Beyond their first two records, Oasis were never much of an “album band” – they’re rather the perfect example of a great singles group (with the occasional unheralded B-side), which is why 2006’s compilation disc Stop the Clocks – a mix of the obvious hits (“Wonderwall”) and more choice ones (“Acquiesce”) — was entirely appropriate. Taken out of the context of less consistent records, which may have otherwise undermined their full impact, tunes like “Lyla” and “Go Let It Out” were reminders of just how strong the band’s songwriting chops were at its best. Stop the Clocks was a great retrospective, a fitting summary of Oasis’ career, and although Dig Out Your Soul had three rather good singles, they weren’t mind-blowing enough to be worthy of anything more than a selective iTunes download…let alone another two-disc best-of set.
But, see, Time Flies… 1994-2009 isn’t really being billed as a best-of (even though that’s essentially what it is) – the official tagline with this compilation is that it’s a “collection of the band’s singles,” most of which were on the last compilation anyway. It’s a clever bit of marketing that is essentially a method of justifying repetitive re-packagings to fulfill contractual obligations (then again, the Brothers Gallagher haven’t sunken to Aerosmith’s depths yet, so I suppose it’s unfair to criticize them too harshly for letting this happen).
The thing is, Oasis does have some actually-pretty-good B-side fan favourites and even unreleased tunes that have leaked in various forms over the years. As a matter of fact, Stop the Clocks was originally meant to include the long-awaited song of the same title, which had been written two years earlier for Don’t Believe the Truth, had only been performed live once or twice, and was supposedly Noel Gallagher’s most personal song. It’s rumoured that he decided to leave it off of both albums at the last moment, rendering the title for the former a bit anti-climactic.
As for Time Flies… Well, you’d think a post-band retrospective with underrated B-sides and unreleased rarities like the aforementioned would have been a wiser choice, and probably even a stronger selling point (because how many average fans who already dished out for Stop the Clocks are really going to be fooled by Time Flies?). Maybe the label has no form of cooperation from Liam or Noel right now and thus can’t acquire the rights to these rarities, but that’s not a valid enough excuse to sell the fans short.
The ultimate point to be made is that, yes, almost all the songs here are representative of the band at its best; and yes, based on the songs alone this would be a very solid album and I’d be inclined to give it a glowing recommendation; but it’s hard listening to this without recognizing its redundancy. Furthermore, the disingenuous approach of it all just leaves a foul aftertaste. It’s an easy cash grab for a label biding time until their golden goose of a band inevitably reunites. If that takes longer than expected, don’t rule out the emergence of another compilation within the next few years. Hopefully that one brings something new to the table.
