The album's release alongside Blur's The Great Escape came at the height of the so-called "Battle of Britpop", a primarily media-spurned pitting of the more classic rock-focused, working-class northern band Oasis against the musically more eclectic band Blur, composed of middle-class men from the south of England. The conflict was, at times, a real phenomenon between the two bands, but overall it was largely a constructed rivalry by the media based on their shared chart-topper status and the marketability of competition. Released around the same time as (What's the Story?) Morning Glory, The Great Escape was initially widely praised by critics, far more so than Oasis' effort. However, the tide quickly changed in favour of Oasis, and the five-star reviews allotted to Blur were withdrawn and even, in the case of Q magazine, even apologised for. It has been widely acknowledged that the change in favourability from Blur to Oasis was based on profitability from backing the more commercially successful album; BBC Music writer James McMahon recalled how the "critical euphoria" surrounding the album lasted "about as long as it took publishers to realise Oasis would probably shift more magazines for them". Despite the generally positive feeling towards Oasis' album nonetheless, the media switch to Oasis has led to the band's critical acclaim being questioned in the years since the media-encouraged cultural wars of Britpop died down. Additionally, the critical lauding awarded by numerous critics to Oasis out of a desire to grow sales of their own publications, rather than genuinely reviewing the album for its strengths and weaknesses alone, is recognised as a leading factor in the alleged "over-hype" of Morning Glory's follow up Be Here Now.