"The Masterplan" is a song by English rock band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. It was written by lead guitarist

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

and originally released on 30 October 1995 as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the single " Wonderwall".

Writing and recording

The song was written by lead guitarist

and is sung by Noel, and features all band members except lead vocalist

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

and

Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan Paul Francis McGuigan (born 9 May 1971), known professionally as Guigsy (pronounced "Gwigzee"), is an English retired musician. He is best known as the bassist and co-founder of the British rock band Oasis. Career In the late 1980s, McGuigan st ...

(Noel Gallagher plays the bass himself on this track), in addition to an orchestra.

has regularly declared "The Masterplan" one of the best songs he has ever written. However, he regrets the fact that it was first released as a B-side, admitting he was "young and stupid" when he made that decision. He also claims that

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

boss

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

, upon hearing the song, told Noel it was "too good" to be a B-side. Noel reportedly replied, "Well, I don't write shit songs!". In 2020, he told ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'', "The singles had to have three B-sides and I was always coming up two songs short. I remember writing The Masterplan at home in Camden and then going to Maison Rouge tudiosin Fulham the next day and playing it on an acoustic guitar to silence. I'd write The Masterplan, Talk Tonight or Half The World Away and nobody would say, 'Do you want to hold that back?' It's only as the years have gone along that I've realised that was mental. But we were all mad in the '90s – Alan McGee was off his tits and he was running the label." The song also features a backwards guitar solo after the first chorus. Approximately 30 seconds from the end of the song, Noel can be heard (distortedly) singing the chorus from "

Octopus's Garden "Octopus's Garden" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written and sung by Ringo Starr (credited to his real name Richard Starkey), from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. George Harrison, who assisted Starr with the song, commented: ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Release

The song was first released as a

to the CD version of their hit single " Wonderwall" in October 1995. It also shares its name with the 1998 B-side compilation album, '' The Masterplan'', on which it is featured as the last track. "The Masterplan" is included in Oasis' compilation album '' Stop the Clocks'' and the '' Stop the Clocks'' EP in November 2006. A special

L. S. Lowry Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...

-inspired animated promotional video, complete with a swaggering Liam, was created to promote the album. The song was performed at the ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' concert in August 1996.

Music video

In the animated video, the band walk past Johnny Roadhouse Music, a music shop from which the Gallagher brothers regularly bought equipment at the beginning of their career. It also features on the soundtrack to the Spanish film ''La Mujer Más Fea del Mundo'' as well as in an episode of ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

''.

Track listing

* German promo CD (HES 4897) # "The Masterplan" (radio edit) – 3:39 # "The Masterplan" (album version) – 5:23

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass *

Paul Arthurs Paul Benjamin Arthurs (born 23 June 1965), known professionally as Bonehead, is an English musician. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the rock band Oasis. Early life Paul Benjamin Arthurs was ...

– piano * Alan White – drums, tambourine * Uncredited – orchestra

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masterplan, The Oasis (band) songs 1995 songs Songs written by Noel Gallagher Song recordings produced by Noel Gallagher