The Masterplan

The Masterplan is a 1998 B-sides compilation by Oasis, collecting fourteen tracks from the band's most fertile creative period, spanning 1994 to 1997. Released on 2 November 1998 by Creation Records, it arrived approximately a year after the commercially successful but critically polarizing Be Here Now and served as a reminder that during their peak years, Oasis routinely consigned songs of album quality, or better, to the B-side slot.

The collection opens with "Acquiesce," widely regarded as one of the band's finest recordings, and closes with the title track, which Noel Gallagher has called his favorite song he ever wrote. Between them sit fan favorites including "Talk Tonight," "Half the World Away," and "Rockin' Chair." The sequencing gives the album a coherent emotional arc from anthemic energy to philosophical reflection.

The compilation reached No. 2 in the UK albums chart and sold approximately three million copies worldwide. NME's James Oldham called it Oasis's "third best album." Melody Maker named it the year's best compilation. It was released at a moment when the band's mainstream credibility was at its lowest ebb, and it functioned as a corrective document: proof that during their 1994 to 1997 run, Oasis were producing extraordinary music even for their throwaway releases.

Critically, the record helped establish that the B-side format, as practiced by Noel Gallagher, was not a dumping ground but a deliberate artistic parallel track, one that rewarded dedicated fans with genuinely new and complete songs rather than remixes or fragments. It has since been certified platinum multiple times in the UK and continues to attract new listeners.