L’histoire de… « Talk Tonight » (Oasis, 1995) ENGLISH

Aaah Oasis, well-known Brit-pop band of the nineties… Its rivalry with Blur, its scandals, its never-ending provocations, its endless appearances in the tabloids… All that aside, there are probably only a few people not knowing at least one song of the band that has sold over 70 million albums worldwide, with "only" seven albums to its credit.

"Talk Tonight" wasn’t included in an album before appearing on "The Masterplan" (1998), a compilation containing all B-sides.

Originally, "Talk Tonight" is the B-side of the "Some Might Say" single, released in April 1995. Acquiesce and Headshrinker, the other tracks of the single, are also masterpieces: Acquiesce is a vocal duet between Gallagher brothers, Liam singing the verses while Noel sings the choruses. Noel has never been short on words when it comes to teasing his younger brother and once said that he had to sing on the song because his brother couldn’t sing as high as him. Let’s not worry, the younger Gallagher has more than once returned the favor to his older brother over the course of years. The jibes between these two are as numerous as exchanges of tennis balls on the Roland-Garros (or Wimbledon, if you prefer) field… Want some examples?

"Well, let's see. I've seen him today and it was great. And the day before that was great. It could all fall apart. Any moment " - Noel

"We had a ding-dong in the airport and I think he [Noel] started crying then - that was it - doesn't travel with me [on tour] any more." – Liam

“Sure I love Liam, but not as much as I love Pot Noodles” – Noel

“Shitbag” (On Noel, following the press conference announcing the High Flying Birds album) – Liam

“Liam is... rude, arrogant, intimidating and lazy. He's the angriest man you'll ever meet. He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup” – Noel

“I’m a better singer than him [Noel].” – Liam

Although at first glance, Noel is a tongue-in-cheek kind of guy who often show a sarcastic side that can sometimes be found in his songs, Oasis’ main songwriter is also able to show a softer and more vulnerable side of his personality. "Talk Tonight" belongs to this category of songs where Noel unveils a part of himself…

Being away from home when you love your land so much is never a happy thing… So obviously, if you add other troubles, you can quickly and easily be down in the dumps. 

Fall 1994, Oasis leaves Europe for the first time to go on a world tour. Outbursts between the two brothers were a regular thing during this tour: Noel had sometimes to sing during whole shows when his brother decided on a whim to disappear or not to take the plane to the other group members. They had just played a few concerts in Japan and landed in the States for a series of dates… 

29^th of September 1994 is quite a symbolic date: they had just arrived in the States and performed at the famous Whisky A Go Go, where The Doors played their first gigs. That night, Oasis’ story almost came to an end

Exhausted by another argument with his brother and feeling quite down, Noel packs up and leaves Los Angeles without telling anyone and with a wish to quit the band for good. The guitarist goes to San Francisco, where Oasis played three days earlier and where he befriended a woman. She found the right words and knew what to do to remove the dark clouds Noel Gallagher had around him at that time. What did she do? All you have to do is listening to the song: Noel reveals his feelings and explains to us how she probably saved his life…

Today, the name and face of this woman are still a well-kept secret but every time I listen to that song, I can’t help but wonder if Noel did see her again as he promised ("I know I'm leavin 'but I'll be back another day"). I also sometimes wonder if she still loves strawberry lemonade ("All your dreams are made of Strawberry Lemonade")… 

Regardless of the meaning of the song, "Talk Tonight" remains one of the most touching songs written by Noel Gallagher. The original version’s acoustic, putting guitar riffs and studio arrangements aside, focusing on acoustic guitar and Melotron. "Talk Tonight" reveals its true beauty: sometimes doing less is more…



Although ... A few years later, Noel reworked on the song and added some electric guitar parts and I admit that I like this version more than the original one.



 In this video, Gem Archer plays the electric guitar: Gem joined Oasis in November 1999 after the departure of Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and remained until the band’s split on 28th August 2009, when Noel left after a final dispute with Liam. Gem is now part of Beady Eye, actually the Oasis guys, minus Noel.

Beady Eye will release "BE", its second album on June 10th.

As for Noel, he made it pretty clear that he’s not willing to release another album soon… at least not as long as the desire and inspiration aren’t around. And this is ultimately a good thing. After spending months on the road with his High Flying Birds, he deserves to get some time off and enjoy life for a while.

I am a kid of the 70s and therefore spent my teenage years bathed in Oasis’ music. At the time, I didn’t really like the band, with the exception of a few songs. Last year, at Rock Werchter festival, I was with my friends and suddenly stopped talking right in the middle of a sentence: with “just” his voice and music, a guy on stage made me completely forget about what I wanted to say. A shiver starting from the spine and passing through the body. Something that had never happened before. I love music in general and without any kind of favoritism. This guy is responsible for my first immediate and irrevocable love at first sight with an artist, even beyond his music. This guy was Noel Gallagher. 

I didn’t understand what had happened. How come that I never really dig Oasis when he was finally the band’s kingpin? How could I have missed out on that guy for almost 20 years? I searched for an answer by listening back to the Oasis albums. And finally understood… I love Oasis’ music. And it turned out that those songs I REALLY liked were those... sung by Noel. I had just never realized back then that Oasis had… two singers. In the end, I realized that he thing I never really liked about Oasis was… Liam’s voice. Tough one…

Writing this article today is not an innocent choice: it's been a while I wanted to tell you about this song’s story but had not yet found the time / opportunity to do it before. Here’s my chance to do it tonight since it’s… Noel Gallagher’s 46^th birthday… Happy Birthday, Mister Gallagher. And thank you. For everything. So… as it is a special day, a gift is the most normal thing to give, right? In this case, you will find the entire concert from which the previous video was taken. That concert was held in London on the 26^th of November 2006. Enjoy!