Released 24 April 1998 Genre Rock, Britpop Label Creation | Format CD Length 4:24 | |
Recorded March 1995 at Loco Studios, South Wales | ||
"Acquiesce" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. The song originally appeared as a B-side to Oasis' first UK #1 single, "Some Might Say", in April 1995. Its popularity led to it being included on the B-sides compilation album The Masterplan, released in 1998, after being voted for inclusion by fans of the band on their official website.
Contents
In 1998, the song was issued as a radio single in the United States to promote the release of The Masterplan. It reached #24 in the US Modern Rock Chart, based on radio airplay.
"Acquiesce" was also released as one of the lead tracks to the Stop the Clocks EP, in promotion of their compilation album of which it also appears on, Stop the Clocks.
The verses to "Acquiesce" are sung by Liam Gallagher, with the chorus sung by Noel (because, he claims, Liam could not reach the high notes), making it the first song to ever feature both Gallagher brothers on lead vocals. The only other Oasis songs to feature both brothers on lead vocals are "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is", from their 2000 album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, "Born on a Different Cloud", from their 2002 album Heathen Chemistry, and "Let There Be Love", from their 2005 album Don't Believe the Truth.
History
Noel Gallagher claims to have written the lyrics to "Acquiesce" on the way to the studio for the recording sessions of Definitely Maybe. The train was delayed, and during this interruption, he wrote parts of the song. According to The Masterplan's sleeve notes (written by music writer and critic Paul Du Noyer), "The song is about friendship in the widest sense and not, as often speculated, about the Gallagher brothers themselves."
"Acquiesce" has become a fans' favourite and is regularly played live. Many Oasis fans feel this song should have been held back to go on the (What's the Story) Morning Glory? album, with others also feeling the song was strong enough to have been released as a single. This was an opinion that Alan McGee had when he first heard the song; he tried to convince Noel to release "Acquiesce" as a single instead of "Some Might Say". Noel rejected this idea because he was adamant that the work on the single was completed, and was unwilling to have to write another B-side and record it. However, Noel has since said that this and a couple of other songs such as "The Masterplan" were strong enough to have been album tracks and singles.
The studio recording of the song features clips of an acoustic version of another Oasis song, "Morning Glory". This is heard at the beginning and at the end of the song. Also, over the distortion and guitars of the intro, a conversation between Liam and an anonymous voice (which is believed to be of co-producer Owen Morris) can be heard, played in reverse. Played correctly, the conversation goes:
Owen: Where's Noel?
Liam: Gone for a walk
Unknown voice: Sacked him
Owen: <indecipherable>
The song is featured in the episode "The Day Before" (season 1, episode 12) of the television show Jericho, in the movie Goal!, and has been covered by bands such as Good Charlotte and Third Eye Blind.
Music videos
There are two music videos for this single.
The first video was the live performance at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester, on 14 December 1997. The vocals on this footage were overdubbed from another performance.
The second video was filmed at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, on 12 September 2006, but did not feature the band. Instead, a Japanese look-alike/tribute band played the roles of Oasis. More footage is also understood to have been filmed in Japan, mirroring the idea featured in R.E.M.'s 1995 video for "Crush with Eyeliner."
Track listing
- "Acquiesce" (Edit) – 4:27
- "Acquiesce" (Live) – 5:25
- "Interview with Noel Gallagher" – 27:30
- "Acquiesce" (Video) (CD-ROM Extra)
Track 1: Recorded live at G-Mex, Manchester, UK on 12 December 1997.
Track 2: Hosted by Jonathan L. of The Album Network and Virtually Alternative.
This CD is not for sale and is only available with the purchase of the Epic album The Masterplan.
- "Acquiesce" – 4:24
- "Talk Tonight" – 4:21
- "Rockin' Chair" – 4:35
- "The Masterplan" – 5:22