(What's the Story) Morning Glory?

Some Might Say was the first track written and recorded for the album, at Loco Studios in Wales between 24 and 26 February 1995. Tony McCarroll still drums on it. By 2 May Alan White had been found as his replacement, and on 8 May the band began recording at Rockfield Studios with Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher producing. They finished in June. Morris claimed it was made in 15 days, at a song a day, and later called the sessions the best, easiest and most happily creative time he had in a studio. Paul Weller joined to play lead guitar and sing backing vocals on Champagne Supernova, and to play harmonica on the two untitled tracks known as The Swamp Song. Noel wrote Cast No Shadow on the train back to the studio, for Richard Ashcroft. The title came from a friend of Noel's, Melissa Lim, who answered the phone with the phrase. Noel said that Definitely Maybe was about dreaming of being a pop star in a band, and this album about actually being one.

The cover shows Sean Rowley and Brian Cannon passing in Berwick Street in London, with Morris in the background holding the master tape. The album went in at number one in the UK in a record-breaking first week and spent ten weeks there in all. In the US it reached four and was certified 4 times platinum. Reviews at the time were lukewarm overall. Rolling Stone's Jon Wiederhorn called it "a bold leap forward", while Q's David Cavanagh found that the lyrics said nothing much about anything. It won Best British Album at the 1996 Brit Awards, and at the 2010 Brit Awards it was named the best British album of the previous thirty years.