“Beautiful”: the Oasis cover Noel Gallagher said was out of his league
When you’re an up-and-coming band, whether you play rock or any other genre, the thing you really want to do is write a song that truly connects with people.
This is no small feat. Writing a song that isn’t only musically sound but has elements that resonate with the public at large is an achievement that very few bands can say they’ve accomplished. However, one musical outfit from Manchester can certainly say they’ve made music which resonates with large numbers of people, as Oasis’s back catalogue is completely flooded with songs that audiences around the world can’t get enough of.
When they initially announced that they were reforming, there were a lot of people unsure about how well such a reunion would go… Sure, it was cool that the Gallagher brothers were going to be on stage together again, but do they still have what it takes? People’s music ability can often leave them, and who’s to say the same wouldn’t happen to these two?
Despite reservations, the shows sold out in moments, and after that, it was left for the band to take to the stage and deliver. As a hush fell over the crowd on that opening night, Oasis walked on and went into their track ‘Acquiesce’. They hadn’t lost it.
You want a song that connects with the public at large? Well, Oasis have a full set list of them. As that show went from city to city, stadiums full of people were blurting out the words to the likes of ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’, ‘Supersonic’ and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’. Fans loved it, and so did the band, but that being said, there was one song on the setlist that Liam and Noel Gallagher might have been a bit annoyed that they had to include, and it’s arguably their biggest smash hit of the lot, ‘Wonderwall’.
Both brothers have had some pretty choice words to say about the song. When Liam Gallagher was promoting their 2008 album Dig Out Your Soul, he didn’t hold back in making his disdain for the track clear.
“At least there’s no ‘Wonderwall’ on there. I can’t fucking stand that fucking song! Every time I have to sing it, I want to gag,” he said. “Problem is, it was a big, big tune for us. You go to America, and they’re like: ‘Are you, Mr Wonderwall?’ You want to chin someone.”
Noel had a similar opinion, “Outside of England, it’s the one we’re famous for all over the world, and it annoys the fuck out of me… It’s not a fucking rock and roll tune. There’s quite a vulnerable statement to it.”
It wasn’t just that the two brothers weren’t the biggest fans of ‘Wonderwall’, but they also struggled to perform it live a lot of the time as well. They could play it, sure, but in comparison to a lot of the other tracks that they would reel off, it felt as though it came up short somewhat. This was well and truly confirmed for Noel when he saw Ryan Adams perform it live and subsequently blow Oasis’s version out of the water. Despite being one of the best bands going, this was a cover that Oasis simply couldn’t compete with.
“Do you know Ryan Adams?” Noel asked. “I went to see him in Manchester, and they were on, and I’d never met this kid before. I hadn’t heard anything about him. He gets midway through his set, and he stops, and he plays ‘Wonderwall’.”
Concluding, “And the place went silent, and I went to see him afterwards, and I said, ‘You can have that song because we could never play it live anyway’. His version was so superior to ours. It was just beautiful.”
