Oasis didn't really sound like the Beatles at all

eviltimeban

A lot what you read about Oasis, especially less than complimentary articles, state that all they did was "rip off" the Beatles, or they were a "Beatles covers band".

Now, as a fan of both groups I never bought that. There might be a few lyrical quotes of Beatles songs but I see that more as a homage than a rip off. In fact, Oasis are far guiltier or ripping off other bands wholesale, to the point that they had to give co-credits to other writers on songs like "Step Out" and "Rockin' Chair".

"Up In The Sky" sounds a bit like "Rain", but UITS is a much faster rocker than Rain's languid drone. Plus there's about a hundred songs that employ that one-chord / 'Indian' melody on top.

OK, the last few bars of "She's Electric" are a straight lift of the end of "With A Little Help From My Friends", but that's so obviously intentional it can't be classed as a rip off. "Little James" has a na-na fade out like Hey Jude, but is that a rip off?

The strings on "Whatever" are sort of Beatle-y, but as we know that was lifted from a Rutles song. Go Let It Out uses a mellotron but doesn't actually rip off a Beatles song. Don't Look Back In Anger's piano chords are like "Imagine" but hey - "Imagine" wasn't by the Beatles.

T Rex, Bowie, Nirvana, The Seekers, Stone Roses, REM, Canned Heat, Led Zep, Weller, The Kinks, Velvet Underground, the Stranglers, the Stones - all far more plagarised than the Beatles were by Oasis.

karaokeman

Don't listen to the snobs, they will do anything they can to write off any band they consider uncool.

You are very correct, there's a huge difference between homage and ripping off, and the former is more appropriate to Oasis's take on the Beatles.

The other artists you mention are debatable and a good argument can be made from either side. At the end of the day its difficult for any artist to be 100% original considering the vastness of music history.

eviltimeban

Well my point was that more songs have been "influenced" by other bands, directly, than the Beatles. For example, using the bands listed above:

T Rex - Get it On / Cigarettes and Alcohol
Bowie - All The Young Dudes (Ok, it's Mott the Hoople but Bowie wrote it) / Stand By Me
Nirvana - Lithium / Married With Children (same chords)
The Seekers - I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing / Shakermaker
Stone Roses - Standing Here / Cloudburst
REM - The One I Love / Morning Glory
Canned Heat - On The Road Again / Swamp Song
Led Zep - Immigration Song / F**kin In The Bushes
Paul Weller - Sunflower / Where Did It All Go Wrong?
The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon / The Importance Of Being Idle
Velvet Underground - Waiting For The Man / Mucky Fingers
The Stranglers - Golden Brown / Part Of The Queue
Tommy Tucker - Hi Heel Sneakers / High Horse Lady
The Doors - Five To One / Waiting For The Rapture

SilverScreen

*Yawn* another Oasis thread.

eviltimeban

I'd start a "when will Ride reform" but it might be a bit premature.

catallus

What about Blur?

They were a good enough band :pac:

eviltimeban

They were.

eviltimeban

And let's not forget Northern Uproar.

SilverScreen

catallus wrote: »

What about Blur?

They were a good enough band :pac:

100000 times better than Oasis anyway

Hannibal

SilverScreen wrote: »

100000 times better than Oasis anyway

Haha

anyway back to the real world. Oasis never sounded like the Beatles except for certain moments in some songs that were purposely inserted like Shes Electric. One of the number 1 hits from 1997 had a lyric "blood on the tracks and must be mine, fool on the hill and I feel fine" bit of a nod to Dylan and the Beatles.

Comparisons with the Beatles started when Oasis members stated their idols were the Beatles and then Oasis had an impact on music that probably had never been seen since the Beatles. A lot of people might not like Oasis but the amount of people that picked up a guitar and start playing on the back of Oasis was unreal.

The early Oasis demos before Definitely Maybe sounded like a sped up Stone Roses.

DylanAFC

The riff on supersonic is my sweet lord by George Harrison.

eviltimeban

DylanAFC wrote: »

The riff on supersonic is my sweet lord by George Harrison.

Which was a rip off of the Chiffons, so... Anyway George Harrison isn't "The Beatles", he's George Harrison.

Laura Palmer

Is mere dislike the same as snobbery?

I agree with the thread title anyway. I could never spot an overtly Beatles-esque sound in Oasis's music. I like some Oasis stuff but view it as reminiscent of later rock n' roll - British pub rock kinda stuff - rather than The Beatles.

fiachr_a

Oasis always sounded more like the Wombles.