Stop The Clocks [2CD + DVD]

Oasis

Terrace anthem heroes or rock plagiarists: how will history judge Oasis? Well, if a band's Greatest Hits is their dispatch to the ages, Stop The Clocks -- a two CD collection that spans the ins and outs of their career from debut single "Supersonic" to 2005's sixth studio album Don't Believe The Truth - suggests that whether you believe they lost their way in a blizzard of cocaine around the time of 1997's Be Here Now or put their first foot wrong the day Liam first put crayon to paper as lyricist -- at their best they're quite simply at the top of their game. First up, a run-through the early stuff: band manifesto "Rock'n'Roll Star', their first chart-topper "Some Might Say", and its B-side, the acoustic, Noel-sung "Talk Tonight". In such context, later efforts like "Lyla" and "Go Let It Out" lack the obvious hunger of what came before, but they demonstrate exactly why Oasis got as huge as they did: their affinity for the stomping, Slade-derived swagger and runway-width choruses just perfect for filling stadiums and football fields. Fans who shelled out for Oasis' B-sides compilation The Masterplan might feel mugged by the decision to reprise four tracks here, but a genuine Oasis Best Of wouldn't seriously work without the presence of "Acquiesce". Live forever? These songs just might. --Louis Pattison