Bigger than guns and cigarettes, it's alcohol and cigarettes

The year is 2010, I don't think there is a single human being alive (other than those living under a rock, you know who you are) that hasn't heard Oasis' "Wonderwall." To be honest that's all I thought they had until I recently stumbled upon Oasis' earlier recordings, pre-What's The Story their 1995 hit album (it went platinum 4 times in the U.S. and 14 times in Britain). These recordings hit me like a truck, these guys are amazing, they are so much more than their comparably tame "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova."

The first song I stumbled upon was called "Cigarettes and Alcohol," released in 1994 off of the album Definitely Maybe just over one full year before Whats The Story. This track gives off a distinct brit-punk feel (maybe a little bit of a Sex Pistols vibe) with a little bit of George Thorogood style guitar that gives this song some serious bite. It gives off a total high school angst vibe as Noel Gallaghers lyrics read "Is it my imagination Or have I finally found something worth living for? I was looking for some action But all I found was cigarettes and alcohol." Brilliant!


The second song was "Shakermaker" off of the same album. This gives off a very different vibe than "Cigarettes and Alcohol" in that it is far more towards the indie rock spectrum in the same vein as other indie rock groups of the 90's with that little bit of John Lennon like lyricism and vocal tones (in the psychedilic sense). They definitely backed off from the heavy guitar and really just turned the attitude down a notch for this song. It is a little bit of a head-nodder towards the end which I can sometimes appriciate in a song like this.

Clearly I have mis-judged you Oasis. You are far more than as song about a wall and star made of champagne. So this is me issueing my first blog apology (blopology?) for judging you by your #1-hit-singles. Clearly there must be some bands out there whos discography wallows in obscurity under the shadow of a #1 hit.

"Cigarettes and Alcohol" by Oasis from Definitely Maybe (1994)

"Shakermaker" by Oasis from Definitely Maybe (1994)

-S