Great B-sides: The Masterplan by Oasis
Remember the 1990s, when physical albums sold by the truckload? Manchester band Oasis had their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, sell more than 22 million copies, and this volume of sales allowed them to lavish even their b-sides with loving care. It wouldn’t surprise me if ‘The Masterplan’ had a bigger budget than that of entire albums in the streaming age; there’s an amazing amount of effort for a b-side, with an orchestra and a very Beatles-esque backwards guitar solo. It’s a showcase for Oasis’ songwriter Noel Gallagher – he sings lead vocals and plays bass in addition to his usual duties in the band.
Creation Records boss Alan McGee told Noel ‘The Masterplan’ was “too good” to be relegated to the B-side of a single. Noel was reported to have replied, “Well, I don’t write shit songs!” At the time, Noel was perhaps justified, as he was pumping out a lot of serviceable material for Oasis’ first two albums, but ‘The Masterplan’ would have made for a very strong album track. While it features several of the band’s weaknesses – a five and a half minute running time and a sound palette that was overly reliant on The Beatles’ mid-1960s triumphs – it’s clearly one of the band’s best songs.
It was later included, along with three other early b-sides, on Oasis’ 2006 compilation Stop The Clocks, whereupon it was given a lavish promotional video.
Take the time to make some sense
Of what you want to say
And cast your words away upon the waves
And sail them home with acquiesce
On a ship of hope today
And as they land upon the shore
Tell them not to fear no more
Say it loud, and sing it proud today
And then dance if you wanna dance
Please brother take a chance
You know they’re gonna go
Which way they wanna go
All we know is that we don’t
Know how it’s gonna be
Please brother let it be
Life on the other hand
Won’t make us understand
We’re all part of the masterplan
Say it loud and sing it proud today
I’m not saying right is wrong
It’s up to us to make
The best of all the things
That come our way
‘Cause everything that’s been has passed
The answer’s in the looking glass
There’s four and twenty million doors
On life’s endless corridor
Say it loud and sing it proud today
We’ll dance if they wanna dance
Please brother take a chance
You know they’re gonna go
Which way they wanna go
All we know is that we don’t
Know how it’s gonna be
Please brother let it be
Life on the other hand
Won’t make you understand
We’re all part of the masterplan
Aphoristical
Graham Fyfe is fascinated by pop music, and he may be the only blogger in the world to cover Neil Diamond and Ariana Grande.
That could have been a good single.
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Yes, it’s probably better than most of their post Morning Glory singles….
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I loved a lot of their B-Sides. This one was a great one. The gold old days when albums sold physical copies by the millions. I miss that time.
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I wonder how many of those 22 million copies are in landfills now.
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I wouldn’t mind having one of the vinyl someday if I find one out in the wild.
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Possibly just under 22 million.
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My sister’s copy is still at my parents’ house.
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So many glorious Oasis b-sides – I like that attitude too, very Noel!
I like that he’s singing so many of the b-sides too
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What other ones are good? If I ever decide to do an Oasis page on my blog I’ll probably cover the whole Masterplan album.
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Lots of gems! Listen Up, Acquiesce, The Fame, Cigarettes in Hell, Talk Tonight, and many more…
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I’ve never heard this before…it is a great B side and song in general.
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To be honest, it’s one I’ve only listened to for the purposes of this blog series – I was aware that Oasis had a well-regarded outtakes set, so I checked out the title track. One of those bands where they have a glut of strong material early, and then their early outtakes outshine their later albums.
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I didn’t get into them until later on but I liked what I’ve heard. I’ve only heard the first couple of albums and that has been a while.
After you featured them I started to search them out.
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It’s definitely a nice tune!
I have to admit other than their name, I know nothing about Oasis. Based on Apple Music’s description, their music should be up my alley!
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Their first couple of albums are nice enough. I’d be surprised if you hadn’t heard ‘Wonderwall’ before – it’s pretty well known.
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BTW, started listening to Oasis (debut album) – definitely not bad – thank again for the tip!
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They’re kind of a tier two band for me, but they’re maybe spoiled from being out in my mid-teens when I listened to the radio a lot. Songs like Champagne Supernova, Don’t Look Back in Anger, and Wonderwall were big for a while.
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I suspect that’s how I’m going to view them as well – fun to hear, but not in the same league like The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Cream, Zeppelin, Hendrix or Neil Young, to name a few of my longtime favorite artists.
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They’re quite derivative of 1960s bands – makes it easy for fans of older music to appreciate them, but harder for them to enter the pantheon themselves.
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Thanks! I think I might have heard that tune before.
From what I can see, Apple Music calls out Oasis’s first two albums as “essential.” I’m going to check them out.
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I’ve heard this one quite a bit. Definitely better than a good chunk of the What’s The Story singles.
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One of my sons,Big Earl, is fan of this band. I’ll send this his way. I’d be surprised if he hasn’t heard it. Big Earl’s dad likes their music also.
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Cool – have you heard their b-sides? I only really know their first two records.
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No I haven’t. Earl seen some doc film on the band. He liked that also. I’ll get to it eventually.
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