Noel Gallagher Admits He Doesn’t Like ‘Wonderwall’
Noel Gallagher said the classic Oasis song “Wonderwall” was one of his “least favorite” pieces from the band’s catalog.
The songwriter noted that he risked the band’s reputation with his approach on occasion but it was a valuable learning experience.
“It beggars belief,” Gallagher told Mojo about the 1995 track’s success. “‘Wonderwall’ is one of my least favorite songs because it’s not finished. If I could somehow twist time and go back there, I’d probably pick a different song for our calling card. Probably ‘Some Might Say.'”
He said he was unhappy with all the recordings on Oasis' second LP, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? “It’s the only album we never did demos for," he explained. "I was writing on tour and I’d planned on finishing the songs when I got to the studio, and we just never got around to it. 'Cast No Shadow’ is half-written. ‘Wonderwall.' ‘Morning Glory.'"
Gallagher recalled how he’d written “Champagne Supernova” in a London hotel after a party. “I was out of my fucking mind,” he said. “Typical ‘90s scene – everyone had left, champagne bottles, carnage on the coffee table – and the song fell out of the sky. Songs used to fall out of the sky every fucking day in the ‘90s.”
But he regretted some of his later works after he had told himself it was “time to get serious.” “I started to write about fame and drugs, comedowns from drugs and other people being fucked up by drugs," he recalled. "The melodies deserted me. When I hear [1997 album] Be Here Now, I always think of the missed opportunity. Not many people get to be the sole songwriter of the biggest band in the world and this is your statement to the world. And I just said, ‘Fuck it, that’ll do.’”
He argued that his decisions “didn’t ruin” Oasis, although they sent the band “into a lower orbit. “It’s all character-building," he reflected.