The Masterplan Review

Release Date: Nov 3, 1998
Label: Epic
Genres: Rock & Roll, Hard Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock, Britpop, British Trad Rock
Number Of Tracks: 14
Following a British rock tradition initiated by the Beatles and lovingly inherited by the Jam and the Clash, Oasis is the only band of the CD era to offer fans extra tracks on their singles that are often as good as, if not better than, the hits.

Sound:	9.5
Lyrics:	10
Impression:	9.5
Overall rating:	9.7
Users rating:	9.5
Comments:	4

overall: 9.3

Featured review by: Crash91, on june 12, 2006

Sound: 'The Masterplan' was Oasis' fourth album. All songs on this album are b-sides, because it hasn't always been easy to hear Oasis' 'b' sides outside Britain. There are b-sides of some of Oasis' greatest hits, like 'Some Might Say', 'Wonderwall' and 'Cigarettes & Alcohol'. The opening track, 'Acquiesce', which is the b-side of 'Some Might Say' is backed by the main lyrics of 'Morning Glory' at the beginning. It contained an awesome, blazing guitar riff and it should've been an 'a' side. Liam sings the verse for this one, but Noel sings the chorus, because Liam couldn't reach the high notes. The next track, 'Underneath The Sky', had a happy-wanderer feel and was all sung by Liam. It was the 'b' side to 'Don't Look Back In Anger'. The next track, 'Talk Tonight', is an acoustic, beautifully tender song and made up the 'b' side to 'Some Might Say'. But track four, 'Going Nowhere', is the oldest song on this album. It was written around 1990, but wasn't recorded until after their third album 'Be Here Now'. Noel and drummer Alan White are the only Oasis members involved, with piano, brass and horn players to bring a vaguely Burt Bacharach atmosphere. The 'a' side to this song is 'Stand By Me'. Track five, 'Fade Away', was a punk-rock song which made up the 'b' side to 'Cigarettes & Alcohol. Paul Weller (lead guitarist out of The Jam) turned up to play 'Champagne Supernova' with Oasis which features on their second album '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' He has turned up again, playing the wordless 'The Swamp Song'. It is constant guitar solos and thunderous drumming, which made up the b-side to the legendary 'Wonderwall'. The next track, 'I am The Walrus', was played live and written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was played live because The Beatles had never performed this song live. The a-side was 'Cigarettes & Alcohol'. Another b-side to 'Cigaretts & Alcohol' was 'Listen Up', it used to boast a solo much longer than the one you hear in this version, but Liam wanted it shorter. Noel disagreed, but four years, Liam got his own way. 'Rockin Chair' was the b-side to 'Roll With It', and it actually sounded familiar to it's a-side. Paul Weller's favourite Oasis track is the acoustic 'Half The World Away' which made up the b-side to the acoustic 'Whatever'. Another b-side to 'Whatever' was '(It's Good) To Be Free', which contained more fierce guitars than the previous track. Another b-side that should've been an a-side is named 'Stay Young'. Noel disliked the b-side to 'D'You Know What I Mean?' The Thin Lizzy influenced 'Headshrinker' was the b-side of 'Some Might Say' in 1995 and it was written about three years earlier, during the band's punkier phase. Lastly, the best track on this album is the same name as this album, 'The Masterplan'. This acoustic song contained smooth bass-lines and Noel sung this one. No guesses what the a-side to this song is, it's 'Wonderwall'. The sound was amazing, and it was only b-sides! // 9

Lyrics and Singing: If you thought Noel's song writing was great, just wait until you buy this album. Okay, it might only be b-sides, but whenever Noel writes a new song, everyone will expect that song to be great. Credit to Noel for his song writing, but credit to Liam for singing most of them. His voice suits the music well. But there are arguments about which Gallagher sings better. I'm not really sure, they are as good as each other. // 10

Impression: Each 'b' sides were of the highest quality. Technically, this is a b-album, and just like 'Definitely Maybe' and '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?', this album is phenomenal. The most impressive songs on this album are 'The Swamp Song', 'Headshrinker' and 'The Masterplan'. What I love about this album was that Oasis had put a lot of thought into their b-sides. I don't hate anything about this album. If this album got stolen/lost, I might consider buying it again. To end this review, 'The Masterplan' contains superb b-sides which also makes this album superb. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Timo2a, on november 17, 2009

Sound: This album is amazing. The guitar solos, singing, etc... basically everything is perfect. I like all the Oasis albums and this is one of my favourites. Oasis' s rock is top class as usual. The sound is great, the guitar sounds really great in the solos. However, there are a lot of silly endings in some songs, like in "(Its good) to be free", the accordian ending is really stupid and out of place. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are fantastic, as usual. They really go with the tunes. Liams and Noels singing work with the style of music. In Aquiesce the verse sung by Liam and the chorus by Noel really makes the song stand out. The backing vocals by Noel sound great behind Liams lead singing. // 10

Impression: This is a B - album, and it still compares to the other albums (not that they were bad, this is just amazing). My favourite song' s on the album are "The Masterplan", "The Swamp Song" and "Underneath the Sky". There are a lot of great B - Sides on the album but I think they shouldn t of put "I am the walrus in", its a good cover but they could have put in songs like "Step Out" and "D' yer wanna be a spaceman" in instead. Still, its an amazing album, if it were stolen I would definately get it again. // 10

Comments

[Crash91]

The tracks featured on this album are:

1. Acquiesce
2. Underneath The Sky
3. Talk Tonight
4. Going Nowhere
5. Fade Away
6. The Swamp Song
7. I Am The Walrus [Live]
8. Listen Up
9. Rockin' Chair
10. Half The World Away
11. (It's Good) To Be Free
12. Stay Young
13. Headshrinker
14. The Masterplan

[j-walk]

Never heard this album. B - sides albums are always cool though.

[james3208]

This by far is the best Oasis album

[Timo2a]

they should have put step out or d yer wanna be a spaecman instead of i am the walrus.