(What's the Story) Morning Glory? | |||||
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Studio album by Oasis | |||||
Released | 2 October 1995 | ||||
Recorded | March 1995, May–June 1995, Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales | ||||
Genre | Rock, Britpop | ||||
Length | 50:03 | ||||
Label | Creation/Big Brother (U.K) Epic (U.S.) |
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Producer | Owen Morris Noel Gallagher |
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Professional reviews | |||||
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Oasis chronology | |||||
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Singles from (What's the Story) Morning Glory? | |||||
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(What's the Story) Morning Glory? is the second album by the English rock band Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 in the UK, the album was Oasis' most enduring commercial success, charting at number one in the UK (staying there for 10 weeks) and number four in the U.S.. The album sold 347 thousand copies in its first week in the UK and has so far sold over 23 million copies worldwide. It is the third biggest-selling album in UK chart history (with 4.3 million copies sold), behind Queen's Greatest Hits and The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band respectively. The album has gone 4x platinum in the United States (4 million+ sales).[1][2]
Album singles "Some Might Say", "Roll with It", " Wonderwall", and "Don't Look Back in Anger" were hits in the UK, with "Some Might Say" and "Don't Look Back In Anger" both reaching the number one spot in the UK singles chart. "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova" went gold in the United States.[3] The cover photo was taken on Berwick Street in Soho, London,[4] a London street known for its independent record shops. The two men on the cover are Sean Rowley and Owen Morris.
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The success of Morning Glory catapulted Oasis from being a successful Britpop band to being one of the biggest bands in Britain, with substantial international fame, and considerable press coverage in the mainstream and music press. The band played several large open air concerts in the UK during 1996, including two nights at Knebworth in front of a combined audience of 250,000 people (125,000 each night)[5]; at the time, they were the biggest gigs ever held for a single band on UK soil. Over 2.6 million people had applied to buy tickets, meaning theoretically Oasis could have played 20 consecutive sold out nights at Knebworth.[6] Noel reflected that it wouldn't be possible to top this. "For a six-week period building up to that gig we were the biggest band in the world," he said "We were bigger than, dare I say it, fucking God."[7]
Upon its release, Morning Glory received mixed reviews from music critics due to its softer sound compared to its predecessor Definitely Maybe. NME gave the album 7/10, whilst Q gave it 3 stars out of 5. Despite a negative response from the music press, the success of its two lead singles "Some Might Say" and "Roll With It" – reaching number one and two in the UK singles charts, respectively – helped the album debut at #1 in the British album charts, staying there for a total of 10 weeks, and staying in the top ten for a total of 66 weeks.
In 1997, Morning Glory was named the fifth greatest album of all time in the "Music of the Millennium" poll, conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 1998, Q magazine readers placed it at number 8, and in 2000 it achieved the same position in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums Ever" list. In 1999, the editors of Q declared it the "album of the decade". The readers of Q placed it eighth again on the 2006 top 100 greatest albums of all time list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 376 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2008, a poll conducted by Q magazine and HMV to find the best ever British album put the album in second place behind Definitely Maybe.[8] "Wonderwall" ranked #35 on VH1's Top 100 Songs of the 1990s.
All tracks written by Noel Gallagher, except where stated.
Year | Chart | Peak |
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1995 | UK Albums Chart | 1 |
1995 | The Billboard 200 | 4[9] |
1996 | Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
Year | Single | Chart | Peak |
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1995 | "Morning Glory" | ||
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 24 | ||
1995 | "Some Might Say" | ||
UK Singles Chart | 1 | ||
1995 | "Wonderwall" | ||
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9 | ||
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
1996 | "Champagne Supernova" | ||
Billboard Adult Top 40 | 33 | ||
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 | ||
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 10 | ||
1996 | "Don't Look Back in Anger" | ||
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 10 | ||
The Billboard Hot 100 | 55 | ||
Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 33 | ||
UK Singles Chart | 1 | ||
1996 | "Wonderwall" | ||
Billboard Adult Top 40 | 30 | ||
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 17 | ||
The Billboard Hot 100 | 8 | ||
Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 10 | ||
UK Singles Chart | 2 |
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? was released in various countries in October 1995.
Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue numbers |
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United Kingdom | 2 October 1995 | Creation Records | CD | CRECD 189 |
LP | CRELP 189 | |||
United States | 3 October 1995 | Epic Records | CD | EK 67351 |
United Kingdom | 14 August 2000 | Big Brother | CD (reissue) | RKIDCD007 |
LP (reissue) | RKIDLP007 |
Preceded by The Memory of Trees by Enya |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album February 4 - March 9 1996 |
Succeeded by Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette |
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