🎧🎶 Make sure to listen to *What's the Story (Morning Glory)?* (today) 🎧🎶

On this day in 1995, *What's the Story (Morning Glory)?* was released, propelling the British rock band Oasis—and the Gallagher brothers—to global stardom. The epic track "Champagne Supernova"—released as a single exclusively in the United States—hit number one on the Modern Rock chart.

*Definitely Maybe* was one of those debuts that seemed impossible to top. In fact, there is a broad consensus that, creatively speaking, it remains the most inspired moment in the Oasis discography. Yet, their second album achieved even greater success. To Noel Gallagher’s credit—as the band's songwriter and mastermind—he refused to simply repeat the same formula. The album was reportedly recorded very quickly—over just 15 days at a studio in Wales—and their style evolved from the straightforward indie rock of their early days into something more ambitious, featuring orchestral arrangements and several mid-tempo tracks with an epic feel. Initially, critics were harsh, citing that shift in style, the album's heavy reliance on references (many tracks bore too strong a resemblance to songs by other artists from the 60s and 70s), and—to put it bluntly—the rather poor quality of the lyrics. None of that mattered, though, because they had a compelling narrative—and they managed to get the whole world to buy into it. "While *Definitely Maybe* was about the dream of being a pop star in a band, *Morning Glory* is about actually being a pop star in a band," Noel Gallagher told *Rolling Stone*.

One factor that worked in their favor in the long run was the sequencing of the singles. The two advance singles, "Some Might Say" and "Roll With It," do not rank among Oasis's most memorable tracks; rather, the song that truly propelled them was the third single, "Wonderwall," while "Don’t Look Back In Anger"—released in February 1996—helped extend the album's lifespan.

The album cover is emblematic. The photo was taken on London’s Berwick Street—at the time, likely the location with the highest concentration of record stores in the world. It captures an era when records sold in massive numbers and played a significant role in people's lives. It was also somewhat prophetic: in its first week, the album sold 345,000 copies in the UK alone—a figure previously surpassed only by Michael Jackson’s *Bad* in 1987. It spent ten weeks at number one and became the best-selling album of the 1990s in the United Kingdom. To this day, it remains the fifth best-selling album of all time in the British Isles. Twenty-two million people worldwide own an original physical copy of the album.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the album's success is the considerable tension that existed behind the scenes during its recording (which took place at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales). Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher fought bitterly for much of the recording process—a pattern that would plague the band in the years to follow. In this specific instance, the conflict arose because Noel wanted to sing lead vocals on "Wonderwall" and/or "Don’t Look Back in Anger." This caused a rift between the brothers that temporarily halted sessions and took three weeks to resolve. Following their reconciliation, it took another two weeks to complete the album, and Noel ultimately provided lead vocals for "Don’t Look Back in Anger."

And what about you—What is your favorite song on the album?

Let's talk about it in the comments section! 👇