to distill it down: motorik beat, stormy vibes and a nod to Magical Mystery Tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

16. \u201cMorning Glory\u201d, 1995<\/p>\n

Sometimes Oasis songs which are transparent nicks from other artists show up in sharp relief exactly what it was Oasis did so well. Where its inspiration, R.E.M.\u2019s \u201cOrange Crush\u201d is a tense, jangling thing full of air and shade; \u201cMorning Glory\u201d is pummelling and claustrophobic, the cluster headache and paranoia setting in after another night \u201cchained to the mirror and the razor blade\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"LiamLiam, left, and Noel Gallagher with Oasis at the Melt! Festival in Graefenhainichen, Germany in 2009 (Photo: Marco Prosch\/Getty)<\/p>\n

15. \u201cListen Up\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

One of Noel\u2019s first run of tunes \u2013 about yearning to get away from the grotty circumstances you find yourself in \u2013 this was squirrelled away as a \u201cCigarettes and Alcohol\u201d B-side. Its deeply lovely bridge is top drawer; the chords tumble downwards while Liam yelps defiantly that he\u2019s \u201cgonna leave you all behind\u201d, before twisting and leaping upwards.<\/p>\n

14. \u201cFade Away\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

The raw, Buzzcocks-influenced side of Oasis only really hung around for Definitely Maybe<\/a> and its B-sides, of which this is that era\u2019s pick. Childhood and the compromises you make as you grow out of it were fertile writing ground for Noel at the time; you can feel his excitement and anger in the thrash.<\/p>\n

13. \u201cColumbia\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit odd, given that the Gallaghers were regulars at the Hacienda during its peak <\/a>and worshipped the Stone Roses, that Oasis had so little to do with dance culture. Except, that is, for this. A straight four-to-the-floor beat appears out of a fog of disembodied voices, like it\u2019s fighting its way past the smoke machine toward the DJ booth, while Liam sings: \u201cI can\u2019t tell you the way I feel, because the way I feel is, oh, so new to me\u201d. It\u2019s a lolloping rave-era tribute that\u2019s also genuinely threatening; you can feel the Second Summer of Love curdling.<\/p>\n

12. \u201cCast No Shadow\u201d, 1995<\/p>\n

Written in honour of The Verve\u2019s frontman Richard Ashcroft<\/a>, these lyrics about a man who has trouble appreciating what he has and expressing how he feels \u2013 some of Noel\u2019s best \u2013 could just as well apply to Noel himself. This might be one of Liam\u2019s best vocal performances, too, keening and pained under the steeliness. It\u2019s a poised, swooning thing.<\/p>\n

\"OasisOasis on \u2018Top of the Pops\u2019 in 2005 (Photo: BBC)<\/p>\n

11. \u201cWhatever\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

As straightforwardly pretty as Oasis ever got, this was a fair crack at the 1994 Christmas No 1 slot (it ended up at number three; East 17\u2019s \u201cStay Another Day\u201d took the crown). It\u2019s a deeply beautiful irony that Noel was obliged to share songwriting credits with Neil Innes for its similarity to \u201cHow Sweet to be an Idiot\u201d by his Beatles spoof band the Rutles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

10. \u201cTalk Tonight\u201d, 1995<\/p>\n

Pissed off at the rest of the band\u2019s dismal attempts to crack America in 1994, Noel took himself off to San Francisco to fume and wonder whether to break the band up. He didn\u2019t, but he did end up writing three gorgeous quasi-solo tracks on the back of it. This bullish but heartbroken acoustic olive branch is as close as he ever got to sounding like great hero Neil Young<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9. \u201cHalf the World Away\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

This is the pick of those tunes inspired by that lost weekend in San Francisco. Careworn and sighing, \u201cHalf the World Away\u201d is the sound of feeling like you desperately want to get away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

8. \u201cAcquiesce\u201d, 1998<\/p>\n

For all that Oasis is about the dynamic between Noel and Liam, there are scarcely any proper duets between them. This bolshy B-side brings them together: Liam snarling devilishly that he \u201conly wants to see the light that shines behind your eyes\u201d, Noel the angel on the other shoulder, reminding them that \u201cwe need each other\u201d.<\/p>\n

7. \u201cCigarettes and Alcohol\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

Liam howls, voice dripping with disdain, \u201cIs it worth the aggravation to find yourself a job when there\u2019s nothing worth working for?\u201d \u2013 and a star is born. If \u201cMorning Glory\u201d showed off what Oasis were actually doing musically when they nicked other people\u2019s stuff, \u201cCigarettes and Alcohol\u201d\u2019s crunching, thunderous rip of T. Rex\u2019s \u201cGet It On\u201d showcased the attitude that made them what they were. Yeah, we\u2019ve nicked \u201cGet It On\u201d. And what?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NoelNoel, left, and Liam performing in Vancouver in 2008 (Photo: Darryl Dyck\/The Canadian Press\/AP)<\/p>\n

6. \u201cSupersonic\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

Written while waiting for first (generally maligned but undoubtedly powerful) drummer Tony McCarroll to work out how to play \u201cBring It on Down\u201d, \u201cSupersonic\u201d came together in minutes. It\u2019s about the swagger and the intimidating gibberish which Liam manages to topspin into something unnerving, but it\u2019s also about that shift with the line \u201cbut before tomorrow\u201d which served notice of Noel\u2019s extraordinary melodic ear.<\/p>\n

5. \u201cLive Forever\u201d, 1994\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Noel\u2019s lyrics for Oasis love songs tended toward the obscure much of the time, he was always very direct about the power of friendship, and the magic of a bond that you can\u2019t explain to anyone outside of it (\u201cWe see things they\u2019ll never see\u201d). More than any other Oasis tune, this is one that feels like you\u2019ve heard it a thousand times before, and yet keeps its urgency intact.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Star\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

The final part of that triangle of songs that said everything Noel ever wanted to is, from first note to last, an absolute blast \u2013 the sound of five young men who are still convinced that nothing could possibly be more fun than being in a band with their mates. A demo which included a bagpipe interlude was perhaps wisely shelved.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cSlide Away\u201d, 1994<\/p>\n

For all the pint-launching and mad-fer-it silliness that Oasis came to mean, it was their balladeering that cemented them as a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll band in whose hands, as \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u201d later put it, people would want to place their lives. \u201cSlide Away\u201d was the Definitely Maybe deep cut that became an essential. As it opens out into the chorus \u2013 \u201cNow that you\u2019re mine\u2026\u201d \u2013 the bruised but hopeful romantic side of the band finds its highest peak.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u201d, 1996<\/p>\n

Like most Oasis songs, \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u201d is sort of about nothing, and sort of about everything. Childhood memories (\u201cStand up beside the fireplace, take that look from off your face\u201d) and lifted witticisms from John Lennon\u2019s audio diaries (\u201cYou said the brains I had went to my head\u201d) tumble around, and there\u2019s something about a girl called Sally. But the meaning is all there in the sound of it: stately verses, ratcheting bridge, and Noel\u2019s best ever grab-your-mates-and-scream chorus. Anyway, here\u2019s \u201cWonderwall\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

1. \u201cChampagne Supernova\u201d, 1996<\/p>\n

Obviously it isn\u2019t \u201cWonderwall\u201d. No song in the Oasis back catalogue channels the day-drunk buzz of their peak like \u201cChampagne Supernova\u201d: dreamy and wistful, then piledriving and heart-rending. And in its Paul Weller-assisted guitar solo, and swooning harmonies, it is the direct link back to British pop\u2019s finest guitar bands \u2013 which they had always intended to be. In the best line he\u2019s ever written, Noel nails the woozy, scrambled nostalgia Oasis had channelled musically, and which a new generation of fans would come to feel during their 16-year absence: \u201cWhere were you while we were getting high?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LiamLiam and Noel Gallagher in Tokyo in 1994 (Photo: Koh Hasebe\/Shinko Music\/Getty)<\/p>\n

And their worst\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. \u201cFade In-Out\u201d, 1997<\/p>\n

The big misconception about Be Here Now is that Noel lost his songwriting nous in a blizzard of cocaine. He didn\u2019t quite; the songs on Be Here Now are quite \u201cWill this do?\u201d, without being heinous \u2013 just way too long and way too loud. \u201cFade In-Out\u201d is the huge exception. It\u2019s dreary stuff, and nearly seven minutes of it. Johnny Depp guesting on slide guitar is the final insult.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cSunday Morning Call\u201d, 2000<\/p>\n

Any number of listless turn-of-the-millennium tracks written after the effective break-up of the group could have made this list \u2013 let the sluggish, dreary \u201cSunday Morning Call\u201d stand for all of them. So bad Noel insisted it not be listed on the Stop the Clocks singles compilation, it\u2019s a secret track instead. Frankly, even that is too good for it.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cHey Now!\u201d, 1995<\/p>\n

The title makes this sound a lot more exciting than it is. Bridging the two halves of (What\u2019s the Story) Morning Glory, \u201cHey Now!\u201d is a slightly seasick thing, skidding about on the deck only to, having found its feet, lapse into the plod that would become their Noughties trademark.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cLittle James\u201d, 2000<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s easy to dunk on Liam\u2019s first songwriting effort. But lord above, if we can\u2019t say that this paean to his young son is a catastrophe then there are truly no certainties left to us. At least he did \u201cSongbird\u201d too.<\/p>\n

1.\u201cRoll With It\u201d, 1995<\/p>\n

The deep tragedy of The Battle of Britpop (along with Noel wishing Damon Albarn and Alex James would, erm, catch Aids and die) was that \u201cCountry House\u201d and \u201cRoll With It\u201d were so far from the best they could do. \u201cRoll With It\u201d in particular is thin, flyaway stuff: no wit, no grit, and lyrics that sound like they\u2019ve come from a Jehovah\u2019s Witness leaflet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Had it been a straight fight between \u201cMorning Glory\u201d and Blur\u2019s \u201cThe Universal\u201d, that would have been a proper heavyweight contest. Doubtless, if Oasis roll out \u201cRoll With It\u201d at Heaton Park, pints will be launched.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Look at a picture of all five members of Oasis during their imperial phase. Just pick any photo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[77,269,93449,25181,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-240280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-music-features","11":"tag-oasis","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114801055344411602","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}