Never stop
If you needed any proof that this confinement that we’ve been living in for almost 2 months could be good for music — silver linings, anyone? — look no further: Oasis have released a new song…
OK, it’s not exactly new, more like 15 years old actually, but it was never released before, so that’s as good as new, if you ask me… OK, OK, it’s a demo rather than a fully polished studio track, but still: sound is good, production is fine and, except for the “one, two, three…” you can hear in the beginning, it could very much pass for studio work. OK, OK, OK, Liam’s not singing in it, but is that actually an issue?
Oasis, “Don't Stop...(Demo)”, 2020.
The reason Liam is not singing in it is because his brother Noel is the one who came up with the track to begin with. And the reason for that, in his own words, is that he had way too much time on his hands in confinement and therefore started sorting through all Oasis archives, eventually finding an old disc with this song on it, one that the band had long assumed was lost. As it happens, this very demo seems to be the only full version of the track ever recorded, at a soundcheck on tour. And now, we get to enjoy it.
The song itself is nice, with a pretty melody and somewhat melancholic undertones, in the contemplative vein of pieces like “Champagne Supernova”, although perhaps with less of a hook for the listener to be truly drawn in. In other words, it’s a nice enough song, and we’re happy to get to listen to it, especially in such dire circumstances, but it might not have had that much of an impact had it not come for a cult — and defunct — band in the midst of a global health crisis.
Interestingly, Oasis singer Liam had something to say about this too: namely that this song lacked his vocals — duh — and that it felt like Noel had toyed with it a little before this untimely release… Whether or not that’s true — the latter part: the former is entirely up for debate — what is interesting is that he appears so invested in this, even replying to random people on Twitter about it. Indeed, Liam recently “demanded” an Oasis reunion to raise fund for the British NHS in the fight against Coronavirus. To which Noel apparently replied with “Don’t stop”…
Never stop this, guys… Unless it means you do end up playing onstage together again… At this point, crazier things have happened…