RePlay: Oasis’ ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ is Still “Madferit” 30 Years Later

It’s the Fourth of July. My family is outside enjoying their beers, BBQ and browning skin. They’re laughing together, sharing stories and bonding.

I, however, was consoling my hysterically sobbing friend over a phone call. What happened? Is she okay? Do I need to beat someone up? 

No. Oasis, her favorite band, had come back after a 15-year hiatus. As a lifelong fangirl, I knew only a very serious obsession necessitated this kind of reaction, and I wanted in.

So I did what any good fangirl-in-training does — I consulted the foundational texts. For me, this was Oasis’s sophomore record, “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” 

The 1995 Britpop classic opens on the aptly named “Hello,” a song without much meaning, but that sets the bar for the album’s bold and energetic tone. 

“Nobody ever mentions the weather / Can make or break your day / Nobody ever seems to remember / Life is a game we play,” lead singer Liam Gallagher sings.

Liam Gallagher’s iconic nasally delivery —  supported by his brother, lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, and rhythm guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs’ gritty guitar melodies — makes the song more blues-inspired than the Britpop sound Oasis carved out for themselves since their debut album “Definitely Maybe.” However, it’s this inspiration from other genres that gives the band their hodgepodge signature.

“Roll With It” is a pompous declaration of independence and staying true to oneself. It features one of many iconic Oasis guitar riffs and a lovely back-and-forth between the brothers during the pre-chorus. 

After “Roll With It,” the album launches into a monumental one-two punch of the band’s most popular songs, “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back In Anger.” It’s poetic how the tracks that launched Oasis into worldwide superstardom stand back to back on the record —  one of the many shadows of fate in the band’s story.

For as much as “Wonderwall” has been meme-ified, it’s a really, really good song. Like, randomly-stopping-you-from-your-doomscroll good. 

“Wonderwall” is Noel Gallagher’s lyricism at its best. It’s simple and vulnerable but still carries that signature Oasis defiance. Noel Gallagher is able to take the most exhaustively written about emotion of all — love — and put it into terms people around the world can point to and say, “That is exactly how I’m feeling.”

“I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now,” Liam Gallagher sings.

Love in layman’s terms.

Just as I’m reeling from “Wonderwall” and its plucky piano outro, I’m smacked in the face with the Lennon-inspired, stadium-filling, intro to “Don’t Look Back In Anger.” Bloody hell.

In the 30 years since its release, “Don’t Look Back In Anger” has become a de facto anthem for the city of Manchester, especially after the tragic bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017. The track is tailor-made for massive crowds, whether at an Oasis gig, a football match or even a memorial service.

Notably, this is the first Oasis song on a standard tracklist that features Noel Gallagher on lead vocals. It’s these vibrant vocals that sell the sense of pride one feels while singing along.

“Stand up beside the fireplace / Take that look from off your face / You ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out,” Noel Gallagher sings.

 A pre-chorus that feels like the moments before the marathon gun fires.

Steady rocker “Hey Now!” steps up to the plate next, its psychedelic lyrics and a mellowed Liam Gallagher quelling the flames of the giant tracks preceding it. A credit to the album’s tracklisting, “Hey Now!” still feels at home.

“And as it fell from the sky, I asked myself why / Can I never let anyone in?” Liam Gallagher sings.

 It’s a quiet moment of introspection from the song’s composer, Noel Gallagher, as he contemplates his use of drugs to escape the big questions about his future.

“Some Might Say” is perhaps the most quintessentially British song on the album. Liam Gallagher sings to the tune of his Mancunian peers, describing the troubles of the working class and their search for “a brighter day.”

“Some might say they don’t believe in Heaven / Go and tell it to the man who lives in Hell,” Liam Gallagher sings. 

Okay, so I might’ve lied when I said “Wonderwall” is Noel Gallagher’s songwriting at its best. On this album, that title belongs to “Cast No Shadow.”

A song dedicated to The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft, the song describes a man wandering through life, not knowing how to move forward. The instrumentation is lush, featuring a string section and twinkling jingle bells. Liam Gallagher’s voice, as always, is top notch. He’s emotional and sympathetic, but with a boyish hubris that seems to be inborn.

“Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say / Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay,” Liam Gallagher sings, harmonizing with his brother. 

As a side note, Richard Ashcroft left The Verve weeks after he heard this song. It seems Noel Gallagher’s words of encouragement stuck.

“She’s Electric” is a quirky, Beatles-inspired track describing a young woman in a “family full of eccentrics.” Despite the song quite literally being a list of this woman’s family members, I can’t help but smile at its cheekiness, both instrumentally and in Liam Gallagher’s vocal performance. It’s short, sweet and straight to the point.

“There’s lots and lots for us to do / She’s electric, can I be electric too?” Liam Gallagher sings. 

Speaking of electric, title track “Morning Glory” is the musical defibrillator after the preceding tracks. When I listened to the album for the first time this summer, its siren-like opening riff sent shockwaves through my ears, into my brain and subsequently the rest of my body. 

It’s powerful, it’s buzzing, it’s spiritually laced with every drug the Gallagher brothers were on at the time of recording. I can taste the flying pints every time I listen to it. “Morning Glory” is positively “madferit.”

The album’s conclusion, “Champagne Supernova” is Oasis at their most Oasis. Liam delivers a soulful vocal line, Noel Gallagher’s guitar solo reaches the sky and the song’s lyrics — despite their abstract nature — touch the lives of millions. 

“How many special people change? / How many lives are living strange? / Where were you while we were getting high?” Liam Gallagher sings.

Great question. 

And so, I find myself back in my cousin’s bathroom, observing the awe on my friend’s face via low-quality FaceTime call. She spurts out nonsense like “Noel looks so cute” and “Liam sounds so good, oh my god, I love him, I’m going to throw up.” 

Through this fangirl admiration, I saw a deep appreciation for the music. For the thousands of fans pledging allegiance to their favorite band. For the brotherly love healed after many years apart. Above all, I saw her appreciation for Oasis. That’s when I knew — I was totally and utterly “madferit.”