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An Oasis reunion? Definitely, maybe… not. 5 Reasons why Oasis shouldn’t reunite

Indie | Friday 14th March 2014 | James

Time heals all wounds… probably

Having split up on the eve of a date in Paris in 2009, it’s been just over a measly 4 years since the warring Gallagher brothers split their band for good – which makes the current appetite for their reunion all the more bizarre. Manc contemporaries The Stones Roses took nearly 15 years before reuniting, and it’s been 27 since The Smiths broke up… let’s face it, Oasis haven’t exactly been away long.

Actually, they are still very much still about

Since the bands dramatic split, it’s also hard to say the brothers have exactly vanished from the public eye. Liam’s Beady Eye (which let’s face it, is basically Oasis minus Noel) have released two albums and completed numerous tours and festival dates across the country. Then Noel has gone onto hit even bigger heights (sorry Liam!) with his hugely successful High Flying Birds solo project – with his album of the same name scoring a UK Number 1, tours of the UK’s biggest arenas, and a big radio hit in ‘Aka… What a Life!’ in the process. Not bad.

Liam’s voice is shot

For a brief period in the early 90s, Liam Gallagher’s voice the most iconic in the entire UK music scene. He used his Lennon-meets-Lydon Mancunian drawl to devastating effect across the band’s first two albums and the B-Sides record The Masterplan, and anyone doubting his vocal ability should listen to ‘Slide Away’, ‘She’s Electric’ or ‘Headshrinker’ for proof of his distinctive and surprisingly extensive vocal range. But that was then… and the Liam of today wields a voice battered by years of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs… and generally just being Liam Gallagher. Gallagher’s nasal, gravelly voice of today is a pale imitation of its 90s peak.     

Inconsistent output

Oasis first two albums Definitely Maybe and What’s the Story?..., and B-Sides record The Masterplan are undisputed classics, with the band releasing an amazing amount of good music in startlingly short time. However, their output post 1998 is “inconsistent” to say the least, and never matched the strength of their first few albums. While they did release a couple of good if unspectacular records, for every Dig Out Your Soul or Heathen Chemistry there was a Be Here Now or Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. Their collective discography just isn’t good enough for a band of their stature.

And this much is obvious…

Do you seriously want a revival of drunk mobs tunelessly battering Wonderwall every Saturday night? Closing every indie club night? At every wedding or party? It beats Robbie Williams’ Angels at least… just.

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