Oasis Stop the Clocks

Oasis has come at the end of its contract with their label, and when told that a "best of" was going to be issued whether the Gallagher brothers liked it or not, Noel Gallagher took it upon himself to come up with the band first career-spanning compilation. At first it was going to include several new songs (including "Stop the Clocks"), but when all was said and done, we are left with this beautiful mess.

"Stop the Clocks" (2 CDs, 18 tracks, 86 min.) brings a selective sampling of some of Oasis greatest hits and best known tracks, including its US breakthrough hit "Wonderwall", which still sounds as fresh today as when it came out more than a decade ago, but also "Champaign Supernova", "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Acquiesce", originally a B-side but it has become one of Oasis' best known and beloved songs. Nothing wrong with the music as such on this compilation. It's what is NOT on here that is the problem: Noel tries to rewrite history and conveniently ignores the "Be Here Now" album ENTIRELY, hence no "D'You Know What I Mean", "Stand By Me" or "All Around the World", all huge hits; other early-era classics MIA include "Shakermaker", "Whatever" and "Roll With It", and even latter day hits such as "The Hindu Times", "Little By Little" and "She Is Love" are conspicuously absent.

I guess I could have understood Noe's approach if this was a single CD compilation, but it is not. Can someone explain to me why, at a mere 86 min. over 2 CDs, all those hits and classics are not on here? This compilation, however great the music on here, is nothing but a beautiful and incomprehesible mess. Lacking any new songs or any other twist, it is doubtful that this set will attract many fervent Oasis fan.

Oasis have been at the helm of the world's music scene for over ten years. To mark that achievement, this first-ever Oasis retrospective draws together the years of multiplatinum albums, No. 1 singles, and--unique to Oasis--instantly familiar B-sides into one 18-track double album, entitled Stop the Clocks. Furthermore, this collection has been chosen by the band themselves--selecting the songs they believe encapsulate their remarkable career to date.