Ever since Oasis hit the mainstream in the mid-1990s, the band has made comparisons between them and The Beatles. Ambitiously and arrogantly, Liam Gallagher actually once stated, “Lennon was right. And we are bigger than Jesus. We will be as big as the Beatles, if not bigger.” While Oasis is still widely acclaimed, they have certainly not matched that goal, and consequently, it is a statement that has haunted Gallagher and the band to this day. Though, at the root of this statement is an affinity for The Beatles, an affinity that has influenced Oasis on several different occasions.
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In addition to this competitive statement, Noel and Liam Gallagher have praised The Beatles on many different occasions and cited them as major influences. Specifically, Noel once stated that The Beatles “mean everything to me”, per NME. “They influenced everybody who influenced everybody else, who influenced everybody that came and went. Their influence is absolute. I don’t know a single guy playing the guitar or writing songs that wouldn’t cite the Beatles as an influence,” added Noel. Also, side note, but Noel did state he was embarrassed by the comparisons between Oasis and The Beatles. As he simply put it “we weren’t as good as them.”
Concerning The Beatles’ influence on Oasis, Noel Gallagher once revealed how George Harrison deeply influenced Oasis’ top 15 Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Supersonic”.
The George Harrison-Esque Guitar Riff on Oasis’ “Supersonic”
During an interview for the book The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters, the interviewer inquired about Noel’s reputation for lifting from older acts. In response to that question, Noel responded, “I don’t give a f—, that’s what it’s there for. I never said I was inventing anything.”
Subsequently, he further accepted this trait and went on to fully reveal how George Harrison’s style inspired the guitar riff for “Supersonic.” “If I nicked guitar riffs here and there, I’d have thought the songwriter would be quite f— pleased. The guitar riff in ‘Supersonic’ is a bit George Harrison, but I wasn’t expecting anybody not to notice,” stated Noel.
If one listens to a Beatles track saturated with George Harrison riffs and then “Supersonic”, the similarities are fairly apparent. However, this is by no means plagiarism or intellectual theft. Rather, this is just what happens in art, newer acts taking and recrafting sounds of the past for the present. The Beatles did it, frankly, everybody does it, either purposefully or not.
Photo by Jason Merritt/FilmMagic
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