(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
LP by Oasis
Released	October, 1995
Recorded	1995 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire (UK)
Genre	Rock
Length	50 min 18 s
Label	Epic
Producer	Owen Morris
Professional reviews
AMG	4.5/5	link
Robert Christgau	2 stars Honorable Mention	link
RS 719	4/5	link
Q Nov '00	3/5	link
Oasis Chronology
Definitely Maybe (1994)	(What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)	Be Here Now (1997)

(What's the Story) Morning Glory? is a 1995 album by rock band Oasis. The band's second album, it was a worldwide hit, reaching #1 in the United Kingdom and #4 in the United States, and selling 18.5 million copies worldwide. The album was produced by Owen Morris . It remains the second biggest selling album of all time in the UK and worldwide by a British artist.

The Battle of Britpop

For many people (What's the Story) Morning Glory? represents the epitome of the Britpop movement. The year before its release, Britain's two biggest bands, Blur and Oasis, had released massively successful albums and had begun making inroads in the United States. However, the two bands constantly attacked each other in the media.

Things came to a head when Oasis and Blur decided to release the first single from their highly anticipated albums on the same day, August 14 1995. This event caused a media sensation that extended beyond the music industry to the point where the bands were regularly mentioned on the evening news.

The challenge was dubbed The Battle Of Britpop and was considered a fight between the gritty, working class Oasis and the artsy, middle class Blur. Blur's "Country House" single sold 274,000 copies to Oasis' 216,000 copies of "Roll With It".

However, in the end, Oasis' album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? was far more successful than Blur's The Great Escape. In Britain and Ireland it became habit when asked "What's the story?" (lit. "How are you?"), to answer with "Morning glory". In the UK, it spent over three times as long on the charts (a total of three years) and outsold Blur's album 13x platinum vs. 3x platinum. Oasis' album is hailed as the essence of Britpop for its impact on mainstream society, debt to 1960s music, and bloated, anthemic nature.

Despite often being cited as inferior to Oasis' debut album, in 1997 Morning Glory was named the 5th greatest album of all time in a 'Music of the Millennium' poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 1998 Q magazine readers placed it at number 8.

Track listing

1. "Hello"
2. "Roll With It"
3. "Wonderwall"
4. "Don't Look Back in Anger"
5. "Hey Now!"
6. [...]
7. "Some Might Say"
8. "Cast No Shadow"
9. "She's Electric"
10. "Morning Glory"
11. [...]
12. "Champagne Supernova"

Note: The untitled tracks are short mixes of a b-side called "The Swamp Song".

Chart positions

UK:

Some Might Say            #1  (27 weeks on chart)
Roll With It              #2  (18 weeks)
Wonderwall                #2  (34 weeks)
Don't Look Back in Anger  #1  (24 weeks)

US:

Wonderwall                #8  (20 weeks on chart)
Don't Look Back in Anger  #55 (14 weeks)