Time flies indeed. It will be a year since the 90’s rock ‘n’ rollers broke up for good this September, which in it self is a somewhat terrifying thought. When you consider that their debut was released back in 1994 and those early tracks are still the most popular by a stretch, it is more remarkable that they had 15 years more to give.
This triple disk singles collection is a fine tribute to some of the finest pop-rock songs ever written. The mass-market appeal and the global fanfare for Oasis are perhaps a fine indication of just how effective a combination Noel Gallagher’s song writing and Liam Gallagher’s wailing vocals really were. The singles collection as a concept seems far more valid than a best of in the case of Oasis, because their album releases spanned over such a long period that the singles are a more revealing insight into the sound of each phase they went through. The CD does suffer however for a lack of structure to the song order, which essentially leaps from young to old all too often. If the arrangements were chronological perhaps then you would get a better feel for their progression as a band. Nonetheless, the classics still hold their appeal in the same way they used to but whether or not they will stand the test of another 15 years is, of course, questionable.
8/10, out 14 June 2010
Words by James Rowland
