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“Some Might Say (Live on MTV Unplugged)” – Oasis
(Words/music: Noel Gallagher, originally appeared on (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, Epic 1995)

I fell hard for Oasis in the mid ‘90s, and in many ways they were just as big of a “gateway band” as the others that come to mind first (R.E.M., Nirvana, etc).  Off the top of my head, Oasis led me to Paul Weller (and the Jam), Blur, and the reviews section of Q Magazine.  Like Oasis, Q was fairly mainstream (and kind of trashy), but in the early days of the internet, it was one of the places I went looking for new music when the domestic magazines failed to catch my attention.  I haven’t read Q in years, and that’s probably the same length of time it’s been since I’ve listened to a full Oasis album.  Regardless, the news this week that Noel Gallagher left Oasis prompted two distinct responses.  First, I felt a tinge of sadness – even though we went our separate ways a few years back, I kept tabs on the band the way one might keep tabs on an old flame through Facebook – I wanted to know that they were healthy, happy, and successful with the occasional reminder why we split in the first place.  Secondly, I was surprised that it took this long.

Aside from the feuding (which gave the band that explosive “crash waiting to happen” energy that made things more exciting), Oasis seemed like a one-sided partnership.  Noel Gallagher wrote the songs while Liam Gallagher sang them.  Granted, Noel seized vocals a few times, and Liam had a marginally better voice (and stage presence), but it seemed like this imbalance would make the split an inevitability – Noel would have the better post-Oasis career because he still had the songs.  This is why I’ve always loved this recording of their MTV Unplugged performance.  In this setting, the songs (from the first two albums, plus a couple B-sides) get a horn section and vocals from Noel (who subbed for a “sick” Liam who sat in the balcony and heckled all night).  Maybe it’s the expanded band that’s influencing my opinion, but I don’t really miss Liam’s vocals.  In this setting, “Some Might Say” gets a loftier arrangement that pushes it closer to sounding like an anthem.  This was always Noel Gallagher’s prerogative as a songwriter, as he wrote songs to fill stadiums even when they played clubs.  Liam gave the band stadium-sized stage presence, but Noel’s songs sold the tickets.  Even if he hasn’t matched his early output in years, I’d put my money on Noel as the most successful Gallagher solo project.

(Of course, he could be back in the band in a week.  That’s how these things work.)

More on Oasis: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm