"Cast No Shadow" is a song by English rock band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment (What's the Story) Morning Glory? ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' is the second studio album by the English Rock music, rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records, it was produced by Owen Morris and the group's lead guitarist and chief ...

''.

Background

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...

wrote the song for his friend

Richard Ashcroft Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He formed the alternative rock band the Verve in 1990 and served as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist throughout the band's lifetime. Ashcroft was ...

, lead singer of

The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Sim ...

; in the

sleeve notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the progra ...

of the album, Gallagher dedicated the song "to the genius of Richard Ashcroft". Ashcroft later said that he considered the song to be "a great honour". "Cast No Shadow" was originally intended to be a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, but this changed when the song turned out to be better than expected. "Cast No Shadow" was the last song written for the album; the track was composed by Gallagher while he was riding the train to return to the recording studio in Wales. Gallagher referred to the song's lyrics as "the best words I ever wrote."

Musical style and reception

Gallagher initially wanted the song to sound like

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

, particularly their album ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

'' and its title track, which shared the same opening chords as "Cast No Shadow". Kenneth Partridge of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine called the song a "sparkly blues-tinged ballad." Music critic Derek B. Scott remarked, "a

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

-influenced

vocal harmony Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical ...

that includes

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

and echoing of words is heard in 'Cast No Shadow'". Nathan Stephens-Griffin from the band

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

stated about the song, "compared to some of the more classic Britpoppy ones, it has a really cool melancholy, dark, epic vibe." The magazine ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' said that the song "was an uncharacteristically gentle reflection on his oel Gallagher'sdifficulties with expressing any deep emotion, both personally and in his lyrics."

Personnel

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

– lead vocals, tambourine *

– lead acoustic guitar, bass,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

EBow The EBow is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It was invented by the American guitarist Greg Heet in 1969 and introduced in 1976. The EBow uses a pickup and a magnetic feedback circuit to ...

, backing vocals *

Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs Paul Benjamin Arthurs (born 23 June 1965), better known as Bonehead, is an English musician. He is best known as the co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Oasis, playing with the band from its inception in 1991 until his departure in ...

– acoustic guitar * Alan White – drums, percussion

Certifications

"Cast No Shadow" was certified Silver in the UK; along with "

She's Electric "She's Electric" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It is the ninth track on their 1995 album ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' Background "She's Electric" was taken from Oasis' 1995 album ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' It was inte ...

" (2x Platinum), it is one of the two non-singles on the album which received a certification.

References

{{Oasis Oasis (band) songs Songs written by Noel Gallagher Song recordings produced by Noel Gallagher 1995 songs