“Slide Away” by Oasis

Tucked in at track ten on Definitely Maybe, the 1994 Oasis debut, "Slide Away" is Noel Gallagher with his heart wide open. He wrote it on a Gibson Les Paul that Johnny Marr had sent him, back when he had precious few guitars of his own, and by his telling the song more or less wrote itself. The subject was his girlfriend Louise Jones and their stormy relationship; they split that June.

Liam sings it like his life hangs on it, Noel shadows him on backing vocals, and the band pile in: Noel and Paul Arthurs on guitars, Paul McGuigan on bass, Tony McCarroll on drums, Owen Morris on the mix. It only ever went out as a promo single in some territories and as a B-side on "Whatever" and "Champagne Supernova", yet fans and critics rank it among the band's best. The Guardian put it second on its list.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.