Lord Don't Slow Me Down (song)

"Lord Don't Slow Me Down"
Single by Oasis
B-side
Released21 October 2007[1]
Recorded2004–2005
GenreRock[2]
Length3:17
LabelBig Brother
SongwriterNoel Gallagher
ProducersDave Sardy, Noel Gallagher
Oasis singles chronology
"Let There Be Love"
(2005) 		"Lord Don't Slow Me Down"
(2007) 		"The Shock of the Lightning"
(2008)
Music video
"Oasis - Lord Don't Slow Me Down (Official Video)" on YouTube

"Lord Don't Slow Me Down" is a song by English rock band Oasis. The song was released as a digital-only single on 21 October 2007 and was also issued as a limited-edition promotional 12-inch single in promotion of the release of Oasis' rockumentary of the same name, Lord Don't Slow Me Down.[1][3][4] The song debuted at number ten in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Oasis' 21st UK top 10 and first single by the band not to reach the top 4 since 1994's "Cigarettes & Alcohol".[5] It was also Oasis' first stand-alone non-album single since "Whatever" in 1994.[6]

Written and sung by Noel Gallagher, the song was recorded during the Don't Believe the Truth sessions and later included on the bonus disc edition of Dig Out Your Soul and on the compilation Time Flies... 1994–2009.[7][8][9][10] Oasis never played the song live while the band was together, but Noel Gallagher has since performed it with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.[11][12]

Background and recording

The song appears to date from the period after Heathen Chemistry; in early 2004, Noel Gallagher told NME that "Lord Don't Slow Me Down" was one of the songs that would "definitely appear" on the next Oasis album.[7] By late 2006, however, Gallagher was speaking of "a full unreleased album of stuff from Don't Believe the Truth that was scrapped", indicating that a substantial amount of material from those sessions had been left behind.[8]

When the song was finally issued in 2007, Gallagher described it as "one of the best things, like The Who, The Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group combined, and it's got two drum solos on it!". Commenting further on the decision to release it, he said: "You know there's a DVD coming out for Christmas... somewhat predictably. The title track was so brilliant that the powers that be said 'let's just put it out'."[13] According to later retrospective commentary, Gallagher's then-girlfriend also thought that it was the only Oasis song one could dance to.[14]

In May 2008, an unreleased studio version with Liam Gallagher on lead vocals was leaked online.[15]

Release

The song was announced as Oasis' "first ever digital release" in September 2007, ahead of the issue of the Lord Don't Slow Me Down DVD.[16]

The track was released on 21 October 2007 as a digital-only single, with live versions of "The Meaning of Soul" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" as B-sides.[1] A one-sided 12-inch promotional pressing was later used to help promote the DVD release in Manchester.[17]

Reception

The song was well received by critics. Uncut wrote that "the days of being 'caught beneath the landslide' may be long gone, but 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' is proof that Oasis' wayward spirit remains".[18] Later retrospective assessments were also positive: in 2020, The Guardian described the song as a "stand-alone single" that offered "fruitful, grimy repurposing" of the riff from the Yardbirds' version of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man", filtered through David Bowie's "The Jean Genie" and Sweet's "Block Buster!".[19] In 2024, Rolling Stone called it a "mod-rock thunderbolt".[2]

The single debuted at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, fell 21 places to number 31 in the second week, and left the chart the week after its third week in the Top 100.[5][20][21] It became Oasis' lowest-charting single since 1994's "Live Forever" (which also peaked at number 10), a result commonly attributed to the lack of a conventional physical single and the fact that it was not tied to a current studio album.[22]

Music video

The official video, directed by Baillie Walsh, was released to promote both the single and the Lord Don't Slow Me Down DVD.[23][24]

Live performances

Oasis never played "Lord Don't Slow Me Down" live while the band was active.[11] Noel Gallagher later introduced the song into the setlists of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, first performing it at Sandance Beach in Dubai on 15 March 2013.[12] Setlist statistics indicate that he performed it twice with that band in 2013.[25]

Track listing

  1. "Lord Don't Slow Me Down" – 3:17
  2. "The Meaning of Soul" (live at City of Manchester Stadium, 2 July 2005) – 2:32
  3. "Don't Look Back in Anger" (live at City of Manchester Stadium, 2 July 2005) – 5:38

Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[5] 10

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lord Don't Slow Me Down". Oasis. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b Rolling Stone Staff (31 August 2024). "The 40 Best Oasis Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Oasis releasing brand new single 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'". NME. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  4. ^ "Oasis offer hometown fans special treat with DVD release". NME. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b c "Official Singles Chart on 28/10/2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Oasis releasing brand new single 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'". NME. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Noel Gallagher – NME – 3rd January 2004". Oasis Interviews Archive. 3 January 2004. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Noel Gallagher – The Courier-Mail – 15th November 2006". Oasis Interviews Archive. 15 November 2006. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Oasis Cancel NYC Show, Share LP Info, School Buskers". Pitchfork. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Time Flies… 1994–2009". Oasis. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. ^ a b "Lord Don't Slow Me Down by Oasis song statistics". setlist.fm. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Concert Setlist at Sandance Beach, Dubai on March 15, 2013". setlist.fm. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  13. ^ "Noel Gallagher: 'Somewhat predictably our new single is brilliant'". NME. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  14. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (4 September 2024). "The 40 Best Oasis Songs". Rolling Stone AU/NZ. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  15. ^ "The 6 Oasis non-album tracks you need to hear". MusicRadar. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Oasis releasing brand new single 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'". NME. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Oasis offer hometown fans special treat with DVD release". NME. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Oasis – Lord Don't Slow Me Down". Uncut. 26 October 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  19. ^ "Oasis's greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  20. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 04/11/2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  21. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 11/11/2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Noel Gallagher: 'Somewhat predictably our new single is brilliant'". NME. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  23. ^ "Oasis - Lord Don't Slow Me Down (Official Video)". YouTube. Oasis. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Lord Don't Slow Me Down (DVD / Blu-ray)". Oasis. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  25. ^ "Artists covered by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds". setlist.fm. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
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