While this writer is certainly not alone in believing that next year's Oasis reunion is the worst-kept secret in the music biz, what remains to be determined, at least publicly, is which version of Oasis the fans will be getting when the "fightin' Gallaghers" (not to be confused with those on the Showtime TV show "Shameless").set aside their differences and hit the stage together for the first time since parting ways in 2009.
In the seven years since announcing that he "could not go on working with Liam a day longer", Noel Gallagher has released two UK #1 albums under the name Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds while Liam carried on with the remaining members of Oasis, releasing two albums under the new name Beady Eye before Liam disbanded the group in 2014.
Of course, magazines such as Melody Maker and NME have continued to print anything and everything they can about Liam and Noel, turning even the smallest quip into the largest font headline, in hopes of being the first to run the story that announces the eventual reformation of England's biggest 90's band.
Trailer for the official Oasis documentary "Supersonic", coming Octyober 7!
The only thing yet to be determined is "Which version of Oasis are the fans gonna get?"
On one hand, it would make the most sense (and take the least work) to reunite the 2009 Oasis line-up, aka "The Ringers", with Gem Archer (formerly of Creation Records act Heavy Stereo), Andy Bell (formerly of Ride), and Chris Sharrock (formerly of Icicle Works, the La's, World Party, and the Lightning Seeds, among others), but what's the fun in that?
What true die-hard fans of the band want - besides both Gallaghers standing on the same stage at the same time, with or without throttling each other - is f[r Noel and Liam to bring back the original Oasis .
That's right, we want to see "Guigsy" (Paul McGuigan), "Bonehead" (Paul Arthurs), and Alan White resume their rightful places in the band. After all, if they were good enough to play on the band's first three mega-classic albums Definitely Maybe, What's The Story (Morning Glory), and Be Here Now, they've earned the same right to participate in this big-dollar victory lap as Liam or Noel.
Arthurs remains in playing shape, having played in numerous bands and projects since leaving Oasis, his most recent being Phoneys And The Freaks, who released a fiery EP on the Cherry Red label in 2014. McGuigan may be the tougher prospect, as it appears he has done little to nothing musically since leaving Oasis, but, hey, he was a passable bassist at best anyway. What's needed most from him is the chemistry that he brought to the band.
While reuniting the "classic" version of the band may sound like a long shot, anything less will be akin to seeing a "reunited GNR" with Buckethead and Richard Fortus instead of Slash and Izzy.