Why Oasis Wanted to Rewrite ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ Over and Over

Many classic rock fans consider (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? to be Oasis’ masterwork. One Oasis member said that the band wanted to rewrite the album desperately. While that sounds a little extreme, his attitude makes sense in the context of the band’s career.

Oasis’ ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ was a massive cash cow

Oasis made two classic records — Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? — before mentioning a bunch of repetitive records that nobody seems to like all that much. Noel Gallagher left Oasis to helm a band called Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. During a 2019 interview with The Fader, he shed light on the reason why he made that decision. “Now I’m in a place where I’m thinking: why the f*** was I trying to rewrite (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? for the best part of 15 years? 

“But the fact is, it was a huge big f****** cash cow, and I wish I’d have had the foresight to throw it all up in the air,” he added. “But I have no doubt in my mind that if Oasis were still together today, we’d still be doing that.” Hopefully, the Oasis reunion won’t lead to (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? Version 8.0.

Noel Gallagher made solo records that Oasis would not have made

A reporter asked if Gallagher had the authority to stop Oasis from writing similar songs over and over again. “No, because it was a strange dynamic in the band,” he replied. “Everybody wrote songs.”

Gallagher said that other members of Oasis would have hated the records of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. “I don’t think I’d even have got [fairly trad] The Death of You and Me past ​The Committee, far less [relatively rad] Black Star Dancing,” he said. “Now, I don’t understand people from the ’90s that are just trying to just carry on the thing they did then.” For an artist who is all about keeping the sounds of the 1960s alive, Gallagher seems paradoxically opposed to artists who want to keep it old school.

‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? ‘ charted for hundreds of weeks

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 78 weeks. It became Oasis’ longest-charting album in the United States, though Be Here Now peaked at No. 2. The record produced Oasis’ only top 10 single, “Wonderwall,” which hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted on the chart for 20 weeks. Meanwhile, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” reached No. 55 and stayed on the chart for 14 weeks. While neither song was massive, they both stuck around for a long time.

According to The Official Charts Company, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? was even more significant in the United Kingdom. There, the album was No. 1 for 10 of its 660 weeks on the chart. For singles from the album — “Some Might Say,” “Roll with It,” “Morning Glory,” “Wonderwall,” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” — reached the top 5, with the first and last reaching No. 1. While Oasis was popular in the U.S., they were bigger than big in the U.K.

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is excellent — even if we don’t need Oasis to write it again.