The album Definitely Maybe starts with Liam Gallagher seeing himself as a rock and roll star. This dream is a recurring theme throughout the album. Of course, Oasis aren't trying to redefine rock and roll here, but rather to inhabit it. They look back over the last three decades to create a British rock & roll record that's typical of the genre. It's got the defiance of the Rolling Stones, the sneer of the Sex Pistols, the energy of the Happy Mondays and the melodicism of Paul McCartney. Even if it never sounds quite like the Beatles, it's still a great record. All those comparisons with the Fab Four that the Gallagher brothers were making were just a feint, a way of making their band seem like one of the big boys. Before long, these claims became a self-fulfilling prophecy – if you act the way you'd like to be, you'll soon be the way you act, so to speak. But this bravado in no way diminishes the achievement of Definitely Maybe. It's an impassioned and motivating record, a call to action for the disenfranchised to stand up and seize their opportunity. But above all, it's an exuberant celebration of dynamic, incendiary rock & roll. Soon after the album's release, Noel Gallagher was celebrated as one of the band's most talented musicians.
