Let's just forget the will they / won't they Oasis reunion drama for a day and focus on the impending 30th anniversary of their Definitely Maybe album in 2024. It only seemed like yesterday the 25th anniversary reissue was giving fans another excuse to cough up, but Noel Gallagher has now confirmed the 2024 reissue is going to have recordings previously thought lost to the sands of record company storage systems.
when Oasis did Definitely Maybe, the idea was we would do three takes of each track and then move on
"I found some master tapes with some cool stuff on it that’s going to be coming out," Noel revealed to Spin in a new interview. "It was in the Sony vault and was mislabeled. So, when Oasis did Definitely Maybe, the idea was we would do three takes of each track and then move on. I remember saying to somebody, so presumably, the master version, there’s another two versions, which weren’t chosen, right? They said, 'Yeah, but the master tapes had gone missing.' It turns out they have been with Sony for the last f*****g 30 years, mislabeled. I found them and there’s some interesting stuff on there. Now, we can sell the album for the fifth time all over again."
So effectively that's two other versions of the album's tracklisting in existence, allowing fans to compile their own custom version of the album when or if they do surface. But that's not the only classic Oasis album Noel is eyeing; he wants to remix their second record (What's The Story) Morning Glory. But don't hold out for the same treatment on the record many fans want him to rework – 1997's Be Here Now. Not beyond his admittedly excellent job on the 2016 'rethink' of its opening track anyway.
I’d like to remix Morning Glory because I hate the f*****g sound of that record
"Well, I did a remix of D’You Know What I Mean? and then the idea was to remix the whole album," Noel explained. "I don’t like the sound of it and the songs are too long. After working on it for a week, I was just like, you know what? What’s the f*****g point? D’You Know What I Mean? sounds great, but let’s leave it how it is. I’d like to remix Morning Glory because I hate the f*****g sound of that record. I guess I’ll get around to it one day if all the stars align. You never know."
Right now Noel is busy readying the release of fourth solo album Council Skies and a worldwide touring in support of it.
But there's another alternate future some would have us move towards – where artists don't need to tour or even perform songs. Unsurprisingly, Noel is not having it.
I mean, who wants to f*****g hear Ringo Starr singing She’s Electric and Freddie Mercury singing Don’t Look Back in Anger?
"F****g embarrassing," he says of the AI Oasis song attempts that have been doing the rounds." I just think people clearly have too much time and money on their hands if they’re f*****g around with that for a laugh. I mean, who wants to f*****g hear Ringo Starr singing She’s Electric and Freddie Mercury singing Don’t Look Back in Anger? Life’s too short for that s**t."
Nevertheless Noel clearly has concerns about AI and its impact on a record industry not always keen to work in the favour of human artists.
"AI will be the final nail in the coffin of music,"he declared. "I’m sure that the major record labels are now working on the technology to copyright it and machines will write music. Why hire a songwriter when you can own a machine to do it? Then Harry Styles can pump out Harry Styles music for the rest of his f*****g life."
