‘Live Forever’: Everything great about Oasis in one song

Posted On November 24, 2024November 24, 2024

Oasis has always been a band that divides the room among classic rock fans. Either they are one of the leading forces guiding the sounds of loud guitars into the next generation, or they are a cheap imitation of what classic rock used to be who decided to earn their spot at the top through cutting insults and as many Beatles riffs as they could think of. They still had more than a few shining moments, and one of the crowning achievements came from them writing ‘Live Forever’.

Granted, this humble author isn’t going to claim that this is the most complex tune in the world. Compared to the best moments from rock legends like The Beatles and The Stones, most of what Noel Gallagher penned here is dead simple, only using a handful of chords and not really straying past the traditional verse-chorus structure.

The magic formula here is how the band used those old influences to make something new. Even though Liam Gallagher’s vocal register is ripped directly out of John Lennon’s playbook, the snideness in his voice is the whole reason why people flocked to the band in the wake of other British acts like The Stone Roses and The La’s beginning to fade into obscurity.

And for a pop song, the structure is immaculate. Despite Owen Morris being given his due credit for coming in and fixing Definitely Maybe to make everything sound halfway decent, he admitted that Noel had constructed the tune so it already sounded fantastic, down to having the track open up with the drums first before the guitars came roaring in.

Noel even has some opportunities to solo on here. Even though he never claimed to be the greatest guitarist, some of the technical pieces of the solo are exactly what the song needs, being somewhere between a beginner’s version of Slash’s guitar chops and the melodic leads that you’d find out of Johnny Marr or even George Harrison during his prime. 

Then again, the greatest strength of ‘Live Forever’ is knowing where it fits in the context of rock history. Most people had their hearts broken for the alternative scene once Kurt Cobain decided to take his own life, so with a dark shroud now covering the entire rock community, fans needed someone like Oasis to come along to bring some light back into things. The grunge wave may have been disaffected and depressed, but Noel was looking to make music that lasted longer than he did.

Despite not having that many lyrics to speak of, there are also different pieces of that Oasis spirit coated throughout the tune. Even if they came off as confrontational every time someone put a microphone in front of their faces, this kind of optimism was their main message beyond the bucket hats and the parkas. It was one thing to have a massive amount of confidence, but they wanted to spread a message of hope to anyone on the dole in their hometown.

And even when talking about all of the classics that he has under his belt throughout his career, Noel still felt that ‘Live Forever’ trumped anything that he had ever come up with, saying, “If the one thing I’m remembered for is ‘Live Forever’, then that will do me. ‘Wonderwall’ is fine, a lovely pop song, but I wrote ‘Live Forever’ when I was 21, and that song, the lyrics to that song, will stand up 500 years from now.”

Because this kind of song was what Oasis was all about. Yes, they did wear influences a bit too much on their sleeves sometimes, but looking back at their shining moments, this is the kind of message that gave the 1990s Britpop kids their own version of ‘All You Need is Love’ with a bit more muscle.

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