Oasis - Stop the Clocks

The review of a 'best of' compilation is not the review of a career. As 'best of' compilations go, 'Stop the Clocks' is not at all badly assembled. There are some brave and surprising singles left out - Shakermaker, or Whatever - replaced by b-sides and album tracks, from the over-rated but popular The Masterplan to the glory that was Champagne Supernova.

That last 'was' is crucial, though, because it betrays the extent to which Oasis (and there can be no fear of cliché in this instance) were a phenomenon – cultural, musical, and personal. This is not nostalgia. One example: the joyous nihilism of Cigarettes & Alcohol should not play directly after the hard-earned romance of Slide Away (in the original, a last 'Definitely' before the final 'Maybe'), as it tries to here. A phenomenon, no matter how thoughtfully the project is attempted, cannot be re-packaged. [RJ Thomson]