VERY early Oasis - you won't recognize these songs - from late 1991 and early 1992

[highplainsdem]

Actually, the snippet of Columbia you'll hear on the second video below was the purely instrumental start of what became that song on their first album, released more than 2 years later. From what I read, a friend of theirs - Chris Griffiths of the Liverpool band the Real People; the Real People helped Oasis record demos in their studio in early 1993 - came up with the melody and first verse. Then Liam came up with the chorus. Then Noel came up with the second verse...and later took all the credit for the song.

The first video below, audio recorded in late 1991, was recorded after Noel joined the band, basically announcing he was taking over. But the three songs on that tape were all written by Liam (words) and Paul aka Bonehead Arthurs (music). Tracklisting:
00:00 01 - Alice
03:00 02 - Reminisce
06:16 03 - Take Me

The second video is audio of the band's second gig, in mid-January 1992, with these songs:

**Columbia (excerpt) (first known performance) [cut] - 0:00
*Take Me (only known performance) - 0:50
**Must Be The Music (only known performance) - 4:37
*Life In Vain (only known performance) - 8:35
**I Will Show You (only known performance) - 11:23
***Better Let You Know (only known performance) - 15:19
Feedback - 19:48

* Written by Liam and Bonehead
** Written by Noel
*** Cover of a song by Cartouche

You'll probably hear - most Oasis fans hear - a lot of Stone Roses influence here, with Liam trying to sing like Ian Brown.

And after these videos there's an interview Noel did many years later, explaining how it didn't occur to him till a couple of nights before their first gig that he'd never played guitar standing up, and didn't even own a guitar strap...

[speak easy]

1. Fascinating. Oasis before Noel were not Oasis,

And Liam certainly wasn't the Liam, who sang Supersonic. Informative and affecting to know, Noel could not even afford a guitar strap before his first Oasis gig. Fame and fortune will go to anyone's head, but if your life had been skint before that?

[highplainsdem]

2. Their classic sound certainly depended on both Noel and Liam. Though Noel, from what I've read,

was much less willing to give Liam much credit - and not just part of the songwriting credit when Liam deserved that. (Another account I've read of the songwriting credits that should've been on Columbia said Noel seemed fine when told that Chris Griffiths had added to the instrumental Noel had there, but immediately looked unhappy when told much of it was Liam's work...including, according to that account, the vocal melody, which he'd come up with while rehearsing and while walking onstage because the instrumental was his walkon song, after the rest of the band took the stage and started playing first. Chris later picked out the vocal melody on an acoustic guitar.)

Liam, otoh, raved about Noel's songs. I remember one early interview where Liam said the only songs he needed to hear were Noel's and the Beatles'.

It was Liam who got most of the attention, though - who was the star, getting lots of attention even before Oasis started to become famous. Noel had friends and other people telling him "Your kid brother's a star" as soon as they met or even saw Liam. Even the record label owner who signed them, who didn't have any idea what they sounded like when first seeing them offstage at a Glasgow club where a number of bands would be playing, had immediately found Liam charismatic.

I've read about a number of people close to the band having told Noel he'd have fewer disagreements with Liam if he just gave his kid brother more attention and praise, with Noel responding that he didn't really need to because they were brothers. Noel was the more insecure of the two.

You can see some of that insecurity in that third video with Noel admitting he was wondering how to wear a guitar strap to attract women he found more attractive. In another interview he complained that Liam got the sexier girls while he got the ones who wanted to talk about song lyrics. It's sad to think that Noel might've denied Liam songwriting credit he should've had in part because he was jealous of him, but that seems very possible.

And I can't help wondering how much more they might've achieved if there hadn't been that damn sibling rivalry...

[speak easy]

3. ...

He gets all these sex-starved young girls with big breasts, right. I get the psychopaths.

Noel, Sep 17,1995
http://oasisinterviews.blogspot.com/1995/09/noel-gallagher-guardian-17th-september.html

(I write the songs, Liam is still the golden boy)

It's hard not to see Noels resentment as being rooted in his childhood when Liam got a (relatively) easy ride. The lead singer is almost always the center of attention but sibling rivalry runs deep. As an eldest child I can relate to that.

[highplainsdem]

4. The jealousy/resentment may have started in childhood, but I think that as adults it had much more

to do with Liam getting prettier girls...and with this, from the Guardian's description of Liam in that article (note: the first several words below are meant to describe the entire band):

Arrogant. Big-mouthed. Self-centred. Rude. Crude. Sexist. And sickeningly talented.' Speak of the devil. Noel Gallagher, soft-spoken, hard-headed uberfuhrer of Britain's foremost rock'n'roll band, Oasis, is slyly itemising what some see as his group's better points when his little brother Liam comes bowling into the bar, all mouth and trousers and slump-shouldered swagger. Everyone looks up. Liam, like all great lead singers, has a discernible notice-me aura `` a baleful, chaotic, surly hurly-burliness that makes you stare at him; but not straight in the eye. He is very beautiful, despite his Play-Doh hairdo (short, but long before the ears). He shoots Noel an unreadable look and sits down at a separate table.

Emphasis added.

It was dumb of the journalist to write "Speak of the devil" after those first several words when the next line has the admission that Noel is talking about the entire band, including himself, and not just Liam. But the "notice-me aura" and "very beautiful" descriptors apply specifically to Liam.

I know that with my younger brothers, their sibling rivalry started in childhood, and my baby brother was spoiled as much as possible (as Liam was), but it carried over into adulthood and hinged on who made more money, had the better car, nicer house, prettier girlfriend/wife, then the prettier daughter. And I believed - still believe - they could and should have outgrown it.

From what I remember of what Liam and Noel's mother has said, she did do her best to spoil Noel and his older brother (only a year apart in age, and more pals than rivals), but Noel still got the worst of his alcoholic father's vicious temper. Liam was the baby and less likely to get beaten up for that reason, but he witnessed his mother getting beaten more often, according to what I read, from when he was very young.

Btw, Liam just posted a really sweet video compilation of himself and Noel in some of their happier moments over the years, and you can see the affection and playfulness...but you'll have to click View on Threads to view it properly. And unmute it so you'll hear Champagne Supernova.

Post by @liamgallagher

View on Threads

/video-posted-by-liam-gallagher-liamgallagher

[speak easy]

5. " Liam, like all great lead singers

has a discernible notice-me aura”

That is the point in my opinion: Liam was the center of attention for a whole lot of reasons. Noel wrote the songs and Liam got the spols: (deservingly so ) A man drenched in bad boy charisma.

[IcyPeas]

6. Definitely hear the Stone Roses influence...

On "Must be the Music"

Amazing to have recordings of these early sounds.

[highplainsdem]

7. There's so much incredible stuff on YouTube. As for the Roses influence - from what I've read, Liam

even tried copying Ian Brown's (sort of) dancing in early performances, but it looked so silly (not that impressive for Ian either) that he stopped. I've seen video where he was starting to dance, then suddenly locked his hands behind his back and stood still.

[IcyPeas]

8. Ian Brown dancing is cool because its Ian Brown

This is such a fantastic song that his dancing shall be excused.

Liam and Ian have similar style and attitude too

[highplainsdem]

9. Yes, Liam's attitude and style were influenced by Ian. Very obvious in that collab between Ian and

Noel. (Don't know if you saw my post about that single last month - https://www.democraticunderground.com/1034152105 )

And I love that Roses debut album. I've posted 16 threads about the Roses over the last four years in MA, half a dozen in the Lounge, and God only knows how many replies in other people's threads about them...though now that I just looked for other threads I'm sure were about the Stone Roses because their name was in the thread title, I don't see any other Stone Roses threads in the Lounge, and only 1 other thread about them here (from Celerity). I know there have to be more - threads that might've had a song title but not the band name in the thread title, or just some comment about a type of rock or the DUer's mood. But good luck finding those through DU search later, which is why I ask people to identify the artist and song in the thread title.

Anyway, I don't want to give the impression that I don't admire the Roses.

It is frustrating that there aren't that many videos of really good live performances by the Roses. Ian was infamous for not sounding as good live, though I've seen disagreements among their long-time fans over whether he couldn't sing more accurately or couldn't be bothered.

They were very different from Oasis there.