Oasis had loved a monumental 12 months as winter turned to spring in 1995 however the Britpop titans weren’t performed but. Removed from it. This was a band whose songwriter and chief Noel Gallagher was within the midst of a generational purple patch, knocking out basic anthems left, proper and centre and issues had been about to get supernova for the boys from Burnage.
Their era-defining debut Undoubtedly Possibly had solely been launched a matter of months earlier than however they had been already pushing on. The orchestral-tinged euphoria of No matter, launched as a standalone single in December 1994, had demonstrated that and subsequent got here the music that put them on the prime of the UK single charts for the primary time. Launched 30 years in the past subsequent month, Some May Say marked the start of a interval the place Oasis turned from thrilling rock’n’roll band into cultural phenomenon, the primary minimize from their world-conquering second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?.
Noel has by no means been shy about his influences, or the truth that he would fortunately “repurpose” songs he liked in his personal work. The Beatles, Bowie and Pink Floyd had been apparent touchstones in Oasis songs however the inspiration behind Some May Say is considered one of Noel’s extra curious lifts, taking its cue from a music by long-forgotten US rockers Grant Lee Buffalo.
“They had been an American indie band who had this tune referred to as Fuzzy,” Noel defined in an interview to mark …Morning Glory’s 25th anniversary just a few years in the past. “You possibly can see it’s an enormous affect on Some May Say. I’ll obsess a couple of music for years and I’ll rip it off 12 instances and get 12 completely different tunes out of it.”
“Every little thing I do is a nod to one thing or different,” he continued. “I’m not a genius, I’m a fan of music. Paul McCartney is a genius and Morrissey and Bob Dylan. I’m not, I’m simply followers of theirs. I’ve bought a very good knack of placing shit collectively however I’m not a snob about the place it comes from – I’ll let you know. Nothing is unique, there’s solely 12 notes anyway.”
The similarities are clear as quickly as Fuzzy begins, not a lot in something in regards to the songs themselves – one is a fragile acoustic quantity and the opposite is a chugging rocker however each are rooted in a swinging, bluesy riff.
Some May Say, as Noel defined to Fran Healy in an interview for the Travis frontman’s radio present just a few years in the past, was written virtually a 12 months its launch. “Once I wrote it, I used to be dwelling reverse a studio in Chiswick referred to as Eden Studios,” he recalled. “Throughout the highway, that they had a home the place in the event you had been working at Eden Studios, you can hire one of many rooms. However I wasn’t working there and for some purpose I used to be dwelling there, on the highest flooring, above Mike Oldfield’s ex-wife, not that that has something to do with something. I wrote it over a few days within the prime flat. I’d simply moved to London and was sampling the nightlife of London and I bear in mind coming house in any respect hours of the morning and writing, which is why the lyrics are fairly nonsensical… canine itching within the kitchen and all that, I used to be fairly hammered once I wrote it. Everyone would learn various things into the lyrics and I’d simply agree with all of them, going, ‘Yeah, that’s what it’s!’.”
Getting back from a bout of touring just a few months later, Noel was decided to get a demo on tape, not an everyday incidence on the time, he stated. “I used to be so enthusiastic about it I wished to do a demo. At that time, I wasn’t massive on doing demos. It was the one demo I did for Morning Glory.”
He contacted Owen Morris, the producer who had rescued Undoubtedly Possibly when classes weren’t going to plan and who was away working with The Verve on what would turn into their second document A Northern Soul. “He stated, ‘I’m in Wales with The Verve however I feel they’re having the weekend off, so why don’t you come down for the weekend?’,” Noel remembered. “I jumped on the prepare and went to Loco Studios and the demo is definitely recorded with all of The Verve’s tools, it’s me taking part in the drums and the bass and all that nevertheless it’s Nick McCabe’s rig and Simon Jones’ bass.”
It proved to be a journey value taking – on the best way again Noel’s prepare broke down within the Severn Tunnel and while sitting there, he wrote the basic Oasis B-side Acquiesce. “It turned out to be among the finest weekends ever,” he beamed.
The band recorded a brand new take of Some May Say for the one launch however Noel says he prefers the demo model. “It was a tiny bit slower and a bit extra 70s,” he defined. “The way in which we did it with Oasis was a bit extra Britpop. The demo was a bit dirtier and sleazier. The demo was sluggish and a bit extra boozy.”
Launched in April 1995, Some May Say went to Quantity One and in addition marked the tip of Oasis Mk 1 – unique drummer Tony McCarroll performs on the monitor however by the point it was prime of the charts, he had been changed by Alan White behind the equipment.
“It’s a humorous music within the Oasis catalogue cos we gave up taking part in it fairly rapidly as a result of Liam struggled with it,” Noel mirrored. “It’s in all probability my favorite Oasis music, I feel the refrain is good. I’ve all the time bought fond recollections of it.”
Liam appears to have overcome any troubles in that division although – the music was an everyday fixture in his solo setlists between 2018 and 2022, hopefully which means Some May Say will characteristic in setlists when the Oasis reunion reveals roll spherical this summer season. If not, we’ll all the time have this rendition from their iconic Knebworth reveals to fall again on…
![OASIS - Some Might Say (Live at Knebworth) [Sunday 11th August, 1996] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jj_jJl5bBfU/maxresdefault.jpg)