STACK #252 October 2025

MUSIC FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

There’s nothing quite like taking home some fresh vinyl and putting it on the turntable for the first time. It’s a total experience. Each month we highlight a reissue, JB-exclusive, or just straight-up classic long-player to add to any burgeoning collection. Words: Paul Jones V I N Y L V I T A L OASIS (WHAT’S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? 30TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION CRYSTAL CLEAR VINYL

R ock ‘n’ roll reunions don’t come any bigger than the Oasis juggernaut currently traversing the globe. With sibling rivalries put aside, the Gallagher brothers’ kaleidoscope of nos talgia has reignited the Britpop flame. And what better year to do it than on the 30th anniversary of the album that defined the era? (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? was released on the October 2, 1995. Just a year before, Oasis had unleashed the punk-strewn all-conquering Definitely Maybe . It was a record that wrenched the rock crown back from America’s grunge movement, which had killed the promise of ‘Madchester’s’ optimistic future with the arrival of Nirvana’s Nevermind . Just over a year later, the Manchester band were back in the studio with a hatful of ideas and a new drummer. Recorded in just 15 days, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? proved to be a surprising departure from the grit and wall of guitars found on its predecessor. Noel Gallagher, still a nascent songwriter, resisted the urge to turn out a Definitely Maybe 2.0, instead revealing a mastery of crafting anthemic singalong tracks that perfectly encapsulate the mid-‘90s zeitgeist. Despite early negative reviews from the music press, the album would lock the band into rock history. Widely considered to be one of the best albums of the ‘90s, its presence continues to influence British music, culture, and fashion decades later. With Oasis-mania at fever pitch, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? ’s 30th anniversary is be ing marked with an excellent De luxe Edition. The album features

collectors and aficionados can be mined. The original masters of Cast No Shadow , Morning Glory , Wonderwall , Acquiesce , and Champagne Supernova have been stripped right back and remixed by Noel Gallagher and his in-house engineer, Callum Marinho. All five songs feature nothing more than simple percussion – generally a tambourine No Shadow Morning Glory Wonderwall Acquiesce and the original vocal tracks. With no electric instruments or drum tracks, the heroes are the vocals. It’s easy to forget the soaring power and calibre that Liam Gallagher’s voice commanded on those early albums (often record ed in just one or two takes). Noel took lead vocals for the first time on (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? , singing on Don’t Look Back in Anger . On these five tracks, the quality and range of his backing vocals without the additional instrumentation mask ing them are outstanding. Anniversary albums drop with astounding regularity these days, but few deliver more than a remaster, additional sleeve notes and an exotically titled coloured vinyl variant. So, it’s a pleasant surprise to come across a milestone album that brings more than just a shiny new wrapper. If you’re a fan of Oasis, you can’t afford not to have this spinning on your turntable. – multi tracked acoustic guitars, piano, or keys

DESPITE EARLY NEGATIVE REVIEWS FROM THE MUSIC PRESS, THE ALBUM WOULD LOCK THE BAND INTO ROCK HISTORY. WIDELY CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE ‘90S

an entirely new cover photograph by the original photographer, Brian Cannon. Cannon returned to the same street in London’s Soho to shoot, like the original, at 5am on the same day of the year. Astute observers will notice a copy of

(What’s the Story) Morning Glo ry? in a record shop window. The Deluxe Edition comes with three ‘Crystal Clear’ vinyl 180g records. The first two records fea ture the album remixed by Noel Gallagher in 2014. However, the last disc is where the real gold for

94 OCTOBER 2025

jbhifi.com.au