THE MASTERPLAN (Creation)

The latest development in the often stormy career of Oasis lends itself well to being treated in the manner of one of those corny good news-bad news routines. We will take the good news first. This is that on November 2nd, the fourth album by Oasis, the group that for many of us has been responsible for some of the most significant rock music of the nineties, is to be released. The bad news is that the album is made up entirely of B-sides from singles that any self-respecting Oasis fams will already own.

Oasis singles have always, of course, provided remarkably good value. In place of the catalogue of alternative remixes that most artists use to fill up the space next to the main, A side track, Oasis have invariably added two or three brand new songs, with the occasional demo version or live recording thrown in for good measure. In essence, the group has revived a sixties artefact - the EP. As originally conceived, the EP consisted of four tracks pressed on to 7" vinyl - the same as for a single - yet intended to be treated as making up a mini-album. Oasis have broken with the tradition in so far as sixties EPs did not, in general, qualify for inclusion in the singles charts, even when they sold a sufficiently large number of copies. The group, however, has respected the format in the area that matters most. For while the B-side to a true single in the sixties (and indeed later as well) tended to be a quickly recorded make-weight, the tracks on a mini-album EP could not afford to be like that. Neither are they on the Oasis singles. As much craft and care is evident on the single B-side tracks as on any of their A-side companions. A selection of the best of these was always likely to provide an impressive line-up.

The fact that The Masterplan does make an excellent album - coming close to WTSMG? in its overall power to thrill and emerging as generally superior to the disappointing "Be Here Now" - is to some extent, however, beside the point. With Oasis insisting that they will not record a proper fourth album before the year 2000, The Masterplan is an obvious holding action on the part of the group's record company, Creation. Undoubtedly, the album's release will achieve the desired effect of bringing the group's name back into prominence, but the compilation remains an odd one in many ways.

The obvious precedent for an album of this kind is the Smiths' assortment of B-sides and radio sessions, 2Hatful Of Hollow". When this album was complied in 1984, the Smiths had acquired a considerable cult following, but this had not really been translated into notable chart success. The group's first album, moreover, had fallen victim to a lacklustre production that largely failed to capture the qualities that made The Smiths special. "Hatful Of Hollow" put this right and added extra shine to the exercise by adding a new track, "How Soon Is Now", that was arguably the best song the Smiths had yet recorded.

Oasis, in contrast, have long ago turned a cult following into a massive across-the-board popularity, with a string of chart-topping singles to prove it. As a result, a compilation of B-sides for Oasis can have no function in terms of kick-starting a fledgling career and neither can it unearth any tracks that might have escaped notice. There are, in truth, several Oasis rarities to be found scattered through various foreign and promotional issues. None of these, however, are on the B-sides of their hugely successful singles. With every track on The Masterplan having first been issued on a Top 10 single, purchasers of the album can enjoy hearing some old friends assembled in one place for the first time, but they cannot experience the thrill of a new discovery.

It may be relevant, however, to mention at this point the reactions of one particular fifteen-year old Oasis fan on being shown a tracklisting for the new album. As she went down the list, checking off the songs that she knew, it was apparent for her, the fact that the songs were familiar was a definite advantage.

Clearly, for some listeners, it's not the new discoveries that necessarily provide the thrill. This particular compilation does, however, have a track that just might be the group's finest, even if it is not a new recording. For, as owners of the "Wonderwall" single will already know, the song called "The Masterplan" easily lives up to its proud title. Owing less obvious debt to Noel Gallagher's favourite Beatles influences than many of his other compositions, the song's dramatically descending chords are enhanced by an elaborate string and brass arrangement and a skillfully executed backwards guitar solo. The result is a lavish production that also reveals a careful attention to details such as is only occasionally matched elsewhere in the Oasis song-book. The song is far too good to have been consigned to B-side status, however defined, and is certainly much better served as the title track of an album.

A similar argument could be applied to the rest of the B-side tracks now brought together in album form. Prsented in this way, the songs are undoubtedly given what is, in the majority of cases, a well-deserved extra prominence within the Oasis list of releases. For the serious Oasis collector, however, The Masterplan album is bound to prove a frustrating affair. Only two of the group's twelve singles to date have all their B-side tracks included, so that it is still necesary to acquire copies of the other singles in order to fill in the remaining gaps. As it happens, the first three singles, "Supersonic", "Shakermaker" and "Live Forever", and the most recent "All Around The World" are not represented at all.

Meanwhile, there are alternative versions available for many of the tracks included on The Masterplan. A far more interesting album for collectors and more casual fans alike might have been a compilation of some of these alternatives.

The Masterplan tracks in detail

Acquiesce

The album kicks off with a typically powerful Oasis anthem that was one of the three B-side tracks included with "Some Might Say" - the group's first number one single from 1995 (all three tracks are to be found on the album). The confidence that all concerned felt in the strength of the song was demonstrated by its original issue, in its own right, as a one track promotional CD and 12" single. It was also one of the four songs chosen for inclusion on the promotional CD released as a sampler for the two boxed sets of Oasis singles that were put together at the end of 1996. Acquiesce is a staple of the Oasis live set and is one of the songs performed on the "Live By The Sea" video. Another live version of the song can be found on a French promotional CD single.

Underneath The Sky

The warbling treated guitar that underscores the arrangement for this attractive song is a sound lifted directly from the late sixties which has hardly touched down since then. The song accompanied "Don't Look Back In Anger" - the group's second number one single from 1996. The other two songs on that single - "Step Out" (withdrawn from the WTSMG? album after the first promotional copies were pressed, due to its close similarity in parts to Stevie Wonder's "Uptight") and an appropriately rowdy cover version of Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize" - were among those left out of the tracklisting for the new album.

Talk Tonight

This Noel Gallagher ballad is the second song to have been taken from the "Some Might Say" CD single. A live recording is included on the "Live By The Sea" video, but the most moving version is to be found on a cassette given away free with Q magazine. Taken from a session made for Channel Four's "White Room" programme, the duet performance by Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller turns the song into a great pieve of souls music. Its omission from The Masterplan album is one of the more regrettable missed opportunities.

Going Nowhere

One of Noel Gallagher's elaborate production numbers, with orchestral instruments enhancing the basic ingredients of acoustic guitar and electric piano, Going Nowhere is a track to join the album title track in thoroughly deserving its promotion from purely B-side status. It easily scores over the other songs accompanying the "Stand By Me" single, although "My Sister Lover" and, especially, "I Got The Fever" could have been included here without causing any overall lowering in quality.

Fade Away

Included as one of the extra tracks on the "Cigarettes & Alcohol" single (the other two are also on this album), Fade Away is a long-established group favourite, with several alternative versions to choose from. It's one of the eight songs to be found in demo form on the "Live Demonstration" cassette recording that was responsible for Oasis gaining their contract with Creation. Another early rendering of the song was included on a cassette given away free with Select magazine, some five months prior to the song's issue on the single towards the end of 1994. It was chosen as the lead track on the promotional sampler for the singles box sets, while a live version of the song appeared on a bonus disc included with a similar French box. By far the most effective version of the song, however, is the one donated to the Help! charity album, where the overdriven guitars are exchanged for a much lighter, lilting approach.

Th Swamp Song

This live instrumental jam, based on the patent Canned Heat boogie riff that was popularised in Norman Greenbaum's hit, "Spirit In The Sky" was something of a throwaway when included on the "Wonderwall" single and it remains so here. The fragment appearing on the WTSMG? album worked well enough in that form and hardly needed expanding into a full length track. The presence of Paul Weller on harmonica and lead guitar provided the undoubted attraction, but he is as responsible as anyone for the resulting sonic mess. On the new album, the piece ousts its former companion, "Round Are Way", a song that was once considered strong enough to be worthy of a separate promotional issue.

I Am The Walrus [live]

The Oasis rendering of The Beatles masterwork has served as the group's encore performance on stage since the early days. It has that function on the "Live By The Sea" video, but the version used for the "Cigarettes & Alcohol" single and repeated here is a different recording, taken from a [rehearsal at the Gleneagles Hotel & Conference Centre]. The track was originally issued too on a one-sided 12" promotional single, but it should have been immediately redundant as soon as Noel Gallagher organised an orchestral section to contribute to the group's performance of the song on Jools Holland's television programme, 'Later...'. That superior version, however, remains unreleased.

Listen Up

The last remaining B-side track from "Cigarettes & Alcohol" stretches the Oasis anthemic approach to nearly seven minutes, but without ever really managing to catch fire. That there are no other versions of the song in existence perhaps speaks for itself.

Rockin' Chair

On the other hand, there are no other versions of this either, yet Rockin' Chair, carried along by a combination of acoustic guitar and organ, is rather good. It is the only track from the "Roll With It" single to be included here - rejected are the Noel Gallagher acoustic performance of "It's Better People" and a live recording of "Live Forever", which was, of course, previously released as a single A-side itself.

Half The World Away

The splendid "Whatever" is the only single A-side issued by Oasis not to be found on any of their albums (other than as a limited edition bonus disc packaged with copies of WTSMG?). It is not included here either, but the two new tracks that accompanied it are. Half The World Away is one of these - it was also one of the four tracks making up the promotional sampler for the box sets.

(It's Good) To Be Free

This is the other "Whatever" new track. It was also given a release as a one-sided 12" promotional single and is an established live favourite. It appears on the "Live By The Sea" video and there is another live version on the French "Acquiesce" promotional CD (quite appropriate given the slapstick accordion ending on the studio recording!). Yet another live version of the song can be found on the Q magazine "White Room" cassette.

Stay Young

The B-side track from the "D'You Know What I Mean?" single was understandably chosen in preference to its less immediately striking companions. These are "Angel Child", a Noel Gallagher performance described as a demo, although no other version exists, and a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes", a song that is sadly not improved beyond its original finely-judged tension by being bludgeoned.

Headshrinker

Oasis forge an unexpected connection with Status Quo on this song, which is the third, least essential B-side track on the "Some Might Say" single. There is, nevertheless, a live version to be found on the "Live By The Sea" video.

The Masterplan

To have included both "The Swamp Song" and The Masterplan on the "Wonderwall" single is definitely a case of going from the ridiculous to the sublime. The latter track's magnificence was acknowledged by it being included in the eighth volume of the ongoing CD guide to the best indie releases, "Shine". It also provided the fourth track on the promotional sampler for the boxed sets of Oasis CD singles.

Considered purely as a collection of music, there can be no denying The Masterplan's power. It provides sufficient ammunition to shoot down in flames any critics who might still try to maintain that Oasis is a group with a strictly limited talent. Its rigid B-side focus does, moreover, still leave room for a rarities anthology to be issued at some appropriate time in the future. In addition to the various alternative versions mentioned, the compiler of such an album could consider several other tracks.

Before joining the band that became Oasis, Noel Gallagher recorded himself performing eight songs that have not been reissued or reworked in any form. The only cassette copy containing these songs to have surfaced was auctioned earlier this year for the substantial sum of £4025. The first demos recorded by the entire group comprised six songs dating from 1992 - "Take Me", "Must Be The Music", "Better Let You Know", "Colour My Life", "See The Sun" and "Snakebite". These have also escaped any kind of re-recording. They have not appeared on the market in their original form either, although bootleg CDs containing the six songs do exist. These also include live recordings of the first three of the early songs, together with two others, "Life In Vain" and "I Will Show You".

Only ten copies of the "Live Demonstration" cassette were made originally, although the eight songs included on it have also been bootlegged. One of them has been issued officially, "Columbia" being one of the B-side tracks on the "Supersonic" single, as well as being seperately pressed up on a one track 12". In a typically bold piece of marketing, this 12" single was actually the group's first release on Creation, as it was sent to key media people four months before the issue of the commercial single containing the song.

Six of the other songs on the cassette are demo versions of well-known material. In addition to "Fade Away"

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c 1998 Andrew Turner

aturner@interalpha.co.uk

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