THE MASTERPLAN (Creation)

Attack Of The Killer Bs

We take a track-by-track look at 'The Masterplan' and remember why Oasis were once dubbed the best rock'n'roll band in the world.

From the beginning, it was clear that Oasis would never litter their B-sides with novelty rubbish. Keen to be revered as the best songwriter of his generation, Noel Gallagher decided to produce rounded EPs to reinforce his reputation, and with the release of Oasis' B-sides album, 'The Masterplan', it's clear his perfectionism has been justified. Here we highlight every B-side featured on the album, helped every so often by the two brothers themselves, starting with a quote that epitomises their dedication to quality.

Noel: "Everything we do is a classic, other bands could make careers out of the stuff we use for B-sides. Oasis B-sides aren't just throwaway fillers. I'm not going to waste my time sitting down writing second-rate songs. I don't think there's ever been a song we've put out that I'm ashamed of. You're not going to get 20 dance mixes of 'Wonderwall'. Sorry."

Acquiesce

Noel: "I was watching the OJ Simpson trial and the wrod 'acquiesce' was mentioned, but I didn't have a clue what it meant, but it sounded a dead good word. It means being dragged into something no matter how hard you try to resist. The people who hear it are going to acquiesce. It's like the pied piper or something. It took 20 minutes to write. I was on the train and I knew we needed another song. The train broke down and I wrote it then. I always write best when I'm under pressure or pissed off. It's better just writing in a burst than spending months gojng back and changing things."

Obligatory nonsense lyric: "And there are many places/That I wish to go/But everything's depending/On the way the wind may blow."

Underneath The Sky

The flipside of Number One single "Don't Look Back In Anger", it was released in February 1996, the same month that Oasis won Best Band, Best Album and Best Video (for "Wonderwall") at the Brit Awards, annihilating Blur in every category, just six months after Damon and co won The Battle of Britpop. However, oasis' success was overshadowed somewhat by the controversy surrounding Jarvis Cocker's arse-protruding protest at Michael Jackson.

Obligatory nonsense lyric: "Underneath the sky of red/Is a storyteller sleeping alone."

Talk Tonight

Another number one single, another ace B-side. Recorded in Texas after a bust up in their late-1994 American tour, "Talk Tonight" accompanied "Some Might Say" to the top slot in April 1995, Oasis' first number one.

Noel: "I'm a miserable sod sometimees. All the stuff on 'Definitely Maybe' was written when we didn't have a record deal and I wasn't writing with anything in mind, I was just writing. But now when I write something I think of what all the people in brackets are going to read into it. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. Now we're a business thing we're not as happy-go-lucky as we used to be. When I wrote 'Talk Tonight' I suddenly realised, 'Hey, I can really write songs'. Because of all the things that were going on when it was written, it was always going to be very personal, but I don't know if I'll ever write anything as direct again. You can't do something like that to order."

Liam: "It's shit and depressing."

Obligatory monsense lyrics: "All your dreams are made/Of strawberry lemonade"

Going Nowhere

One of only two B-sides from "Be Here Now" singles to be included on "The Masterplan". Whle it was heading to number 2 as the flipside to "Stand By Me" in September 1997, Oasis were busy playing three consecutive sold out nights at Earl's Court, supported by The Verve.

Obligatory nonsense lyrics: "I could do with a motoir car/Maybe a Jaguar, maybe a plane or a day of fame"

Fade Away

"Fade Away" almost made it onto "Definitely Maybe", but ended up as a B-side to "Cigarettes & Alcohol", the biggest hit of their short chart life when it peaked at number 7 in October 1994.

Obligatory nonsense lyrics: "When I was young/I thought I had my own key/I knew exactly what I wanted to be/Now I'm sure/You've boarded up every door"

The Swamp Song

Its working title of "The Jam" was ditched because Noel though Paul Weller, who contributes lead guitar and harmonica to the track, would be offended. He wasn't, but Noel renamed the instrumental "The Swamp Song" and used it for the B-side of "Wonderwall" in November 1995. Oasis were about to play their first dates at Earl's Court, after curtailing an American tour when Guigsy's temporary replacement Scott McLeod buckled under the pressure and returned to Britain.

I Am The Walrus [live]

Another "Cigarettes & Alcohol" B-side, recorded in February 1994 at a conference of Sony executives gathered excitedly to hear Creation's new signings.

Noel: "If I cover a Beatles' song, I'm just doing something that someone else has written. When we do 'I Am The Walrus', we're doing a song that The Beatles never played live and I think we do it better than they would have done it. We turn it into an Oasis song. With something like 'Ticket To Ride' or even 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away', it's just a copy. I don't know if I can ever write a song as good, but I'm going to keep on trying. It's the really simple songs that you hear once and think you've known all your life. They're the classics. They're the ones that matter."

Liam: "A song by the best band in the world."

Obligatory nonsense lyrics: "Semolina Pilchards, climbing up the Eiffel Tower."

Listen Up

The third and final "Cigarettes & Alcohol" B-side. Oasis had just returned from a rampant Japanese tour, with fan adulation reaching dangerous levels, and a shambolic American tour, during which Noel temporarily left the band after a disastrous gig in Los Angeles.

Obligatory nonsense lyrics: "But I don't believe in magic/Life is automatic"

Rockin' Chair

Released amid a hurricane of media interest in August 1995 as the B-side to "Roll With It" which stalled at number 2 behind Blur's "Country House". Furious and probably more than a little humiliated, Noel insisted that the band swap instruments for their "Top Of The Pops" performance. Meanwhile, on the same show, Alex James celebrated Blur's victory by wearing an Oasis T-shirt.

Obligatory nonsense lyric: "Sitting here by the phone/Waiting for my memorise to come and play"

Half The World Away

Recently used as the them tune to "The Royle Family" and reputed to be Paul Weller's favourite Oasis track, "Half The World Away" was the B-side to Oasis' Christnas 1994 hit "Whatever", which reached number 3, beaten only by Mariah Carey and East 17.

Obligatory nonsense lyric: "And when I leave this island/I'll book myself into a soul asylum"

(It's Good) To Be Free

The other "Whatever" B-side, "(It's Good) To Be Free" is a legacy from the fraught recording session in Texas that also gave us "Talk Tonight" and "Half The World Away". eatures the multi-talented Bonehead on accordion and a totally meaningless Morse Code segment.

Obligatory nonsense lyrics: "Head like a rock spinning round and round/I found it in a hole sitting upside down"

Stay Young

Never a particular favourite of Noel's, it was relegated from "Be Here Now" (to be replace by "Magic Pie") and wound up as B-side to the long-awaited comeback single "D'You Know What I Mean?", which stormed to number 1 in July 1997.

Noel: "As soon as we'd finished it, I just kept seeing the word Britpop everywhere. It;s a bit too jolly y'know. Nice sentiments, though: 'stay young and invincible'..."

Obligatory nonsense lyrics: "And stay in bed and sleep all day as long as it's Sunday"

Headshrinker

Written before Oasis signed to Creation, "Headshrinker" was eventually released as a B-side to "Some Might Say". It was recorded during one of the last sessions with original drummer Tony McCarroll. His replacement, Alan White, had two days to learn "Some Might Say" before their "Top Of The Pops" performance.

Obligatory nonsense lyric: "Lost in a fog/I've been treated like a dog/And I'm out of here/I got no name"

The Masterplan

Highly regarded by Noel, which may explain why he wrested vocal duties from Liam, "The Masterplan" was the B-side to "Wonderwall", which became Oasis' highest entry (number 21) in the American Billboard singles Top 100 chart.

Noel: "It's the best song I've ever written."

Obligatory nonsense lyric: "The answers in the looking glass/There's four and twenty million doors/Down life's endless corridor"

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c 1998 Andrew Turner

aturner@interalpha.co.uk

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