What is (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Short Answer:
Oasis’ second album. Louder, glossier, and somehow even more certain of itself.
Long Answer:
What is it?
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? is the second Oasis album, released on 2 October 1995. It sold faster than sense and took them from “next big thing” to cultural monolith in twelve months flat. Four Number One singles. Two brothers. One plan. Be the biggest band in the world, then worry about the consequences later.
Tracklist
Hello
Roll with It
Wonderwall
Don’t Look Back in Anger
Hey Now!
[Untitled]
Some Might Say
Cast No Shadow
She’s Electric
Morning Glory
[Untitled]
Champagne Supernova
It sounds like it was made to last, even though no one making it expected to. There’s more polish, but the sneer hasn’t gone. Just hidden under better choruses.
Where was it recorded?
Rockfield Studios, Monmouthshire
Owen Morris on production
Louder, wider, unapologetically anthemic
Who played on it?
Liam Gallagher – vocals
Noel Gallagher – guitar, backing vocals, songs
Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs – rhythm guitar
Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan – bass
Alan White – drums
McCarroll was out. Alan White came in and gave the whole thing a touch more swing. Not jazzy. Just not plodding.
Sound and Style
This was Oasis with a bit more cash and a bit more chaos. The songs got bigger. The sound got thicker. Noel ditched some of the punk for Beatles and Bowie, and it worked because he still played them like they were his. Liam’s vocals went from raw snarl to stadium sneer, still unbothered by pronunciation or pitch.
It’s not as breathless as Definitely Maybe, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s heavier, prettier, sadder. Like the morning after a night worth remembering, even if you don’t recall all of it.
Reception
The critics split. Some moaned about the lyrics, the swagger, the simplicity. But the public weren’t listening. They were too busy buying it in truckloads and singing Wonderwall at house parties for the next 30 years. It became the background noise of a generation. For better or worse.
Legacy
It’s the album that made them untouchable and, arguably, unmanageable. Everyone knows at least three songs on it, whether they want to or not. Every bloke with an acoustic guitar in a pub owes it rent. Some might call it overplayed. That’s because it won.
It marked the last time British guitar music truly owned the airwaves. Before irony crept in. Before cool got curated.
You Should Listen to (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? Right Now
You should listen to it because it still sounds like belief at full volume. Not hope. Not yearning. Belief.
The production is huge, sometimes bloated, but never boring. Liam sings like he’s got nothing to prove and Noel plays like he’s trying to prove everything. It’s equal parts ego trip and love letter.
And for all its success, it never sounds safe. There’s still the scratch of something unfiltered beneath the studio sheen. You can hear the band pulling in different directions, but somehow still sprinting towards the same finish line.
It’s the sound of lightning striking twice. And this time, they brought a bigger amplifier.
