In 1967, Roger McGuinn laid down the blueprint for rock immortality in The Byrds' "So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star." The process, according to McGuinn, was an arduous one, involving taking "some time," learning "how to play," and generally accepting the prolonged pace at which stardom is achieved. Nearly two decades later, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher turns that road-tested advice onto its proverbial head. "In my mind my dreams are real," he exudes during DEFINITELY MAYBE's opening track. "Tonight, I'm a rock 'n' roll star." This is not a newcomer's brash, hollow hype; it's a statement of arrogant confidence.
Much of DEFINITELY MAYBE, written with tons of '60's Brit-pop appreciation by guitarist Noel Gallagher, reflects the band's poses. The songs are about what they like ("Cigarettes & Alcohol"), who they want to be ("Rock 'n' Roll Star," "Live Forever"), and what they want to avoid becoming ("Married With Children"); and they defy turning into typical rock star cliches only through sheer will, as well as simultaneously pretty and edgy guitars.
DEFINITELY MAYBE makes it supremely obvious that Oasis have studied the lessons of the English rock aristocracy--drawing on influences as superficially disparate as the Beatles, T. Rex and the Buzzcocks--and have learned them well. Nevertheless, it'll take some time to see whether or not the Gallaghers have rendered Roger McGuinn's blueprint anachronistic; DEFINITELY MAYBE confirms that they do begin with a more complete package than most.
