The Oasis song Noel Gallagher said “would stand up 500 years from now”
‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis has now seemed to become more of a meme than music. As much as people may have earnest feelings towards the pop song that turned the band into icons, just as many would gladly take a hatchet to speakers playing those acoustic chords. Noel Gallagher may be crying all the way to bank with that kind of ridicule, but he thought that ‘Live Forever’ far outstripped what ‘Wonderwall’ was capable of.
As much as Oasis was known for being one-note, though, listening to Definitely Maybe and What’s the Story Morning Glory back to back tends to feel like two separate bands. Whereas their sophomore effort is rightly considered one of the finest pop-rock albums of the 1990s, their debut album is the closest thing to pure punk rock they have ever gotten.
Remember that Noel considered Sex Pistols one of his biggest influences, and it shows from the minute that a song like ‘Bring It On Down’ starts. For all of the swaggering attitude that the band could cram into a few minutes for a punky thrash about, Noel was always about injecting positivity into his music.
Before they had even gotten signed, Noel had the enthusiasm of a rock star without a penny to his name. For all of the artists in his local scene who were convinced they wouldn’t make it, the cheekiness of calling himself a rock and roll star was enough to keep him reaching for the stars half the time.
In many ways, ‘Live Forever’ is much more sophisticated than ‘Wonderwall’ could ever be. After just a few listens of the acoustic ballad, you’ve practically got everything you’ll get out of it ‘Wonderwall’. Liam is in fine form behind the vocals as well, but hearing both brothers young and hungry on ‘Live Forever’ is like night and day.
It could have been a ballad if Noel wanted it to (just listen to the demos), but hearing Liam sing his guts out is so passionate that the band needed to give it that extra push. Even after the Britpop golden age faded, Noel had to admit that ‘Live Forever’ may hold up better over time.
When talking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Noel said that the song was one of the few pieces that would stand the test of time, saying, “If the one thing I’m remembered for is ‘Live Forever’, then that will do me. ‘Wonderwall’ is fine, a lovely pop song, but I wrote ‘Live Forever’ when I was 21, and that song, the lyrics to that song, will stand up 500 years from now.”
Maybe it works so well because it’s so open to interpretation. Since Noel was never big on telling people what his pieces were about, hearing Liam sing about wanting to live beyond his time on Earth was all anyone could ask for. Given that Noel’s songs have been the soundtrack to future generations of rock fans, ‘Live Forever’ was the sound of him calling his shot as a songwriter for the ages.
