"Slide Away" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, taken from their debut studio album Definitely Maybe (1994). It was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher and serves as the tenth track on the album. It was also released as a promotional single in certain regions and used as a B-side on a few subsequent singles, including "Whatever" and "Champagne Supernova".
Noel Gallagher claims he wrote "Slide Away" on a Les Paul guitar that Johnny Marr sent to him, since he had few guitars available to him at the time.[3] On the Definitely Maybe DVD, he recalls that he took Marr's guitar out of the case, sat down, and "the song wrote itself". Gallagher wrote it about his girlfriend at the time, Louise Jones, and their stormy relationship. He described them as "soulmates", and when they ultimately split up in June 1994, Gallagher said, "I don't think I'll ever get over it."[4]
Recording
During the recording of Definitely Maybe, there was an argument between Noel Gallagher and rhythm guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs. Gallagher was taken to the pub by bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, where he calmed down, had a few drinks, went back to the studio and recorded "Slide Away". While McGuigan originally participated in the recording, his bass part was re-recorded by Gallagher.[5]
The song was recorded during the initial Monnow Valley Studio sessions and produced by Dave Batchelor. During recording, Batchelor stood in front of drummer Tony McCarroll and pointed at each of his two crash cymbals in turn, to make sure that McCarroll alternated the cymbals across the stereo image.[6]
Batchelor and the band had an argument about the song's tempo, which was ultimately ended by the suggestion of engineer Dave Scott. The band completed the final take afterwards, but Batchelor was angered and fired Scott over the incident. Scott was later informed by Mark Coyle that "Slide Away" was the only song kept from the Monnow Valley sessions, after being remixed by Owen Morris.[7]
Style
Recalling the style of "Slide Away", Alex Niven wrote that the song "adopts the classic grunge technique" by combining a "heavy rock base with a melody that alludes to Neil Young and the Beatles".[8]
In an interview on the bonus DVD of Stop the Clocks, Gallagher comments that the track contains his brother Liam's best ever singing.
Release
"Slide Away" is featured on Oasis' debut album Definitely Maybe,[9] on the "Whatever" single,[10] and on the "Champagne Supernova" US single. In the Stop the Clocks interview, Gallagher claimed that he was told to release it as a fifth single from Definitely Maybe, but he refused, arguing, "You can't have five [singles] off a debut album."[11]
A limited edition UK promotional CD was pressed to celebrate the band's success at the 1995 Brit Awards. The song is included on Oasis' best-of album Stop the Clocks[12] in a slightly different mix; Noel's backing vocals during the bridge have been removed, and it's this version that has been included in reissues of Definitely Maybe since.
Live performances
Both of the Gallagher brothers have stated that the song should have been played more often at concerts, and despite this it remains a favourite.[11] It was ultimately included on the band's Dig Out Your Soul Tour setlist. It was described by guitarist Gem Archer as "the one for the fans".
A live version recorded on 17 April 1995 at the Southend Cliffs Pavilion was included on the video album Live by the Sea.[13]
A live version of the song was released in 2007 on the live album The Dreams We Have As Children by Noel Gallagher.
Liam Gallagher has performed the song at his solo concerts, most notably at the Glastonbury Festival and Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2017 and 2024 respectively as well as his Definitely Maybe 30th Anniversary tour.
The track is included on the setlist of Oasis' Live '25 Tour.
Reception
"Slide Away" received critical acclaim and remains one of the band's most beloved tracks by both journalists and fans.[14][15]
While reviewing the Definitely Maybe album, NME writer Keith Cameron described "Slide Away" as "a completely heart-rending love song" that showed the band possessing "both the sweetness and tenderness to complement their well-proven hooligan qualities".[16] In his 5-star review of Definitely Maybe, Select critic Andrew Perry called the song a "vision of escape, love and happiness".[17]
NME ranked "Slide Away" at number 57 in its list of "The 100 Greatest Britpop Songs", and subsequently ranked it number 1 in its list of greatest Oasis songs.[18][19]Paste ranked it number 1, The Guardian ranked it number 2, UPROXX ranked it number 3, The Independent ranked it number 8, and Rolling Stone ranked it number 11 in their respective lists of all-time greatest Oasis songs.[20][21][22][23][24]GibsonGuitar.com also listed the song as one of Noel Gallagher's best guitar tracks.[3]
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