Next week, Oasis’ classic debut Definitely Maybe turns 30. It’s an album that sounds as fresh and exhilarating as it did upon release in 1994, a flash of attitude-heavy, anthemic rock’n’roll that changed the course of British guitar music. But for something that sounds so effortless, its creation was anything but. It took a few attempts for Oasis to replicate the heady thrills of their live show on tape and, in a new interview to promote the album’s 30th anniversary reissue, Noel Gallagher reflected on a version recorded at Monnow Valley Studios in Wales that they were forced to shelve.
“When I hear the Monnow Valley stuff, it wasn’t it,” Gallagher Sr tells interviewer John Robb. “I’m the songwriter and I’m thinking it sounds great and all the band are thinking it sounds great and thankfully there’s people who stood out the front and watched us and they’re saying, ‘That’s not it’. I couldn’t work out why.”
