Was Oasis really the second coming of the Sex Pistols? That is basically what Noel Gallagher said in a recent interview with Mojo Magazine. Gallagher was asked to talk about the early years of Oasis and Noel said some classic Gallagher-styled things. That means a lot of hyperbole and self-selling. But Oasis a punk band?
According to Gallagher, Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, was "the last great punk album in many respects." He bases Definitely Maybe being a punk record because the band had "no effects, barely any equipment, just loads of attitude, 12 cans of Red Stripe and ambition." The problem with Gallagher saying that is he is describing 90 percent of bands when they start out. Oasis was not much different in that aspect than most other groups.
Gallagher went on to say, "If you listen to (Definitely Maybe) and (the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks, they’re quite similar. That album was about the angst of being a teenager in 1977. Fast forward to 1994 and Definitely Maybe is about the glory of being a teenager." That's not similar, however, Mr. Gallagher, that is completely different. Angst and glory have two completely different meanings.
Noel Gallagher compares Oasis to the Sex Pistols
I respect Oasis as a band. They made a bunch of good songs and backed up the hype for a while. Oasis was never better than the Beatles and the Beatles will have a much longer-lasting impact than Oasis, though Gallagher once famously said that Oasis was "bigger than the Beatles" and that wasn't true then and certainly isn't now. But coming across as overly confident and bombastic is always how Noel Gallagher sold his music to the world.
But while Oasis can turn their music into overly popular singles and albums, which is what they always wanted, that is basically the opposite of what punk was meant to be. Punk musicians being angry at the world and Oasis wanting to outsell every other band come from different points of origin. Oasis was never a punk band and never was it meant to be.
And as far as Definitely Maybe being "the last great punk album," that likely just means Noel Gallagher doesn't listen to punk. Sleater-Kinney's The Woods, Andrew Jackson Jihad's Knife Man and The Gaslight Anthem'sThe ’59 Sound all have come out this century, and that is just three of many punk albums that are truly great. Noel Gallagher can have his rock-pop acclaim, but he can't claim punk too.