{"id":3311,"date":"2025-10-07T13:51:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T13:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/countrymusictune.com\/?p=3311"},"modified":"2025-10-07T13:51:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T13:51:01","slug":"tales-from-rockfield-oasis-engineer-nick-brine-on-building-whats-the-story-morning-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/countrymusictune.com\/?p=3311","title":{"rendered":"Tales from Rockfield: Oasis engineer Nick Brine on building \u2018What\u2019s the Story Morning Glory\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sure, they\u2019ve had their ups and downs trying to become rock legends, but after\u00a0Definitely Maybe\u00a0<\/em>blows up, they\u2019ve come to Rockfield Studios with one mission: to make the best follow-up they can. And while the carnage was about to run rampant, Nick Brine was there to oversee both the tragic and transcendent moments.<\/p>\n

Then again, Brine had already been used to the storied history of Rockfield Studios before he even started working there. Having been given the keys after his first interview at only 16 years old, he had a piece of history waiting for him whenever he came to work. But for him, it may have been just another Tuesday most of the time.<\/p>\n

You see, when you\u2019re already close to Rockfield Studios, you get to know the clientele pretty quickly, with Brine saying, \u201cYou see all the bands walking around the town when you\u2019re growing up. You might bump into Robert Plant. My dad had the local taxi firm, so he\u2019d pick Robert Plant and take him home, so he was used to all of these rock stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, before most of us are done with our final exams, he was already a seasoned pro working with The Stone Roses before even meeting the cheeky lads from Manchester.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Tales<\/div>
(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still \/ Big Brother Recordings LTD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But for all of the storied history around all records of this magnitude, their turnaround rate was astonishing. They might have carried themselves as the kind of insane rock stars that wanted to party more than anyone, but tracking 15 songs in 15 days isn\u2019t the work of people who don\u2019t have a plan. Noel was laser-focused, and even if tunes like \u2018Some Might Say\u2019 were already in the can, there was a lot of work to be done before he had a masterpiece.<\/p>\n

When talking about the actual recording, Brine remembered all the layers that needed to be put on the record as well. Noel may have prided himself on keeping Oasis as a truly raw band when they first started mixing\u00a0Definitely Maybe,\u00a0<\/em>but even with that brickwalling technique Owen Morris put in, there was a lot more work to be done once they worked on everything from the segues of waves lapping on a beach to the birds singing at the start of the record before \u2018Hello\u2019 kicks in.<\/p>\n

Every critic would have called it self-indulgent, but Brine knew that if you took out so much as one guitar part, the entire thing would collapse. When working with a band trying to get those Oasis guitar sound, Brine knew they would be lost in the woods without all the layers, saying, \u201cI did a session for a studio in Brighton and the guitarist came in thinking he was gonna nail the parts and then I was like, \u2018No, no, that doesn\u2019t work unless you have this part.\u2019 It\u2019s much more obvious on\u00a0Be Here Now,\u00a0<\/em>but there are lots of layers on\u00a0What\u2019s the Story.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

And that kind of production is half of what makes the record shatter anyone\u2019s illusions of a sophomore slump. Noel already had enough tunes to last them all the way through to the next record, but even when they were beginning work at Rockfield, Noel was still testing out the basics of tracks like \u2018All Around the World\u2019 before saving it until he had the orchestra to work with.<\/p>\n

While Brine would have had a classic front row seat to hear when tracks like \u2018Wonderwall\u2019 and \u2018Don\u2019t Look Back In Anger\u2019 were taking shape, it\u2019s not like he was safe from the bad times as well. It took a lot of tolerance to rein in Noel and Liam in those days, and when the Great Battle of 1994 kicked off when Liam brought some \u201cfriends\u201d back from the pub, Brine was there to oversee everything.<\/p>\n

In traditional Oasis fashion, it was \u2018back to work\u2019 in no time, but it was far from the prettiest sight afterwards, with Brine recalling, \u201cThis massive high becomes this massive low that this body of work that\u2019s maybe going to change the course of music is never going to see the light of day now. Owen was completely oblivious to it. He wakes up to all this carnage. Smashed windows, smashed instruments, and a smashed up house. I think, deep down, it was like, \u2018This has happened before. They\u2019ll be fine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if it took the Gallaghers a little while to cool down, two brothers isn\u2019t the key to making a great album. Oasis were still a band, and while Alan White may have been the new boy at the time when he signed on for those sessions at Rockfield, Brine knew that the foundation of the band\u2019s sound at the time was always in Bonehead.<\/p>\n

While he credited \u2018Champagne Supernova\u2019 as the song that \u201ccements Liam\u2019s place in rock and roll history\u201d, he knew that the build of the tune wouldn\u2019t have been half of what it was were it not for Bonehead, saying, \u201cBonehead\u2019s doing all those rhythm guitars that you hear. There\u2019s Noel on bass on a couple of tracks as well. But Bonehead\u2019s got that style that needs [to be] in there, and Noel would layer with different sounds. And obviously with\u00a0Be Here Now\u00a0<\/em>that went to a whole new level.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a mix that had so many layers, though, it never loses its dynamics, either. Sure, there are tunes like \u2018Morning Glory\u2019 that are audio juggernauts when you listen to them, but the beauty of the album is how well-paced the downtempo tunes are as well, like the Pink Floyd-esque slide guitar on \u2018Cast No Shadow\u2019 or only needing a few basic elements to turn \u2018Wonderwall\u2019 into the cultural touchstone it is today.<\/p>\n

It was a hectic few weeks, no doubt, but when looking at the final version, they had crafted one of the best tracklists anyone has ever opened with. The whole thing could have practically been labelled as a greatest hits record and no one would have batted an eye, but for Brine, there was still more work to be done.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Tales<\/div>
(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still \/ Big Brother Recordings LTD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Be Here Now\u00a0<\/em>was a few years around the corner, and in between working with other artists like Teenage FanClub and The Verve, it was a much different ball game when working with Oasis on their magnum opus. His first outing with them was Oasis on the rise, and when they went to Abbey Road Studios for the third record, Brine said that they were more worried about the tapes getting stolen every day they were working.<\/p>\n

Even if\u00a0Be Here Now\u00a0<\/em>was given the public lambasting it got, the world kept turning for Brine, and his work with everyone from Robbie Williams to The Darkness to Arctic Monkeys cemented his place in rock and roll history as well. And while there are many acts who have tried to capture the same spirit as Oasis since then, Brine remembered that Arctic Monkeys were among the few that came the closest when seeing them in the flesh.<\/p>\n

The Verve had been seen as equals compared to Oasis, but as far as Brine was concerned, that rock and roll magic was alive and well when he first met Arctic Monkeys, saying, \u201cWhen they came in, I was doing the pre-production for\u00a0Humbug,\u00a0<\/em>which they would give to Josh Homme to produce. I set them up in a circle, and when they started playing, immediately it sounded like Arctic Monkeys. It\u2019s just fantastic. No one else sounds like them and it\u2019s just immediate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others might manage to equal what Oasis did, but there\u2019s a reason why no one has managed to surpass what they had done. They were ready to make albums for the ages at this point in their career, and while it can get a bit grating listening to some of their more overplayed material,\u00a0What\u2019s the Story Morning Glory\u00a0<\/em>is proof that overplaying exists for a reason.<\/p>\n

People need to remember why they felt so alive back in their heyday, and in those few days with the band, Brine is both proud to be their partner in crime alongside Morris as they worked their way into rock and roll folklore. None of them planned to have one of the most successful records in British history, but albums only achieve that when the rest of the world lets the album into their hearts.<\/p>\n

\n