绝对可能 (1994)

Definitely Maybe is the debut studio album by the English rock band Oasis, released on 29 August 1994 by Creation Records. The album features Noel Gallagher on lead guitar, backing vocals and as chief songwriter, Liam Gallagher on lead vocals, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs on rhythm guitar, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan on bass guitar and Tony McCarroll on drums.

The band booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in January 1994 to record the album; they worked with producer Dave Batchelor, whom Noel knew from his time working as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets. However, sessions were unsatisfactory, and Batchelor was subsequently fired. In February 1994, the group began re-recording the album at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, where Noel produced sessions alongside Mark Coyle. The results were still deemed unsatisfactory; in desperation, manager Marcus Russell contacted engineer and producer Owen Morris, who eventually worked on mixing the album at Loco Studios in Wales, and later The Matrix in London, where Liam re-recorded some of his lead vocals. The album was then mastered at Johnny Marr's studio in Manchester.

Definitely Maybe was an immediate commercial success in the United Kingdom, having followed on the heels of the singles "Supersonic", "Shakermaker", and the UK top-ten hit "Live Forever", which was also a success on US modern rock radio. It went straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history at the time; it went on to be certified 10× platinum by the BPI for sales of over 3 million units. It was also successful in the United States, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album went on to sell over 15 million copies worldwide. It is the only Oasis album to feature all five original members completely; drummer Tony McCarroll was ejected from the band in April 1995.

Upon release, Definitely Maybe received widespread critical acclaim and helped to spur a revitalisation in British pop/rock music in the 1990s. It was embraced by critics for its optimistic themes and rejection of the negative outlook of much of the grunge music of the time and is regarded as a cornerstone of the Britpop genre, having since appeared in many publications' lists of the greatest albums of all time. In 2006, the NME conducted a readers' poll in which Definitely Maybe was voted the greatest album ever. In 2015, Spin included the album in their list of "The 300 Best Albums of 1985–2014". Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 217 on its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Background and recording

Formerly called the Rain, Oasis was formed in 1991 by Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, Tony McCarroll and Liam Gallagher. Liam soon asked his older brother, Noel Gallagher, to join. Despite reports that Noel insisted on total creative control and leadership, he said in 2016: "There is the myth that I kicked open the fucking rehearsal room door to the theme tune to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and said 'Everybody stop what they're doing. I am here to make us all millionaires', you know? It wasn't that at all". Although Noel wrote all the album's songs, Bonehead said, "I came up with the riff for 'Up in the Sky' and he built the song around that one but generally Noel would arrive with the finished song".