Ah, Oasis. Over-hyped in the early 90's (and almost rightfully so), and under-appreciated now. After hitting it big with their debut album, Definitely Maybe, they set to prove themselves with their (extremely hyped at the time) second release. Sophomore slump? Hellz naw! (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is the second release from the British band of accused Beatles-wannabes, and their absolute peak (keeping in mind I have yet to purchase Standing on the Shoulders of Giants) as musicians.

"Hello," while being a nice way to greet someone, and the perfect title for an opener, is also the perfect opening song. Comes out rockin' hard and steady and distortion and effects abound. "Roll with It," like "Shakermaker" on Definitely Maybe, is a softer rocker compared to "Hello" and "Rock 'n' Roll Star," respectively. And, keeping with that formula, "Wonderwall" is a ballad in the same place "Live Forever" was before it. Crazy world, huh?

But while the song structure of the album might have similarities, everything here is bigger. Louder guitars. Bigger ballads. Better riffs. More skillful vocals. Everything here simply comes off better, making this an easy classic. Every song is a highlight for one reason or another. The soft songs aren't soft enough to kill the roughness of the hard songs, and the hard songs aren't tough enough to make the emotions of the soft songs fake.

Are there weak points? Yes. Two instrumental tracks that, at least to me, sound similar. But how long are they? About 40 seconds each, so I'm not going to throw anything at them. Besides, track 11 provides a link between the heaviness of "Morning Glory" and the bombastic "Champagne Supernova," which is a nice effect.

I don't mean to make this my most glowing review, ever, but I truly cannot think of a bad thing to say about this album. Every song stands up well on its own, explaining the lack of a song-by-song review from me. Everything is sequenced perfectly, so I can't complain about that, either. The largest criticism I can throw at it is its similarities to Definitely Maybe. "She's Electric," for example, sounds like a rewrite of "Digsy's Diner." But who really cares? Definitely Maybe was a great album, and copying it is excusable if the resulting CD exceeds it.

Not quite the best album ever, but a sure-fire contender for best rock album of the 90's.