Roll with It (Oasis song)

"Roll with It" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It was released on 14 August 1995 by Creation as the second single (the lead single being "Some Might Say") from their second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). In a highly publicised chart battle with Blur's single "Country House" dubbed "The Battle of Britpop," "Roll with It" reached number two on the UK singles chart.^[4]

"Roll with It"
Single by Oasis
from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
B-side	"It's Better People" "Rockin' Chair"
Released	14 August 1995 (1995-08-14)
Studio	Rockfield (Monmouth, Wales)
Genre	Rock[1][2] Britpop stadium rock[3]
Length	3:59
Label	Creation
Songwriter(s)	Noel Gallagher
Producer(s)	Owen Morris Noel Gallagher
Oasis singles chronology
"Some Might Say" (1995) "Roll with It" (1995) "Morning Glory" (1995)
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? track listing
12 tracks "Hello" "Roll with It" "Wonderwall" "Don't Look Back in Anger" "Hey Now!" Untitled "Some Might Say" "Cast No Shadow" "She's Electric" "Morning Glory" Untitled "Champagne Supernova"
Music video
"Oasis - Roll With It (Official HD Remastered Video)" on YouTube

'Battle' with Blur

"Roll with It" received a great deal of attention when Food Records, the label of Britpop rivals Blur, moved the original release date of the single "Country House" to beat it on the charts, sparking what came to be known as "The Battle of Britpop".^[5] The British media had already reported an intense rivalry between the two bands and this clash of releases was seen as a battle for the number one spot. The media sensation was spurred on by verbal attacks from the respective camps (in particular Noel and Liam Gallagher, Damon Albarn and Alex James), that extended beyond the music industry to the point where the two bands were regularly mentioned on the evening news.^[5] In particular, public imagination was sparked by the contrast between the "working class" Oasis and the "middle class" Blur. In the end, Blur's "Country House" single sold 274,000 copies to Oasis' 216,000 copies of "Roll with It". The singles charted at number 1 and number 2 respectively.^[6]

In 2019, Noel Gallagher reflected on the battle on Dermot O'Leary's Reel Stories, dismissing both songs as "shit". He suggested that a chart race between Oasis's "Cigarettes & Alcohol" and Blur's "Girls & Boys" would have had greater merit: "'Roll With It' has never been played by anybody since the band split up".^[7]

Critical reception

The AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described "Roll with It" as "an assured stadium rocker that unabashedly steals the crown from Status Quo".^[3] David Stubbs from Melody Maker wrote, "This isn't the mounting cascade of manna and adrenalin that was "Some Might Say" or "Acquiesce". It's subdued by comparison, a light shower after that musical thunderstorm, something for us to kick through the puddles to until their next mighty moment of precipitous pop. Rolling along, marking time, fair enough."^[8] Mark Sutherland from NME said, "Have no fear, you will la-la-la-like it. It is, after all, a pretty good record."^[9] Andrew Harrison from Select commented, "Oasis' weakest single, but still far from the Quo travesty of legend, even if the song might conjure visions of flying wetlook perms."^[10]

Top of the Pops performance

When Oasis played "Roll with It" on chart show Top of the Pops on 17 August 1995, they were required to mime the song, and in doing so the Gallagher brothers switched roles with Liam pretending to play guitar and Noel pretending to sing (equipped with Liam's tambourine).^[11]

Marketing

The single artwork features a photograph of the band on the beach at Weston-super-Mare. Many potential locations were examined along the Somerset and Avon coastline (Oasis were playing Glastonbury that weekend, so a beach within striking distance of the festival site had to be found).^[12]

Themes

The song is like several other Oasis songs, such as "Supersonic", in that it preaches the importance of being oneself.

Track listing

UK CD single (CRESCD 212)[13] "Roll with It" "It's Better People" "Rockin' Chair" "Live Forever" (Live at Glastonbury '95) UK 7-inch single (CRE 212)[14] A. "Roll with It" B. "It's Better People" UK 12-inch single (CRE 212T)[15] A1. "Roll with It" B1. "It's Better People" B2. "Rockin' Chair"

UK cassette single (CRECS 212)[16] "Roll with It" "It's Better People" Australian CD single (662325 5)[17] "Roll with It" "Talk Tonight" "Acquiesce" "Headshrinker" Note 1: "Headshrinker" was a B-side of the band's previous UK single "Some Might Say" and was one of the last tracks to feature original Oasis drummer Tony McCarroll. Note 2: "Live Forever" was recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival on 23 June 1995.

Personnel

• Liam Gallagher – lead vocals, tambourine
• Noel Gallagher – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Paul Arthurs – rhythm guitar
• Paul McGuigan – bass guitar
• Alan White – drums, percussion

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995–1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[18] 48 Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[19] 17 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[20] 6 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] 5 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[22] 3 Ireland (IRMA)[23] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[24] 18 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 17 Scotland (OCC)[26] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 3 UK Singles (OCC)[28] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[29] 45 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 86 UK Singles (OCC)[31] 20

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Platinum	600,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	14 August 1995	7-inch vinyl CD cassette	Creation	[33]
Japan	7 September 1995	CD	Epic	[34]

References

1. "Oasis' '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' at 20: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review". Billboard.
2. "(What's the Story) Morning Glory? By Oasis – Classic Rock Review". 13 February 2016.
3. "Roll with It – Oasis | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic.
4. "Oasis — Roll with It — Listen and discover music at Last.fm". 16 March 2024.
5. "When Blur beat Oasis in the battle of Britpop". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
6. "BBC – Seven Ages of Rock – Events – Blur vs Oasis". BBC.
7. "Noel Gallagher". Reel Stories. 23 June 2019. 9–10 minutes in. BBC Two. British Broadcasting Corporation.
8. Stubbs, David (12 August 1995). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 32. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
9. Sutherland, Mark (12 August 1995). "Singles". NME. p. 39. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
10. Harrison, Andrew (November 1995). "New Albums". Select. p. 98. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
11. "Oasis Make A Mockery Of Top Of The Pops As Nirvana Did". FeelNumb.com. 6 October 2009.
12. "Oasis – Microdot Creative".
13. Roll with It (UK CD single liner notes). Oasis. Creation Records. 1995. CRESCD 212.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Roll with It (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Oasis. Creation Records. 1995. CRE 212.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. Roll with It (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Oasis. Creation Records. 1995. CRE 212T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
16. Roll with It (UK cassette single sleeve). Oasis. Creation Records. 1995. CRECS 212.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. Roll with It (Australian CD single liner notes). Oasis. Helter Skelter. 1995. 662325 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
18. "Oasis – Roll with It". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
19. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9925." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
20. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 36. 9 September 1995. p. 9. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
21. "Oasis: Roll with It" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
22. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (30.9. '95 – 6.10. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 30 September 1995. p. 24. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Roll with It". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
24. "Oasis – Roll with It". VG-lista. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
25. "Oasis – Roll with It". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
26. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
27. "Oasis – Roll with It". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
29. "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1996. p. 25. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
30. "Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
31. "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
32. "British single certifications – Oasis – Roll with It". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
33. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 12 August 1995. p. 39.
34. "Oasis | Artist Information". Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Archived from the original on 7 April 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2023.