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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There's Definitely No "Maybe" About It, April 4, 2005
In 1994, Grunge rock had deteriorated from the fresh, brooding energy of Stone Temple Pilots and Nirvana to the contrived repetitions of Bush and Silverchair. The once mighty Pearl Jam ("Ten," and "Vs.") had evaporated artistically with Eddie Vedder's recession into increasingly greater self-obsession and personal misery. The era was clearly in its final throes and rock fans were primed for something different. A record that spoke to the idea of rock as possibility and exuberance.
Into this greasy world of longhaired suicide cases and pseudo-nihilism came Liam and Noel Gallagher with brash English smiles and swaggering Manchester impudence. "Definitely Maybe" is an album seemingly replete with one simple message - I wanna be a rock-`n'-roll star! It is this mantra that makes the record, and indeed the band itself, so important in an era where mediocre substance too often supersedes rock's spirit. "Definitely Maybe" brings us back to the days when lusty-eyed youths willed fame and fortune through guitar strings and makes us forget the languid, whining, shallow psychology that cried its way into so much of 90's rock.
While each song on the album stands on its own, it is the entirety of this effort that warrants notice. The message is clear: "In my mind my dreams are real," Liam grinds in the opening track, unsurprisingly named "Rock `N' Roll Star." And while so many of the songs are just out-and-out Brit-rock fun (i.e. "Shakermaker," "Up in the Sky," "Digsy's Diner," etc.), there are several seriously arresting tracks as well. "Supersonic" features Oasis at their punkiest, while "Slide Away" seems to transcend the album itself, leaning, in a way, toward much of Oasis' more mature work yet to come. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is as appropriate a maxim as can be expected from the Gallagher's - defiant, working-class urban dissenters first and artists second. And "Live Forever" is a salient single with some of the greatest in recent rock lyricism: "Maybe I just wanna fly / wanna live, I don't wanna die / Maybe I just wanna breathe / maybe I just don't believe / Maybe you're the same as me / we see things they'll never see / You and I are gonna live forever."
"Definitely Maybe" is not an album of subtle orchestration or complex conception, but then that was never the point. In the mid-90's, as in the mid-70's, rock had begun to take itself too seriously as a genre, and had consequently rendered itself an overblown parody. Oasis is to grunge what the Sex Pistols (and Punk in general) were to 70's rock - a slap on the wrist. A reminder that rock is not about art - it is about anti-art. It is about fun; expression; defiance. And with these as standards, "Definitely Maybe" is an album that immerses itself deeply within the spirit of rock stardom as it was once perceived - and an album that proves beyond any doubt that the spirit is still alive.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rock 'n roll masterpiece, March 30, 2007
In the history of rock n' roll*, there probably aren't 20 better albums than Definitely Maybe. Oasis, under pressure to throw together enough material for a full album after signing with Creation Records on the strength of a handful of songs, accidentally made one of the best albums ever. It's not hyperbole to say that every song on this album is damned good, if not great.
Oasis has always been accused of being derivative, and there's alot of evidence of that on Definitely Maybe. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is T-Rex's "Bang A Gong (Get it On)" retooled. The chorus of "Shakermaker" is lifted directly from the Coca-Cola song, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." Yet, the album is fresh. Liam Gallagher's vocals are fantastic; he's a one-of-a-kind singer. The guitars are big and loud. Swagger just drips from every song. Whatever their sources of inspiration, the Gallaghers have always put their own stamp on their songs, made their own sounds. Paradoxically derivative and unique, Definitely Maybe was so groundbreaking that bands have been trying for the last decade to capture its sound, its magic. There's a lot of Definitely in both of Jet's albums, for example.
This is a must-have album for any rock fan. Like Revolver, Kick (INXS), Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby (just a few examples off-the-cuff), Definitely Maybe captured the spirit of the time in which it was released and sent rock in a different direction. What "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" were to the British Invasion, the Definitely Maybe album was to the "Brit Pop" movement.
If you're a rock n' roll fan and this album hasn't found its way into your collection, you've really been missing out. Order it today. If I could give it 10 stars, I would!
*By "rock 'n roll" I mean straigh-forward, guitar-driven music. I don't mean to include soul, R & B, hip-hop, "soft rock" or other styles that sometimes get lumped in the "rock 'n roll" category.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Start for a Great Band, November 22, 2000
In the UK, "Definitely Maybe" was the biggest selling debut album of all-time. Here in the US, the album wasn't nearly as successful, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great album. Quite the contrary, "Definitely Maybe" is the album that launched Oasis into superstardom. Though US fans are more familiar with their second album, "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" and its mega-hits "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova", "Definitely Maybe" is certainly worth a listen from anyone who liked "Morning Glory" even a little bit. The album's most successful single, "Live Forever", is a timeless classic. This song contains brilliantly uplifting lyrics, an very unique melody, and superb vocal performances by the brothers Gallagher. This song ranks among my favorite Oasis songs of all-time. Other standout tracks include "Slide Away", a "sort-of ballad" containing outstanding lyrics and a blistering vocal performance from Liam Gallagher. This track has an incredibly catchy chorus, but the layers of electric guitars that enrapture it make it hard to call this song a traditional ballad. "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is a full-on rock and roll track with a great melody and awesome guitar riffs. If you can get past the morally deplorable lyrics you'll find this song to be the best rock song on the album. "Rock and Roll Star" is another great rock song on this album, and its lyrics are much more insightful than those of "Cigarettes and Alcohol". Though "Cigarettes and Alcohol" is a catchier tune, "Rock and Roll Star" is clearly the winner in the lyrics department. It's just classic Oasis rock and roll. "Supersonic" is one of the most unique songs on the album, as, like most of the songs on this album, it contains a very catchy chorus. It's not really a full-on rock tune, but it's not a slow ballad, either. Unfortunately, however, the lyrics are nothing more than complete gibberish, so don't waste your time trying to find some "hidden meaning" in this song, 'cos it just isn't there. Still, this song is a treat to listen to. "Digsy's Dinner" is one of those happy, uplifting Beatlesque tunes with comical lyrics and a catchy tune. It's not hard rock by any means. "Up In The Sky" is also an uplifting tune that clearly "borrows" something from The Beatles. Again, the lyrics are mediocre but it's still an enjoyable tune. The album's final track, "Married With Children", is a slow but enjoyable acoustic number with some very funny lines, such as "I hate the way that you are so sarcastic, and you're not very bright." This is the only acoustic number on the album, and it sounds nothing like the rest of the album, which has much more of an edge. The reason I don't give this album 5 stars is that it contains a few tracks that are marginal at best. These include "Shakermaker", "Columbia", and "Bring It On Down". "Columbia" and "Bring It On Down" aren't horrible, but they contain neither innovative lyrics nor memorable melodies. Both of these songs were early Oasis tracks, so clearly Noel Gallagher's songwriting has improved as the album progressed. "Shakermaker" is a blatant rip-off of "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" used in the old Coca-Cola commercials, and its lyrics are gibberish. This is by far the worst song on the album. I mean, come on, Noel? If you're going to rip off the music, at least write some decent lyrics to make up for it!!! I'm completely baffled by the fact that this track was released as a single in the UK, while classics like "Slide Away" were never released. In any event, "Definitely Maybe" can best be described as "Morning Glory" with more of an edge. It's not all hard rock, but it's not filled with the mid-tempo, very melodic tracks that make up "Morning Glory". Still, "Definitely Maybe" contains more than a fair amount of truly great songs, and is well worth a listen for any Oasis fan.
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