I’m sure I preface every Oasis chart-topper by saying this, but they really were good at choosing their comeback singles. The first singles from each new album: ‘Some Might Say’, ‘D’You Know What I Mean’, ‘Go Let It Out’, ‘The Hindu Times’, all big, banging statements of intent, and all number one hits.
Lyla, by Oasis (their 7th of eight #1s)
1 week, from 22nd – 29th May 2005
As it is with ‘Lyla’, lead single from their sixth studio album ‘Don’t Believe the Truth’, which was released almost exactly a decade on from their first #1. It is not particularly clever, or subtle; but it is big. It’s a grandiose grower, too, taking well over a minute of layered drums, droning guitars and vocals before we arrive at the chorus.
Speaking of vocals, I’m not sure Liam has sounded better on any of their previous six chart-toppers. He sounds refreshed and upbeat, yet still snarly and full of attitude. In the video too he looks resplendent in a cravat, confirming once again that he was Britain’s last true rock star.
Musically this also feels like a band revitalised. It’s widely accepted that the addition of Gem Archer and Andy Bell to the band allowed Oasis to develop musically (Noel is a good songwriter, but not an amazing guitarist), and the album was the band’s most democratically written, with even Liam contributing three tracks. ‘Lyla’ sounds more classic rock than Britpop, the instruments coming through clearer in the mix, with a nice, twangy solo. It isn’t smothered in layers of over-production like some of their turn of the century singles. There’s a lyrical backstory too, with Lyla apparently the sister of Sally from ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. My biggest complaint about it is that, with the extended intro and the long coda, the actual song is much shorter than the record’s 5:12 runtime. But it’s far from the first time that Oasis have dragged the arse out of a record unnecessarily.
Some people at the time commented on how this sounds somewhat indebted to the Rolling Stones’ ‘Street Fighting Man’. Which is perhaps true, and is most evident on the extended fade-out; but I also think it’s harsh, and nothing compared to Oasis’s other musical borrowings (see also: this LP’s second single…) At this point some people were determined to criticise what they saw as a bloated legacy act in any way possible.
Oasis sort of were a bloated legacy act, even in 2005. And yet, they were the ones still sitting at number one, while the cooler, younger indie acts of the day could only gaze up in envy. During the promo for the album, the Gallaghers had a field day passing judgement on these up and comers. Franz Ferdinand were ‘Right Said Fred’, Kaiser Chiefs ‘a bad Blur’, and the Libertines ‘smackheads needing a slap’. Twats they may be, but the brothers always give good copy.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
While the fights of the Gallagher brothers reminded me of kindergarten-age kids, I can’t deny their music was great!
Bangin record, and their best single (for me) since All Around The World which in my charts was a double A with Street Fighting Man – which that melodic hook at the intro is very much inspired by, as you say. Not as if they were hiding the admiration then! The stomp rhythm though is more Slade Coz I Luv You, another band they covered well. 2005 was their last hurrah creatively I think, but not to worry there’s even better to come still…
Yes they definitely finish their number ones on a high. I would argue though that their final album was even better than this, and for me is their best 21st century LP.
Interesting, I was looking ahead and realised their last No. 1, “The Importance of Being Idle”, is also from this album. That hadn’t happened for Oasis since Be Here Now. For some reason I thought their eighth No. 1, and maybe their last, who knows, if they ever release another album the lead single could easily give them a ninth, was the lead single from the next album, but apparently not.
As for “Lyla”, I think it’s good. Very catchy, with a strong chorus and really good vocals from Liam. Honestly, this could have been a great Oasis song for me if I liked the production more.
I’m just not a big fan of the mix, especially the tinny-sounding drums and the way Liam’s vocal sits in it. The whole thing sounds a bit muddy and congested to me, almost like everything has been meshed together too much. The guitars, drums, bass and backing vocals all seem to be fighting for space in the same dense midrange, so instead of the individual parts having much definition, they tend to merge into one big block of sound. Oasis obviously made a career out of huge walls of guitars, but this doesn’t quite work for me in the way their best productions do.
There also isn’t much breathing room dynamically once the full arrangement kicks in. The drums are big, but they don’t always punch through the guitars particularly cleanly, and Liam’s vocal sometimes feels buried inside the mix rather than sitting clearly above it. By the final section there’s so much going on that the individual textures start becoming difficult to separate.
It sounds noticeably different to something like “Supersonic” or “Some Might Say”. Those are also very loud, guitar-heavy songs, but I think there’s much better definition between the rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, drums and vocals. “Lyla” goes for more of a smeared, vintage-rock wall of sound, and as someone who generally prefers clearer production, it just comes across as a little murky to me.
Still, the song itself is good. I like it. I just wish I liked the way it sounded as much as I like the actual song.
See I think this sounds less cluttered than some of their earlier hits, in which I think they hid some of their musical limitations in extremely heavy mixes. Which still sounded great. But with Oasis Mk II, the newer members were more capable, musically, and I think this single sounds a bit clearer and fresher.
Those band disses are pretty funny. I guess some of their targets ended up as landfill indie…
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