OASIS: 'Underneath The Sky' (The Story Of The Song)

Join James Hargreaves to learn about the origins of one of the best Oasis B-Sides - Underneath The Sky, which featured on the Don't Look Back In Anger single and the Masterplan album.

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[BeerLover]

Noel probably has a safe somewhere with this book locked in it, kinda like ‘Grays Sports Almanac’ from Back to the future 2 and Noel is Biff Tannen hahah

[bigneon_glitter]

Should've been a lead single on _Morning Glory._ Blew my mind when I heard it on _Masterplan._ One of Britpop's rare but brilliant uses of Rotary Reverb. Suede's extended "Wild Ones" is another one.

[bigmantim]

This song is absolute magic. Probably my favourite

[rosiegunn]

The WTSMG era (including the whatever single) could well be one of the best album and single cycle of any band ever.

[petianenakhov]

Underneath the Sky is one of my favorite oasis songs... Sadly never played in full band set :(

[alessandroferrettitv]

The NME special collector's edition says it was recorded in october 1995 in Maison Rouge, Chelsea. Noel said in an interview to promote The Masterplan it was recorded the same day as Cum On Feel The Noize.

[DiegoArt]

Hi James, first of all great video!!! Two pieces of information to add:
There's an audio of Oasis rehearsing 'Undereneath The Sky' at the Roseland Ballrom soundcheck ( October 1995 in my channel you can find it) it's an interesting soundcheck where the band plays many songs and test every single mic of each member, I hope it helps to find the exact date of composition.
And the other fact, here in Argentina the magazine 'Rolling Stone' (June 2000) has an interview with Noel where he says that one of his best compositions is Underneath The Sky, along with The Masterplan. And I think that Noel believed it firmly. I hope I have helped with this data.

[waynepinnock]

My favourite Oasis track. Beautiful jazzy chords and choral, swampy production

[SmallvillenerdTwo]

Some Might Say is imo the best single they ever put out

[raptopp]

You're doing an amazing job with these videos! It is so fascinating to learn new thing about the songs, especially when it is one of my favorite Oasis-songs. I regularly play this on my guitar and was playing this on my acoustic last night and it's one of the Oasis B-sides I'll always include when I need some Oasis tunes in my playlist.

[jefflikeusual]

My favourite Oasis song of all time! That cover was absolutely amazing!! The female vocals bring it into another realm!

[stevelogan]

Another brilliant video, James, bringing scholarship to popular music. Noel’s lyrics have always struck me as combining words and phrases from known sources in ways that make something completely new out of them. In literary studies, this is a massive subject. Coleridge coined a fancy phrase about it: 'the esemplastic imagination'. By this he meant the power to combine what comes your way and form from it a work of art which expresses true feeling. T. S. Eliot does it all through The Waste Land (1922). Don’t Look Back in Anger includes references to Shakespeare (‘the eye of your mind’ is Hamlet’s ‘in my mind’s eye’) and the chorus responds to a famous play (also a film) by John Osborne, Look Back in Anger. Under the Sky may also include an awareness that in 1990 Bob Dylan released an album called Under the Red Sky and in 1980 the Police released a song, with its title cribbed from a well-known TV series called Man in a Suitcase. Heart released a song with the same title as Noel’s, Under the Sky, in 1980 and in ‘land with no name’ there may be a hint of the desert landscape (picked up in your video) in America’s old song, Horse with No Name. I think this is just the way his imagination works and, as he clearly recognises, it’s quite different from plagiarism. T. S. Eliot said, ‘immature poets borrow, mature poets steal’, so Noel’s in good company.

[aiturran]

Brilliant as usual, James. Underneath is one of those songs that have lingered forever in my mind, and the fact we've never gotten it played live, makes it much more dear to my heart.

And as a longtime Oasis fan, you tend to value more these kind of songs, the ones that show you're a fan that knows beyond their famous catalog.

The reverb effect, Liam's crisp and powerful voice, that chorus... and it's a pretty unique song, if you add all those elements. And thinking it was created in such a short period. Composition wise, Noel was touching the clouds in those years.

Thanks for keeping the Oasis flame alive. Much respect and appreciation from far Southamerica, at the end of the world in Santiago, Chile.

[CraigABuchanan]

Honestly, this is the first time I heard your northern accent! When you said “go”

[tabeecorr]

James whether people write or songwrite I think reading can put your creative mind and memory on to another level. When I started reading the works of Rumi and Miyamoto Musashi it put my writing skills on a different level. When you do it most days words just flow and glow out of you like a beautiful floating butterfly. I'm just glad Noel's a Gemini as well as it makes me feel more connected to his songwriting. Also a good part of the Go Let It Out lyrics Noel stole from a old poem. Cheers for another top form video once again.

[MandLMusic]

Great working with you on the cover & a big congrats on 1 million views! 🎉🥳

[The.Dulcet.Toned.Scotsman]

Great analysis as always James and a banging cover to boot too! That early period of Noel's writing definitely shows the want/need to get away, songs like this, it's good to be free, going nowhere, listen up etc, something we can all relate to more than ever over this last year, a perfect excuse to go through all those hidden gems all over again.

Top man!

[lifebeatmusic]

Underneath The Sky is a great [oasis] song to be documented.. great job Sir keep it up!!!

[SimmyBassline]

It absolutely should have been a lead single for Morning Glory! It blows my mind that its only (to some*) a throwaway b-side! Its so uplifting, its criminal that they don't play it live when its easily one of the best they've recorded! Its my favourite Oasis track by far

[babyshambler]

I always loved Liam's "againnnnNAHH" at the end.

Your version is ace too. The female vocal makes it sound quite Fleetwood Mac to me!