Post by tommyjohnson on Mar 6, 2011 1:10:24 GMT
The long running feud of the two warring Gallaghers gave way in August 2009, for Noel it had all become too much and after smashed guitars and cancelled gigs he wanted away from Liam and his fellow bandmates.
Despite it being Noel's decision to up sticks and head into a musical life along, the first move has been made by 'that lairy singer' and so I give to you Liam Gallagher's second coming - Different Gear, Still Speeding (7/10).
Firstly however I must point out that this is not a 'solo effort' or a 'project' but a brand new band featuring Gallagher himself along with Gem Archer, Andy Bell & Chris Sharrock. The love child of Oasis was born pretty much that night, and since the band has written, re-worked, demoed and now recorded 13 tracks that make up the debut album which is released 18 months to the day after the split.
The first track Four Letter Word takes you nowhere new, I would forgive you for being fooled that this was merely Oasis. Heavy power chords and Liam's snarl leading the way, possibly not the track you expected to hear at the start of the new revolution but a good track nonetheless.
The 'Oasis Mk.II' label is well and truley shaken after this with the country acoustic jam, Millionaire which was written about Salavdor Dali after guitarist Andy Bell took a road trip in Spain and The Roller, a piano driven song that bares a close resemblence to 'Instant Karma' & 'All You Need Is Love'. By this point you can now see that the shackles have been broken and Beady Eye are free to do whatever they like.
The surprisingly 'The Who' orientated Beatles and Stones and Wind Up Dream kick up a pace with the later having a glam rock feel about it before the album shifts genres again into the Jerry Lee Lewis inspired Bring The Light. This was first released in late 2010 as a teaser for Beady Eye fans and focuses heavily on a piano rock'n'roll riff. An important point to mention at this point is that true to their Beatles homage, all songwriting credits have been listed as Gallagher/Archer/Bell, with the band insisting from day one that they are now a democracy, the two finger up in the air and firmly pointing at Noel Gallagher.
The album is sprinkled with influences from the early 50's up to the late 90's. The most recent influence being The La's on track number 7, For Anyone is a summery jingle with a simple guitar chord progression and light drumming by Chris Sharrock, who was actually formerly of The La's. Only 2 minutes long and in a similar vein to Songbird, Gallagher seems to be opening up for once and proving its not all dark in his world. Kill For A Dream is the closest this band comes to an Oasis-style hands in the air singalong but the song flatters to deceive with a build up into a more than ordinary chorus. The lyrics however are much the opposite, 'Life's too short not to forgive, you can carry regrets but they wont let you live. I'm hear if you wanna call'. Some have already been linking these and others lyrics from the album to the breakup, but the band remain certain that this is not the case with several tracks being written well before Oasis was no more.
Standing On The Edge Of The Noise comes and goes within 3 minutes and barely leaves a mark but for the incredibly catchy chorus. Stacked again with glam guitars but this time a very rough production and distorted vocals, this is one of the albums lower moments but will no doubt star once the band hit the road. From this point on however the band and the album really begins to find its feet.
Wigwam is three songs puzzled together into a 6 minute psychedelic blur starting of with lyrics related to drinking and gambling but then with a steady drumbeat kicks into a trance with Liam singing 'I'm coming up' over and over until the song fades out, by far the best vocal on the album.
Three Ring Circus is a bluesy rocker reminiscent of Oasis but is taken to a different level with the backwards guitar solo before the albums swansong The Beat Goes On. The closest that this band or possibly any other band will get to The Beatles, the song is littered with poetry and sentiments 'its not the end of the world, its not even the end of the day' before heading into a chorus that even MJ would be proud of. The words are clear, 'So long, so long. Someday all the world will sing my song. Still life remains, somewhere in my heart the beat goes on'.
The final track of the record has 'Looking Glass' written all over it. The Morning Son begins with an acoustic strum and Liam yet again singing lyrics that could be linked with his brother and that infamous break-up, 'You'll never know, unless you try. Your blinded by what, you idolise'. But half way through the track explodes into life, slide guitar solos and indian rhythms picking up the song and taking to a dream world climax at just over 6 minutes. A perfect way to end the album.
In a nutshell, this album is not going to take over the world. It will even struggle to make #1 in the charts but if they wanted to make a consistent album and surprise a few people along the way then they have more than succeeded here.
Beady Eye have landed and not the ball is in the court of Noel Gallagher. Over to you rkid......
Despite it being Noel's decision to up sticks and head into a musical life along, the first move has been made by 'that lairy singer' and so I give to you Liam Gallagher's second coming - Different Gear, Still Speeding (7/10).
Firstly however I must point out that this is not a 'solo effort' or a 'project' but a brand new band featuring Gallagher himself along with Gem Archer, Andy Bell & Chris Sharrock. The love child of Oasis was born pretty much that night, and since the band has written, re-worked, demoed and now recorded 13 tracks that make up the debut album which is released 18 months to the day after the split.
The first track Four Letter Word takes you nowhere new, I would forgive you for being fooled that this was merely Oasis. Heavy power chords and Liam's snarl leading the way, possibly not the track you expected to hear at the start of the new revolution but a good track nonetheless.
The 'Oasis Mk.II' label is well and truley shaken after this with the country acoustic jam, Millionaire which was written about Salavdor Dali after guitarist Andy Bell took a road trip in Spain and The Roller, a piano driven song that bares a close resemblence to 'Instant Karma' & 'All You Need Is Love'. By this point you can now see that the shackles have been broken and Beady Eye are free to do whatever they like.
The surprisingly 'The Who' orientated Beatles and Stones and Wind Up Dream kick up a pace with the later having a glam rock feel about it before the album shifts genres again into the Jerry Lee Lewis inspired Bring The Light. This was first released in late 2010 as a teaser for Beady Eye fans and focuses heavily on a piano rock'n'roll riff. An important point to mention at this point is that true to their Beatles homage, all songwriting credits have been listed as Gallagher/Archer/Bell, with the band insisting from day one that they are now a democracy, the two finger up in the air and firmly pointing at Noel Gallagher.
The album is sprinkled with influences from the early 50's up to the late 90's. The most recent influence being The La's on track number 7, For Anyone is a summery jingle with a simple guitar chord progression and light drumming by Chris Sharrock, who was actually formerly of The La's. Only 2 minutes long and in a similar vein to Songbird, Gallagher seems to be opening up for once and proving its not all dark in his world. Kill For A Dream is the closest this band comes to an Oasis-style hands in the air singalong but the song flatters to deceive with a build up into a more than ordinary chorus. The lyrics however are much the opposite, 'Life's too short not to forgive, you can carry regrets but they wont let you live. I'm hear if you wanna call'. Some have already been linking these and others lyrics from the album to the breakup, but the band remain certain that this is not the case with several tracks being written well before Oasis was no more.
Standing On The Edge Of The Noise comes and goes within 3 minutes and barely leaves a mark but for the incredibly catchy chorus. Stacked again with glam guitars but this time a very rough production and distorted vocals, this is one of the albums lower moments but will no doubt star once the band hit the road. From this point on however the band and the album really begins to find its feet.
Wigwam is three songs puzzled together into a 6 minute psychedelic blur starting of with lyrics related to drinking and gambling but then with a steady drumbeat kicks into a trance with Liam singing 'I'm coming up' over and over until the song fades out, by far the best vocal on the album.
Three Ring Circus is a bluesy rocker reminiscent of Oasis but is taken to a different level with the backwards guitar solo before the albums swansong The Beat Goes On. The closest that this band or possibly any other band will get to The Beatles, the song is littered with poetry and sentiments 'its not the end of the world, its not even the end of the day' before heading into a chorus that even MJ would be proud of. The words are clear, 'So long, so long. Someday all the world will sing my song. Still life remains, somewhere in my heart the beat goes on'.
The final track of the record has 'Looking Glass' written all over it. The Morning Son begins with an acoustic strum and Liam yet again singing lyrics that could be linked with his brother and that infamous break-up, 'You'll never know, unless you try. Your blinded by what, you idolise'. But half way through the track explodes into life, slide guitar solos and indian rhythms picking up the song and taking to a dream world climax at just over 6 minutes. A perfect way to end the album.
In a nutshell, this album is not going to take over the world. It will even struggle to make #1 in the charts but if they wanted to make a consistent album and surprise a few people along the way then they have more than succeeded here.
Beady Eye have landed and not the ball is in the court of Noel Gallagher. Over to you rkid......