Wonderwall (song)

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"Wonderwall"
Single by Oasis
from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
B-side	"Round Are Way", "The Swamp Song", "The Masterplan"
Released	30 October 1995
Format	CD, cassette, 7", 12"
Recorded	May 1995
Genre	Rock, Britpop
Length	4:18
Label	Creation Records
Writer(s)	Noel Gallagher
Producer	Owen Morris & Noel Gallagher
Oasis singles chronology
"Morning Glory" (1995) "Wonderwall" (1995) "Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996)
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? track listing
"Roll with It" (2) "Wonderwall" (3) "Don't Look Back in Anger" (4)
Stop the Clocks track listing
"The Importance of Being Idle" (5) "Wonderwall" (6) "Slide Away" (7)

"Wonderwall" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by the band's guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher. Released as the third single from (What's the Story) Morning Glory? in October 1995, "Wonderwall" peaked at number two in the UK Singles Charts and proved to be their American breakthrough, reaching number eight on the Hot 100 singles chart and giving them their only top-ten hit in the U.S. thus far. It also proved a hit in Australia, reaching number one in February 1996.^[1] "Wonderwall" is perhaps their most popular song, despite the fact that British TV stars Robson & Jerome's "I Believe"/"Up on the Roof" kept it out of the top slot. "Wonderwall" continues to have enduring popularity in Oasis's canon; as of 2008, it was 76th in the UK's list of best-selling singles, and has now sold over a million copies in single and download sales in the UK, ^[2] where it went platinum.^[3]

The song is also included on their compilation album Stop the Clocks.

[edit] Background

The song takes its name from the 1968 album Wonderwall Music by George Harrison, at the time still a member of The Beatles.^[4] Harrison's album was in fact a soundtrack to the film Wonderwall. The original title of the track was "Wishing Stone".^[5]

It is often claimed that "Wonderwall" was written for Gallagher's then-girlfriend, Meg Mathews. Gallagher married Mathews in 1997, but the couple divorced four years later. Gallagher now claims that the song was not about Mathews at all, but he felt he had to go along with the rumour, saying "The meaning of that song was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it. How do you tell your Mrs it's not about her once she's read it is? It's a song about an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself."^[6]

In 2008 Liam Gallagher was quoted as saying about the song: "I can't fucking stand that fucking song! Every time I have to sing it I want to gag. Problem is, it was a big, big tune for us."^[7]

[edit] Recording

The song was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, during a two-week recording of the 'Morning Glory' album in May 1995. According to producer Owen Morris, the song was completed in 6-8 hours.

Morris claimed that Gallagher had presented an alternative arrangement of the song "which had some extra complicated pre-bridge bits that didn't have singing or melody - but just had some chord changes - which seemed completely unnecessary", the night before it was recorded. This idea was quickly shelved.^{[citation needed]}

Noel initially wanted to sing this song on (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, but he gave his brother Liam Gallagher the choice, and Noel ended up singing "Don't Look Back in Anger". He later noted that, in fact, he had only ever wanted to sing on Don't Look Back in Anger, and had used Wonderwall as a bargaining tool.^[8]

[edit] Live performances

Noel debuted the song on UK TV, backstage at Glastonbury and broadcast on Channel 4 on June 24, 1995. The song wasn't performed by the band during their headline performance the night before.

In August 2002, Noel changed the arrangement of his live performances of the song to a style admittedly heavily-influenced by Ryan Adams' cover version of the song. This arrangement has continued to his most recent live performances of the song. When the full band performs the song live with vocals by Liam Gallagher, with electric guitars, it's still in the original style as presented on the record. During the 2008-2009 tour, however, the band have returned to performing the song in a semi-acoustic form, albeit with an arrangement closely resembling the album version.

[edit] Music Video

The music video to the song was filmed in the relatively brief period when bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan quit the band due to nervous exhaustion; Scott McLeod came in to replace him.^[9]

An alternative version, possibly a bootleg recording, exists and is viewable online. It features a single fixed camera shot, the same as is seen in the more common video, of the five band members miming to the song.

The song won Best British Video at the 1996 Brit Awards.

[edit] Cover art

The sleeve artwork was inspired by the paintings of the Belgian surrealist René Magritte, and was shot on Primrose Hill in north London. The hand holding the frame is that of art director Brian Cannon. The original idea was to have Liam in the frame before Noel vetoed that idea whilst the shoot was taking place.^[10] Instead a female figure was deemed necessary and Anita Heryet, a Creation Records employee, was asked to stand in as cover star for the shot^[11].

[edit] Chart history

"Wonderwall reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. In the U.S., it peaked at number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for an unprecedented ten weeks, and reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

[edit] Awards and accolades

• In the Grammy Awards of 1997 the band received a nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and Noel Gallagher picked another nomination for Best Rock Song, winning none^[12] .

• In May 2005, "Wonderwall" was voted the best British song of all time, in a poll of over 8,500 listeners conducted by Virgin Radio. ^[13]

• In August 2006, "Wonderwall" was named the second-greatest song of all time in a poll conducted by Q Magazine, finishing behind another Oasis song, "Live Forever". ^[14]

• In 2006, U2's guitarist The Edge named "Wonderwall" one of the songs he most wishes he'd written.^[15]

• In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Wonderwall" at number 27 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.^[16]

• In December 20, 2007, VH1 placed "Wonderwall" at number 35 in its list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.

• In July 2009, "Wonderwall" was voted at number #12 in the Hottest 100 of all time countdown poll, conducted by Australian radio station, Triple J. More than half a million votes were cast.^[17]

[edit] Notable cover versions

"Wonderwall" has been one of the most-frequently covered songs in recent history; the most famous of which was an easy listening arrangement by The Mike Flowers Pops, which reached #2 in the UK Singles Charts, just as the Oasis original had done two months earlier. Gallagher mentioned that when BBC Radio 1 premiered the song, they ironically claimed that they had found "the original version of Wonderwall." Gallagher, who had been in America at the time, was surprised to be asked by one of his record company's executives if he had actually written the song.^[18]

Ryan Adams' version, first performed in 2001, and later released in 2004 on Love is Hell, was well-received by Noel Gallagher.^[19] Adams's version was also featured in episodes of Smallville, Cold Case, The O.C., and more recently on Brothers & Sisters and Lie to Me. His version also appears on the 2006 compilation album The Acoustic Album and the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour as a downloadable extra.

Other artists who have covered the song include American indie singer Cat Power, Richard Cheese, Great Big Sea, Paul Anka's swing-jazz style arrangement, the Brad Mehldau Trio, the Beastie Boys punk rock cover that has been performed at concerts, but never released as a single, and a cover on the compilation Punk Goes 90's by the pop-punk band Cartel. The Harvard Independent compiled a list of the five most ironic versions of Wonderwall.

In 2003, the song was covered by independent Canadian singer-songwriter Melissa Rebronja, released on her debut album Embrace Yourself. Her version became a popular digital download reaching top 50 for most downloaded songs with CD Baby in 2005.

The song was also covered by fellow British rock group Radiohead as a joke in the late 1990s; Thom Yorke sings many incorrect lyrics and cuts out mid-chorus when a background voice says, "Is this abysmal or what? It's always good to make fun of Oasis."

The song was also covered on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge by Neighbours star Alan Fletcher on 30 November 2007.^[20]

During a heated rivalry between Oasis and Robbie Williams, which came about due to Noel and Liam's constantly referring to Robbie as "the fat dancer from Take That", he performed Wonderwall at his Slane Castle concert live on pay-per-view TV.

The verse to Wonderwall is built on a I-III-VII-IV minor progression which several other songs have used. These include Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day, U2's Electrical Storm, Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around...Comes Around and Oasis's first single from Be Here Now, "D'You Know What I Mean?". Wonderwall was later featured in the popular mashup Boulevard of Broken Songs, which also contained parts of both Travis's Writing to Reach You and Boulevard of Broken Dreams. In late 2006, Gallagher accused Green Day of "ripping off" Wonderwall, saying "If you listen, you'll find it is exactly the same arrangement as Wonderwall. They should have the decency to wait until I am dead [before stealing my songs]. I, at least, pay the people I steal from that courtesy."^[21] However, the same chord progression was previously used in the choruses of Alive by Pearl Jam and Man in the Box by Alice In Chains.^[22] The chord progression can be found in Mahler's 8th symphony as well.

The 2003 Girls Aloud single Life Got Cold was slated by critics, claiming that the chorus melody ripped off Wonderwall. The similarities were noticeable, even though Girls Aloud dismissed the claims. Noel Gallagher also reacted indifferently to the suggestion, commenting instead that; "We've been compared to The Beatles pretty often. Progression is going forwards. Going backwards is regression. Going sideways is just 'gression'." When Girls Aloud performed "Life Got Cold" at a university gig in 2007, the crowd started to chant the lyrics to Wonderwall. The girl group simply laughed.

The comedy group Tripod covered Wonderwall for a segment on Triple J with Andrew Denton. The band began by singing the first verse with the following lyrics: "today is going to be the day that we're gonna throw it back to you. We just noticed that all the chords in your songs are the same, did you? I don't believe that anyone could get away with this but you have, well you did, didn't you. And all the catchy melodies are winding. Around the same progression and we're finding. That you released three singles but you could have managed one, good luck to you." They then proceeded to sing 5 other Oasis songs to the same chord progression used in Wonderwall.

The song was also covered by The Nat Sanderson Sound in the second short film, A Soft Touch, within the movie The Acid House written by Irvine Welsh and directed by Paul McGuigan.

At the beginning of his set at Glastonbury 2008, Jay-Z performed a cover of Wonderwall. Noel Gallagher had previously been critical of Jay-Z's booking as a star performer at the festival, so it is probable that his cover was intended to be ironic. Jay-Z's mock performance boosted the song's sales, making it a challenger for the Top 100. The original album had a 200% increase in sales and the compilation album had a 140% increase.^[23] Jay-Z references the above event and sings part of Wonderwall on his song Jockin Jay-Z on his upcoming album The Blueprint 3.

Jackie 'O' covered the song in 1996 on a two-track single release with two Euro House Dance versions of Wonderwall jump starting the one-woman group's success.

Paul Anka has performed a Swing cover of the song on his Rock Swings cover album.

Death metal group Ten Masked Men, known for covering pop songs in a heavy style, covered the song on their self-titled debut.

The Rome, Italy Hardcore/Screamo quintet The Gaia Corporation covered the song on their 2006 album, Equilibrium.

Jason Mraz will sing the first verse of Wonderwall in the middle of his song "The Remedy" when he performs it live.

Girl band Bad Lashes performed Wonderwall in boot camp and the survival round of the first live show on The X Factor in 2008, later being the first eliminated from the show. It has been revealed that Bad Lashes will release Wonderwall as their first single in 2009. Lily Allen was overheard singing Wonderwall by Rachel Santesso at the age of 11. Rachel was impressed and started giving Allen singing lessons. She later grew up to become a famous pop artist.

Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, performed Wonderwall at V-Festival 2009, after Oasis had pulled out of performing at the festival.

[edit] Track listings

• UK CD CRESCD 215
  1. "Wonderwall" - 4:19
  2. "Round Are Way" - 5:42
  3. "The Swamp Song" - 4:15
  4. "The Masterplan" - 5:23
  • "The Swamp Song" was originally a warm-up exercise for the recording sessions of (What's The Story) Morning Glory?. The electric guitar and harmonica is supplied by Paul Weller.
  • "Round Are Way" was featured in the film A Life Less Ordinary both in the closing credits and offhandedly hummed/sung by the lead character Robert Lewis (played by Ewan McGregor) during one scene. The recorded song has a heavy horn section and finishes with a rasping, bluesy harmonica jam played by Mark Feltham^[24]. In live versions, like that performed for Channel 4's The White Room, Round Are Way climaxes by seguing into Up in the Sky, (B-side of Live Forever)^[25][26]
  • "The Masterplan" is considered by many to be Oasis's best B-side, and one of their greatest songs. Noel Gallagher feels it marks the highpoint of his creative output. Allegedly, Liam was so impressed with the song that he became abusive with Noel for not having written it in time for the album and refused to sing on it. However, in the inlay to The Masterplan it is stated that this is the only song Liam wishes he had sung instead of Noel.

• UK 7" CRE 215
  1. "Wonderwall" - 4:19
  2. "Round Are Way" - 5:42

• UK cassette CRECS 215
  1. "Wonderwall" - 4:19
  2. "Round Are Way" - 5:42

• UK 12" CRE 215T
  1. "Wonderwall" - 4:19
  2. "Round Are Way" - 5:42
  3. "The Swamp Song" - 4:19

• USA CD 49K 78204
  1. "Wonderwall" - 4:15
  2. "Round Are Way" - 5:41
  3. "Talk Tonight" - 4:11
  4. "Rockin' Chair" - 4:33
  5. "I Am the Walrus" (Live) - 8:14

• USA cassette EPIC 78216
  1. "Wonderwall" - 4:15
  2. "Round Are Way" - 5:41
  3. "Talk Tonight" - 4:11
  • "Talk Tonight" is slightly different from the original version released on the "Some Might Say" single and on "The Masterplan". At the end of the song, instead of a gradual silence (apart from gentle taps on the body of the acoustic guitar), Noel chips in with "Yer got any batteries?"
  • "Rockin' Chair" is also slightly different from the original version released on the "Roll With It" single and on "The Masterplan". Instead of a gradual fade-in, the song starts abruptly at full volume.

[edit] References