Ask any die-hard Britpop fan about the best Oasis record, and they’ll probably point to Definitely Maybe or (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. Standard. But if you talk to the obsessives—the ones who lived through the Knebworth era and tracked down every CD single import—they’ll give you a different answer. They’ll tell you about The Masterplan.
It’s technically a compilation. Released in 1998, it gathered the B-sides that Noel Gallagher was casually tossing onto the backs of singles like "Some Might Say" and "Wonderwall." In any other era of music, B-sides were filler. They were the songs that weren't good enough for the album. With Oasis, specifically between 1994 and 1997, that logic didn't apply. Noel was writing at a pace that was, frankly, unsustainable and a bit ridiculous. He was burning through world-class anthems just to fill out a four-track CD single.
The Masterplan is the evidence of a songwriter at his absolute peak who didn't know how to edit himself. Honestly, it’s a bit of a tragedy that half these songs weren’t saved for their third album, Be Here Now. If they had been, the history of Britpop might look very different.
The Ridiculous Wealth of the 1990s B-Side
Back then, the UK charts were a different beast. To get to number one, bands had to entice fans to buy physical singles. To do that, they’d put three or four tracks on a disc. Most bands used live versions or remixes. Oasis? They used "Acquiesce."
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Think about that for a second.
"Acquiesce" is a song that defines the entire Gallagher brother relationship. It’s got that soaring chorus where Liam handles the verses and Noel takes the lead on the hook. It’s arguably one of the five best songs they ever recorded. And it was a B-side to "Cigarettes & Alcohol." Most bands would kill for a lead single that sounds half as good. On The Masterplan, it acts as the opening statement, reminding everyone that even Oasis's "scraps" were better than most people's "greatest hits."
Why These Songs Weren't on the Main Albums
You’ve got to wonder what Noel was thinking. He’s admitted in interviews over the years—specifically in the Lock the Box chats and various NME features—that he just thought the well would never run dry. He lived by a "next song will be better" philosophy.
Take "Talk Tonight." It’s a raw, acoustic track written after Noel nearly quit the band in 1994 following a disastrous show at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. It’s vulnerable. It’s quiet. It’s nothing like the "wall of sound" Oasis was known for. It ended up as a B-side to "Some Might Say."
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Then there’s "The Masterplan" itself. The title track.
Noel has famously said that Alan McGee, the head of Creation Records, heard the song and told him it was too good to be a B-side. Noel ignored him. He put it on the back of "Wonderwall." Looking back, he’s called that one of his biggest mistakes. It’s a sweeping, cinematic masterpiece with a brass section and a philosophical weight that Be Here Now desperately needed.
The tracklist of this album feels more cohesive than their later studio efforts like Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. It captures a specific moment in time when the band felt invincible.
A Quick Look at the Heavy Hitters:
- Acquiesce: The ultimate "us against the world" anthem.
- Underneath the Sky: A psychedelic-tinged traveler’s song with some of Liam’s best vocals.
- Stay Young: It was supposed to be on Be Here Now, but Noel swapped it out. It’s pure, infectious pop-rock.
- Going Nowhere: A Burt Bacharach-style tune that showed Noel’s evolving songwriting.
- The Masterplan: The "I am the Walrus" of the 90s, complete with backwards bits and epic strings.
The Liam vs. Noel Dynamic on the Record
One of the reasons The Masterplan works so well as a standalone experience is the vocal balance. We get peak Liam Gallagher—his voice before the years of touring and, well, lifestyle choices made it raspier. In "Headshrinker," he sounds like a man possessed. It’s a punk rock blast that proves they weren't just a Beatles-copyist band; they had real, jagged teeth.
But we also get the "Noel-led" tracks that became staples of his solo career. "Half the World Away" became the theme song for The Royle Family and a massive cultural touchstone in the UK. It’s a song about wanting to leave your hometown, a sentiment that resonates with basically anyone who’s ever felt stuck.
The contrast between Liam’s snarl and Noel’s melodic, melancholic delivery is what made Oasis work. On this compilation, that contrast is clearer than anywhere else.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Compilation
A lot of casual listeners think The Masterplan is just for the "completionists." That's a mistake. In fact, if you’re trying to get someone into Oasis, this is often a better starting point than their later studio albums. It lacks the over-production that killed the vibe of the late 90s records.
Some critics at the time—and even some fans today—argue that the album is "fragmented." Well, yeah. It’s a collection of songs recorded at different studios over a three-year span. But there’s a spiritual thread running through it. It’s the sound of a band that was actually having fun before the pressure of being the biggest band in the world turned everything into a chore.
The 25th Anniversary and the Legacy of the "Lost" Album
In 2023, the band released a remastered version for the 25th anniversary. It hit the top of the UK charts again. Think about that. A collection of B-sides from thirty years ago outperforming new releases.
It proves that the quality of the songwriting on The Masterplan isn't just nostalgia. These are well-crafted songs. The remastering cleaned up some of the "brickwalled" sound—a term used for the ultra-loud, compressed mixing style of the 90s—allowing the acoustics and the subtle organ parts to breathe a bit more.
Actually, listening to the vinyl version today, you realize how much the band's "Wall of Sound" overshadowed their musicianship. Alan White’s drumming on tracks like "Listen Up" is incredibly underrated. He provided a swing that the band lost later on.
The Masterplan: How to Listen Today
If you’re new to this, don't just shuffle it. The original 1998 sequencing is actually pretty perfect. It starts with the high-energy "Acquiesce" and ends with the title track’s orchestral fade-out. It’s a journey.
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Practical Steps for the Modern Listener:
- Compare the B-sides to the A-sides: Listen to "Wonderwall" and then listen to "The Masterplan," "Round Are Way," and "The Swamp Song." It’s wild to think all of that came from one single's era.
- Check out the "Rocking Chair" demo versions: If you can find the early versions of these tracks, you’ll see how Noel built these songs from simple acoustic sketches into stadium-fillers.
- Watch the 1995 Southend Cliffs Pavilion performance: Many of the songs on this album were played live during this era, and the energy is unmatched.
- Read the liner notes: The 25th-anniversary reissue has some great insights into where the band was mentally during these sessions.
The real "Masterplan" wasn't some grand marketing scheme. It was just a guy in a room with a guitar, writing too many good songs and not knowing where to put them. It’s a flawed, brilliant, loud, and occasionally tender record that defines the peak of British guitar music. Honestly, they never reached these heights again, and that’s okay. Most bands never reach them once.
If you want to understand why Oasis mattered—beyond the tabloid headlines and the brotherly feuds—you have to listen to the songs they didn't even think were good enough for the album. That's where the real magic was hiding.