All Around the World (Oasis song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"All Around the World"
Single by Oasis
from the album Be Here Now
B-side
Released12 January 1998 (1998-01-12)
GenreBritpop
Length
  • 9:20 (album version)
  • 9:38 (single version)
  • 4:51 (edit)
LabelCreation
Songwriter(s)Noel Gallagher
Producer(s)
Oasis singles chronology
"Stand by Me"
(1997) 		"All Around the World"
(1998) 		"Don't Go Away"
(1998)
Music video
"All Around the World" on YouTube
Be Here Now track listing
12 tracks
  1. "D'You Know What I Mean?"
  2. "My Big Mouth"
  3. "Magic Pie"
  4. "Stand by Me"
  5. "I Hope, I Think, I Know"
  6. "The Girl in the Dirty Shirt"
  7. "Fade In-Out"
  8. "Don't Go Away"
  9. "Be Here Now"
  10. "All Around the World"
  11. "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)"
  12. "All Around the World (Reprise)"

"All Around the World" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was written by the band's lead guitarist and principal songwriter Noel Gallagher. Released on 12 January 1998 as the third single from their third studio album, Be Here Now (1997), it is the longest song ever recorded by Oasis. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the longest song ever to reach number one, and earned a Gold certification. This was the last Oasis single to be released on the Creation Records label. The song also reached number one in Ireland and peaked at number 15 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Nearly ten minutes long, the song is embellished with string and horn pieces, and is followed by the two-minute-long instrumental "All Around the World (Reprise)". Upon its release, the reviews were generally positive. As with many Oasis songs (such as "Whatever", "Acquiesce", "Live Forever") it sends the message that "everything's gonna be okay". This was their last UK single to feature rhythm guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and bassist Paul McGuigan before they left the band in 1999.

History[edit]

The song was one of the first to be written by Noel, and there are recorded sessions of the band rehearsing it at the Boardwalk club as early as 1992. However, despite Noel's fondness for the song, it did not appear on their first two albums—Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory?—as he wanted to wait until the band could afford to produce the song in the extravagant manner in which it eventually appeared. Gallagher has claimed that this is one of the best songs he has ever written.[citation needed]

The final production sound for the song was envisaged as early as spring 1994. In the interview "Wibbling Rivalry," Noel Gallagher said of the song, "With Supersonic, I worried I was never going to write another song after that 'cos I thought, 'It sounds that good'... Two days later I superseded it by about 50 fuckin' times. The reason we haven't recorded that song is because there isn't enough money in Creation Records' bank balance to pay for the production of that record." Noel also added when asked if there would be an orchestra on it, "Orchestras, man? It's not got to be one, it's got to be two".[1]

The final version premiered on 11 August 1997 on BBC Radio 1's The Evening Session hosted by Steve Lamacq, ten days before the release of the album, alongside the album tracks "The Girl in the Dirty Shirt" and "Be Here Now".

Noel described the song shortly before the release of the album: "I wrote this one ages ago, before 'Whatever'. It was twelve minutes long then. It was a matter of being able to afford to record it. But now we can get away with the 36-piece orchestra. And the longer the better as far as I'm concerned. If it's good. I can see what people are going to say, but fuck 'em, basically."[2]

"The lyrics are teeny-poppy. But there are three key changes towards the end. Imagine how much better Hey Jude would have been with three key changes towards the end. I like the ambition of it, all that time ago. What was all that about when we didn't even have our first single out? Gin and tonics, eh?"[2]

The harmonica pieces on the track were performed by Mark Feltham. Backing vocals were provided by Noel and Liam's then-wives, Meg Mathews and Patsy Kensit, along with Richard Ashcroft of The Verve.[citation needed]

When it was suggested (by Dominic Mohan) that Oasis take legal action against pop band Hear'Say for their first single's ("Pure and Simple") similarity to "All Around the World", Noel simply laughed at the hypocrisy of such an act from a man who was famous for "borrowing" from other artists.[3][4] Portions of the song's chorus were used as background music for AT&T's advertising campaign for "The New AT&T" after their merger with SBC.[5]

Reprise[edit]

A two-minute, ten-second instrumental reprise of the song closes the Be Here Now album.

Critical reception[edit]

British Music Week gave "All Around the World" four out of five, writing, "Another slice of wall of sound from the Gallagher brothers [...]. Obviously inspired by The Beatles' "Hey Jude", this is typically catchy and destined to become another classic sing-along Oasis hit."[6]

Music video[edit]

Keeping with the feel of the song, the music video was also a lavish affair. Featuring the band in a yellow spaceship, the animated piece saw them travel through a world akin to The Beatles' Yellow Submarine film.[citation needed] The video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris[7] and took 24 computer animators and 6 months to make.

Track listings[edit]

  • UK 7-inch and cassette single[8][9]
  1. "All Around the World" (7-inch edit)
  2. "The Fame"
  1. "All Around the World"
  2. "The Fame"
  3. "Flashbax"
  4. "Street Fighting Man" (Jagger/Richards)
  • UK 12-inch single[12]
  1. "All Around the World"
  2. "The Fame"
  3. "Flashbax"

Personnel[edit]

Oasis

Additional musicians

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 12 January 1998
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Creation [36]
United States Modern rock radio Epic [37]
United Kingdom 19 January 1998 12-inch vinyl Creation [38]
Japan 14 January 1998 CD Epic [39]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Wibblling Rivalry". musixtation.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Be Here Now – Q Magazine". musicfanclubs.org.
  3. ^ "When it comes to songwriting, there's a fine line between inspiration and plagiarism". The Independent. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Noel & Liam Gallagher Interview". Q. 1 May 2002.
  5. ^ "Big ad campaign to usher in new AT&T". CNET. 29 December 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 January 1998. p. 14. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Oasis – "All around the world"". mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  8. ^ All Around the World (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Oasis. Creation Records. 1998. CRE 282.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ All Around the World (UK cassette single sleeve). Oasis. Creation Records. 1998. CRECS 282.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ All Around the World (UK CD single liner notes). Oasis. Creation Records. 1998. CRESCD 282.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ All Around the World (Australian CD single liner notes). Oasis. Helter Skelter Records. 1998. 665362 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ All Around the World (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Oasis. Creation Records. 1998. CRE 282T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 206.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3469." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 5. 31 January 1998. p. 13. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Oasis: All Around the World" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Oasis – All Around the World" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 6. 7 February 1998. p. 11. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (19.2 – 26.2. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 20 February 1998. p. 26. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  20. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – All Around the World". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Hits of the World – Italy" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 8. 21 February 1998. p. 50. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 8, 1998" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Oasis – All Around the World" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  24. ^ "Oasis – All Around the World". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  25. ^ "Oasis – All Around the World". VG-lista. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  27. ^ "Oasis – All Around the World". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  29. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  30. ^ "Oasis Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100 – Vinsælustu Lögin '98". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1999. p. 34. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1997". Music Week. 17 January 1998. p. 27.
  33. ^ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1998 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  34. ^ "Most Played Modern Rock Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. 25 December 1998. p. 36.
  35. ^ "British single certifications – Oasis – All Around the World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  36. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 10 January 1998. p. 16.
  37. ^ "Upcoming New Releases". Hits. Vol. 12, no. 575. 9 January 1998. p. 34.
  38. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 17 January 1998. p. 35.
  39. ^ "Oasis | Artist Information". Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Archived from the original on 7 April 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=All_Around_the_World_(Oasis_song)&oldid=1210503743"