Oasis

Written against grunge's self-loathing, it holds a vow to survive in place of despair.

• The opening guitar riff begins clear, almost acoustic, then soon spreads into a thick electric guitar sound (distortion).
• In the chorus Liam Gallagher sings with a nasal delivery, as if pushing forward, and this vocal style became the standard for Oasis vocals thereafter.
• On this song Noel, unusually, plays a guitar solo himself in the closing section to bring the track to an end.
• The single's cover featured a photograph of the Liverpool house where John Lennon spent his childhood, in keeping with the spirit of a song about hope.
• In live performance it often expands into a passage where the entire audience sings the chorus, stretching far longer than the studio version.

A debut that carries over intact the ambition of poor working-class youth and their longing for escape.

• From the first track, “Rock 'n' Roll Star,” multiply recorded guitars (overdubs) are stacked up like a wall.
• The riff of “Cigarettes & Alcohol” resembles T. Rex's “Get It On,” an influence Noel himself acknowledged.
• Bonehead's rhythm guitar forgoes flashy technique, simply hammering thick chords (power chords) to hold up the whole song.
• The recording was deliberately left rough, giving a studio album a density close to that of a live show.

The most widely loved quiet song from the years the band became a national phenomenon.

• Capoed acoustic guitar chords drive the whole song, while the electric guitar only adds color from behind.
• A string arrangement lies softly beneath the chorus, swelling the emotion.
• The title “Wonderwall” comes from a film-score album George Harrison released in 1968, and was Noel's homage to the Beatles.
• On this song Liam sings with unusual ease, letting the line drift, which suits its quiet, understated mood.

A rare song sung by the elder brother himself, from the peak of Britpop.

• The piano opening is often said to recall John Lennon's “Imagine.”
• Unusually, the lead vocal was sung not by Liam but by Noel himself.
• The chorus is built simple and broad in range so anyone can easily sing along, ideal for stadium choruses.
• After the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, crowds of mourners spontaneously sang this song together in the streets, carrying it beyond its original context.

On the eve of Knebworth, an extended closing song joined by John Squire of the Stone Roses.

• At nearly seven minutes, it ranks among the longest, most drawn-out of Oasis songs.
• John Squire joins on guitar, adding color to the closing jam section.
• Late in the song, many guitar sounds pile up layer upon layer, drifting into an increasingly hazy (psychedelic) atmosphere.
• Live, the ending often stretches much longer than the studio version, expanding into a jam.

A record of a period without restraint, made while drunk on success and cocaine.

• The opening track, “D'You Know What I Mean?”, begins with the noise of a helicopter and scarcely lets the listener catch a breath.
• With nearly twenty layers of guitar stacked on top of one another (overdubbing), it produces a sound far thicker and more oversaturated than the two albums before it.
• Most of the songs run past six minutes, giving them a structure closer to a rambling monologue than a pop song.
• Producer Owen Morris later looked back on the album as the record of a time when the band, shut away in the studio, was losing all sense of restraint.

A ballad from a time when, in place of their early raw swagger, the band was learning to speak as adults.

• The piano-led arrangement and orchestral strings stand in sharp contrast to the raw guitar sound of the early work.
• In the closing section a choir joins in, wrapping the song as if in consolation.
• Liam's vocal holds back his trademark aggression, carrying the song in a far more restrained tone.
• The structure of the middle bridge — a brief stillness before the song swells again — heightens its consoling mood.