Oasis: Revealed (Lee Henshaw) – Book Review

by Emilio on February 7, 2010

Oasis Revealed Lee Henshaw

"Oasis: Revealed" Came Out In 1996. Written By Lee Henshaw And Published By Parragon, It Covered Their Crowning Achievements As A Band.

This was the first book in English that I ever bought. That was fitting enough, as the first album I ever purchased was “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?”. And the second one? “Be Here Now”. I had quite a story with the Gallagher boys and their gang when I was a teenager. I eventually disowned them, but good albums are good albums and deserve their share of praise. And as always, if you get to know the story behind the words and the music then the ties can become more endurable.

This book certainly made me feel an increased love for the band, even when it was (and will always be) a modest effort. It is not that revealing, to be brutally frank. It covers the story up until the band rocked Maine Road. That means it reaches up to 1996. Only “Definitely Maybe” and “Morning Glory” are covered as a result. You get a good glimpse on the band’s formative days, and all the obvious events and incidents (the fight on the ferry during their first European tour that resulted in the “Wibbling Rivalry” CD, the run-in with Blur, Knebworth…) are covered.

The obvious comparison is Paolo Hewitt’s “Getting High – The Adventures Of Oasis”. It covers the same period, but it is the “official” account. It is a far lengthier book, and you even learn about mother Peggy Gallagher and how he met Thomas, not to mention having a minute overview of the boys’ teenage years. In terms of content, it wins hand down. [click to continue…]

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Read the introduction to this review by clicking here.

“Don’t Look Back In Anger” was the first single in which Noel handled lead vocals. In actuality, he was to sign both “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and “Wonderwall”, but Liam demanded singing one of the two projected singles. He picked “Wonderwall” maybe as a way of irking Noel. It would have made better sense if the elder Gallagher had sung that one. After all, it was written about Meg. And the song is seldom sung by Liam live – he only is behind the mic when the song is not done acoustically, as on the “Familiar To Millions” live album.

The introduction to “Imagine” heralds a true carpe diem anthem, and Noel “borrowed” more than that piano part from John Lennon. The phrase “So I’ll start a revolution from my bed/Cos’ you said the brains I had went to my head” comes from an interview with the late Beatle. The song is overwhelmingly beautiful, and Noel employs a device he otherwise abuses in the best way here: changing the grammatical person during bridges and choruses in order to make the song go from individual to plural, from “my” song to “our” song. [click to continue…]

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(What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (Oasis) – Album Review (Part 1)

February 5, 2010

To review this (the very first CD I ever bought) fills me with a strange mixture of emotions. Most of all, I feel as if washed over and stripped of all experience by a wave of nostalgia as I realize how innocent I was back then. How I absorbed every instrument, how I thought each [...]

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Photos From The Launch Event For “Once”

February 4, 2010

(Hagan click aquí para leer este artículo en español)
A promise is a promise, there you have the pictures from the launch event for “Once”.
To begin with, publisher Carmen Galusso introduces the ones sitting at the table. Then she talks about the way we worked together up to that date.

Secondly, literature teacher Fabián Severo offers up [...]

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Fotos del Lanzamiento de “Once”

February 4, 2010

(Click here for the English version of this post)
Lo prometido es deuda, finalmente les traigo las fotos del lanzamiento de “Once”.
En primer lugar, la editora Carmen Galusso presenta a los integrantes de la mesa y cuenta el proceso de trabajo que culmina en la edición del libro.

Luego, el profesor de literatura Fabián Severo nos ofrece [...]

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Definitely Maybe (Oasis) – Album Review

February 3, 2010

Oasis’ record-setting debut album came in 1994, at a time in which the reputation of the band had already turned them into cultural icons in England. Their early singles “Supersonic”, “Shakermaker” and “Live Forever” are included along with “Cigarettes & Alcohol”, a cut that captures their infamous swagger better than a hundred clippings. “Supersonic” was [...]

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Oasis – General Introduction

February 2, 2010

When I began the blog, I was certain the one and only band that I was very well-acquainted with that I was not going to cover was Oasis. They were the first band I really listened to – heck, I even bought my first CD player in order to listen to their albums.

My decision not [...]

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Días Lúcidos (Lapso) – Uruguayan Music

February 1, 2010

Lapso [Lapse] is an alternative rock band that hails from my hometown, Montevideo. Its sound has been nurtured mainly by bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Incubus. The first CD by a Uruguayan rock band that I ever bought was this one, actually, mainly on the strength of the single “Volver Atrás” [...]

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Month In Review – January 2010

January 31, 2010

I started the new year in the best possible way by adding R.E.M. and Pete Townshend to the main list of artists featured in MusicKO. “Out Of Time”, “Automatic For The People” and “Monster” have already been reviewed, whereas fans of The Who’s unique composer should check what I had to say about “Who Came [...]

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Black Gold: The Best Of Soul Asylum

January 30, 2010

Small town mentalities are the same everywhere. That was the one thing I immediately thought the first time I played this excellent compilation. Having lived in a small city all my life, the music of Soul Asylum speaks in terms which are absolutely unequivocal to me. People who is willing to do whatever it takes [...]

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