‘You and I are gonna live forever…’
I bloody love an album retrospective. I can’t get enough of VH1‘s classic album series for example. If you are going to delve into the world of the retrospective however, you must be prepared for a little sycophancy. These aren’t warts and all, under the spotlight, tell it all’s, but rather a celebration of a moment when someone made something wonderful. Listen Up has been commissioned by Oasis‘ record label as a way to mark the 25th anniversary of their seminal debut album Definitely Maybe and it’s mostly brilliant.
First off, I should say that none of the members of the band appear except in extensive archive footage, but the list of contributors is still impressive with Hooky, Definitely Maybe producer Owen Morris and Clint Boon of the Inspiral Carpets all featuring prominently. Also on hand to offer support are various staff members who worked for the band, super fans, and a slew of music journalists who can somehow remember what the ’90s were like through the haze of cocaine and bucket hats.
The effect of this is a retrospective that is both comprehensive and joyous, even if it is a little too gushing at times. That being said, Definitely Maybe is undoubtedly one of the biggest albums of my life time. Both in terms of critical and commercial success and in terms of legacy, and that comes across passionately in the interviews of those who were there at the time.
If you are a fan of this kind of retrospective, or just an Oasis fan in general, Listen Up is a timely reminder of why Oasis meant so much to so many in the first place. Before the petty squabbles and the fashion labels, before the tabloid obsession and the noise, there was just the music. And the music was chuffing great.