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Some Might Say: The Definitive Story Of Oasis
The rise of Oasis in the mid-1990s was nothing short of stratospheric. Yet what made Oasis truly special was that they were the people’s band. This is their story, told by the people that lived through it and how our lives were changed forever. Across the country and all around the world, millions of people felt a connection to these five working class lads from Manchester. With anthemic songs crafted by possibly the greatest songwriter of their generation, delivered with intensity and swagger by definitely the greatest frontman of their generation (also his brother), they set out with an insane level of arrogance, outrageously proclaiming themselves to be the best band in the world. And yet for a shining moment in the mid-1990s they were—a level of success not seen by a British band since a certain Liverpool quartet in the 1960s. Beyond that, the ushering in of a new cultural Britpop, Cool Britannia, New Labour. And at the centre of it all, the soap opera antics of the warring Gallagher brothers and their band of merry men. But the story didn’t end there. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s they continued to inspire generations of fans with their subsequent albums and tours, while controversy was never far away. New members joined, bringing a different dimension to the sound and ethos…and then one eventful day in Paris in 2009 the whole thing came to a screeching halt. With exclusive in-depth interviews extracted from the annals of The Oasis Podcast , including contributions from those involved (Alan McGee, Tony McCarroll), journalists with first hand coverage (Paulo Hewitt, Colin Paterson) and celebrity fans (Ricky Hatton) amongst many others, this is the ultimate story of Oasis.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
320 pages, Hardcover
Published October 22, 2020
8 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 2, 2021
Being a Beatles fan, I guess it was inevitable that I landed upon Oasis as my next musical obsession -- they really are the Fab Four's spiritual and musical godchild. However, being one of the "newer" rock bands, there isn't really a lot of literature out there about the band -- nowhere near the amount written about the Beatles... So my expectations weren't high when I ordered this book: some random book by some random author I'd never heard of, from some random independent publishing house I'd never heard of, covering some random podcast I'd never heard of... but, yeah, this one sucked me in. Expectations surpassed.
It provided a pretty good overview of the life of the band, proceeding chronically year-by-year, with a bunch of interesting pictures and interview excerpts from people associated with the band. The diverse cast offered some unique perspectives on the ordeal, and did a good job reflecting the inevitability, craziness, and fun of the band's meteoric rise. Brian Cannon, Jill Furmanovsky, Alan McGee, and Tony McCarroll were some of my favorites interview subjects -- but the lack of Liam and Noel's take on things was a definite sore point. It did become more apparent as the book went on and we were just left to speculate on the actual details of the band's slowly tortuous combustion... I mean, I get where the author was coming from in calling it the "definitive story of Oasis" -- but can it really be that, without Noel or Liam's input?
But the book did a great job illustrating the evolution of the band's sound, record by record. It was so much fun to read and then go back and listen to the albums (and watch the documentaries and live performances and music videos and band interviews and and and...). I loved the end discography, filmography, bibliography, and gigography too and thought that was such a great resource for any budding Oasis fan to consult (or obsess over). I liked that the author was such an obvious fan of the band -- his enthusiasm was infectious and mirrored my own. It's such a pet peeve of mine to read books by music writers/journalists, where they don't even seem to like the music or the musicians they are writing about. They truly just suck the life out of something so joyous with a particular mix of criticism, distain, and small-printed footnotes... just ugh. So glad this wasn't the case here.
My one major critique of the author was the grammar. There were some real instances that I wanted to take out my red pen and go to town on Mr. Bowes' writing. I feel like a savvier editor could've cleaned up some pretty basic mistakes and reworked a few awkwardly worded sentences. It really would've elevated the entire work to a more professional level, and made for a smoother read overall... But maybe that's just me being my nitpicky, grammar-Nazi self. Meh.
So, yeah, if you're a new or established fan of Oasis, I'd recommend this book to you. I really think in the years ahead, so much more is going to be written about the band. Personally, though, I found this first foray to be very promising.
4/5 stars.
It provided a pretty good overview of the life of the band, proceeding chronically year-by-year, with a bunch of interesting pictures and interview excerpts from people associated with the band. The diverse cast offered some unique perspectives on the ordeal, and did a good job reflecting the inevitability, craziness, and fun of the band's meteoric rise. Brian Cannon, Jill Furmanovsky, Alan McGee, and Tony McCarroll were some of my favorites interview subjects -- but the lack of Liam and Noel's take on things was a definite sore point. It did become more apparent as the book went on and we were just left to speculate on the actual details of the band's slowly tortuous combustion... I mean, I get where the author was coming from in calling it the "definitive story of Oasis" -- but can it really be that, without Noel or Liam's input?
But the book did a great job illustrating the evolution of the band's sound, record by record. It was so much fun to read and then go back and listen to the albums (and watch the documentaries and live performances and music videos and band interviews and and and...). I loved the end discography, filmography, bibliography, and gigography too and thought that was such a great resource for any budding Oasis fan to consult (or obsess over). I liked that the author was such an obvious fan of the band -- his enthusiasm was infectious and mirrored my own. It's such a pet peeve of mine to read books by music writers/journalists, where they don't even seem to like the music or the musicians they are writing about. They truly just suck the life out of something so joyous with a particular mix of criticism, distain, and small-printed footnotes... just ugh. So glad this wasn't the case here.
My one major critique of the author was the grammar. There were some real instances that I wanted to take out my red pen and go to town on Mr. Bowes' writing. I feel like a savvier editor could've cleaned up some pretty basic mistakes and reworked a few awkwardly worded sentences. It really would've elevated the entire work to a more professional level, and made for a smoother read overall... But maybe that's just me being my nitpicky, grammar-Nazi self. Meh.
So, yeah, if you're a new or established fan of Oasis, I'd recommend this book to you. I really think in the years ahead, so much more is going to be written about the band. Personally, though, I found this first foray to be very promising.
4/5 stars.
February 13, 2021
Supersonic!! A must read for hardcore oasis fans. Lots of detail and deep insight into the inner workings of this biblical band!
December 28, 2023
Tons of good information, and well organized. I really enjoyed the reviews of every single release.
March 1, 2024
a bit liked a extended Wikipedia page but it's good to know what they were up to ( professionally) each year.
July 2, 2022
Well done! (But maybe a little too long)
Well written and thoughtfully presented, any oasis fan will definitely appreciate this book. The text includes a comprehensive overview, with a detailed band history, reviews of key gigs, and complete analysis their entire catalog.
All based on loads of archival interviews and other source material.
But as with any truly comprehensive retrospective of a band that held it together for the better part of two decades, it's bound to feel like a lot... Like a lot a lot.
At times, I couldn't help but wonder, is this book ever going to end???
But all of that said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
Well written and thoughtfully presented, any oasis fan will definitely appreciate this book. The text includes a comprehensive overview, with a detailed band history, reviews of key gigs, and complete analysis their entire catalog.
All based on loads of archival interviews and other source material.
But as with any truly comprehensive retrospective of a band that held it together for the better part of two decades, it's bound to feel like a lot... Like a lot a lot.
At times, I couldn't help but wonder, is this book ever going to end???
But all of that said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
March 6, 2021
This book is the perfect read for an Oasis fan, either hardcore or casual. It's a linear journey crafted from first hand accounts and meticulous research. Though it is written by a fan for fans there are no punched pulled, and a few thrown. All crimes, legal, personal, and musical are all laid bare.
I learned more about the band than I ever thought I would, but never felt like I was an intruder. Caps off to Mr. Bowes.
-WS
I learned more about the band than I ever thought I would, but never felt like I was an intruder. Caps off to Mr. Bowes.
-WS
February 2, 2021
Less biased than other tell-all’s about the band, and spans 1992-2017. Still pro-Noel, but not as heavily as other books. A bit dry, but informative read for an Oasis fan.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews