Oasis track ‘Sad Song’ is one of their lesser-known beauties, one that is loved by true fans of the Mancunian legends and, coincidentally, it’s one of Noel Gallagher’s first stripped-back tranquil efforts that would later become his speciality.
The song originally featured on the Japanese special edition of Definitely Maybe but the version that the hardcore Oasis fans cherish is a stark contrast to the original version—which saw Liam take up vocal duties and doesn’t even remember recording.
‘Sad Song’ has become more loved in the years that followed its release and the track finally received the praise that it duly deserved, becoming a favourite in Liam Gallagher’s solo sets in the last couple of years—with Liam even including in his incredible set for MTV Unplugged at Hull City Hall.
It would be an understatement to describe the behaviour of Oasis in their ’90s heyday as being hedonistic, a period of time when the Gallagher brothers lived up to the duties that are expected from any true rockstar. This, of course, meant that a lot of what occurred during that era feels hazy or, on occasion, completely foreign altogether—this recording of ‘Sad Song’ falls into the latter for Liam.
“One of the first people we met was Mark Coyle [producer of early Oasis albums], who is this amazing psychedelic guru. Mark was a music obsessive. Him and Noel met touring with the Inspiral Carpets [in the early ’90s] and Noel would bring him tracks to mix,” stated Supersonic director Mat Whitecross to NME.
“Every so often Mark would give us this stuff. With ‘Sad Song’ he was just, ‘I’ve got no idea where this came from.’ We were like, ‘Is that Liam? That doesn’t make any sense.’ But Liam lends something beautiful to it. No one, including Liam, remembered recording it. But he had no recollection of any of the footage that was recorded, or pretty much anything that’s happened in the last 20 years,” Whitecross then added.
After listening to Liam’s magnificent version of the track it is hard to realise why it wasn’t chosen to make it as the release at the time even though Noel’s has a more familiar feel to it is and undoubtedly Godlike — his little brother’s voice in 1994 is one of the finest things in music which could improve just about anything.
Check it out, below.
Source: Farout Magazine