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Oasis B-sides -

Here is the ultimate test of an Oasis fan. If you walk into a room and hear "Little by Little," you nod. If you hear "Champagne Supernova," you raise a lighter. But if you hear the opening acoustic strum of "Half the World Away" (a B-side to "Whatever"), you don’t just listen. You feel it.

"Half the World Away" is a perfect example of the B-side paradox. It was the flip to the Christmas hit "Whatever." It later became the theme song to the BBC sitcom The Royle Family. It is now streamed hundreds of millions of times. Yet, in 1994, it was considered the "throwaway."

The Oasis B-side mentality taught a generation of listeners that value is not determined by the marketing budget. The greatest art is often the stuff that didn't fit the mold.

The band released over 50 original B-sides during their 1994-2009 run. That is approximately four full studio albums of material. While albums like Dig Out Your Soul had their moments, nothing compares to the run from 1994 to 1997. To make a list of the top 10 Oasis B-sides is to omit 15 other songs that would be any other band's career highlight.

The Ultimate Ten (If you only have 45 minutes): oasis b-sides

Vibe: Dad rock, but confident. Noel’s songwriting becomes more introspective; Liam finds his footing.

  • "Lord Don't Slow Me Down" (B-side to Lyla)
  • "I Believe in All" – A Liam-penned B-side that actually rocks. It’s simple, repetitive, and hypnotic.
  • "Boy with the Blues" – A bluesy, stomping number with a great Liam vocal. "I got the boy with the blues / He's standing right in front of you."

    • The Final Gem: "Those Swollen Hand Blues" (B-side to Falling Down). A 4-minute instrumental blues jam. It sounds like a hangover feels. A perfect, weary end to the journey.

    Noel Gallagher, never one for subtlety, wrote a scathing critique of celebrity culture while at the epicenter of it. Driven by a funky, almost eerie guitar riff and a spoken-word bridge referencing "Mr. Disco Vomit," it’s prescient. It’s about the hollow chase for relevance. The fading echo of Liam’s vocal at the end is haunting.

    In the pantheon of rock ‘n’ roll history, few bands have weaponized the B-side quite like Oasis. For most artists, the B-side is a dumping ground: a half-finished demo, a forgettable live track, or a remix no one asked for. But for Noel Gallagher, the B-side was a battlefield. Here is the ultimate test of an Oasis fan

    Between 1994 and 1998—the band’s myth-making golden era—Oasis released a torrent of non-album tracks that weren't just good; they were often better than the A-sides. In the crowded pubs of mid-90s Britain, you weren't a true fan if you only owned (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. No, the real believers were the ones clutching the “Some Might Say” single, skipping the title track to blast the ferocious “Acquiesce.”

    To understand Oasis, you must ignore the stadium anthems and dive into the deep cuts. Here is the definitive guide to the songs that built a empire from the B-side up.

    Before diving in, understand the rules:

    One fascinating aspect of the Oasis B-side catalog is that it charts the band’s evolution more honestly than the albums do. The albums were for the charts. The B-sides were for the fans. Vibe: Dad rock, but confident

    If you have 10 minutes: Listen to Acquiesce, The Masterplan, Listen Up. If you have 30 minutes: Listen to The Masterplan album. If you want to be sad: Half the World Away, Talk Tonight, Let's All Make Believe. If you want to fight someone: Headshrinker, Fade Away, Stay Young.

    “The Masterplan” (1995)
    The ultimate proof of Noel’s embarrassment of riches. Rumor has it he wrote this one and thought, “Nah, not good enough for (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” Are you mad? With its psychedelic piano, cosmic lyrics (“Dance if you wanna dance… because we think that life is a journey”), and a chorus that soars higher than a 747, The Masterplan became the unofficial anthem of B-side obsessives. It’s so beloved that Oasis later named a compilation after it.

    “Acquiesce” (1995)
    The holy grail of Liam-and-Noel duets. “We need each other, we believe in one another” – sung separately by the battling brothers. It’s the closest we’ll ever get to a truce. The riff is pure electricity, and the “Because we need each other” bridge still gives chills. How this was left off Morning Glory is rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest mystery.

    “Talk Tonight” (1995)
    Noel’s most vulnerable moment, recorded alone in a hotel room in San Francisco after a near-band-breakup. A quiet, acoustic gem about a mysterious woman (Melissa Lim) who talked him off the ledge. “I’m not supposed to be here, but it’s okay.” Proof that under the bravado, Noel could break your heart.

    “Fade Away” (1994)
    Before it got a second life on the Help charity album, this was a Definitely Maybe–era B-side. A punk-rock cry of frustration (“We don’t see as we think we should, and we don’t say as we know we could”) that barrels along like a train with no brakes. It’s Some Might Say’s angrier cousin.