Having set expectations exceedingly low for the first music released by Liam Gallagher and the rest of the ex Oasis lads, it turns out I'm pleasantly surprised by the result.
I was slightly concerned at the amount of hype the release had garnered before the band had played anything in public and my initial hearing of "Bring the Light" as a free download caused an initial reaction of downbeat eagerness for the remainder of the long player.
The album crashes in with a corking rock 'n' roller, "Four Letter Word," a stomping 4 minutes with LG declaring "nothing lasts forever," signalling no regrets at their new found Noel-lessness.
"Millionaire" follows it up with a lovely hippy ideal of real love between people being worth more than huge monetary riches, musically it has a bouncing La's vibe to it, plenty of jangling guitars and Beatlesque harmonies.
Third track in is debut single "The Roller." Driven along by a simple piano hook and Liam gently distorting his voice, with a small amount of echo, a la Lennon, the verses melody sounds like it was lifted from Instant Karma, the tune becomes a pleasant sing along after a few listens.
"Beatles and Stones" is a an obvious homage to the biggest influences on LG, another driving backingtrack with declaring he'll "stand the test of time/like Beatles and Stones."
"Wind Up Dream" sounds like Heavy Stereo, if anybody remembers Gem Archers previous alter ego, prior to him joining Oasis, I actually bought the Heavy stereo album so to me this is no bad thing.
"Bring the Light" flashes along with its rushing lyrics and Jerry Lee Lewis piano stabs.
"For Anyone" has a Travelling Wilbury feel to it, lots of strumming acoustics and a George Harrison feel to LG's vocal delivery, quite high in his range.
The album then has a brief slowdown with "Kill for a Dream" which for me would have easily fit into a Hurricane #1 set list, with it's swoony lyrics and deliberate Rickenbacher hook. Again no bad thing sounding like Hurricane #1, they took all their influences from classic rock, like Oasis and the aforementioned Heavy Stereo.
"Standing on the Edge of Noise," sees LG distorting his vocal again with a little vocoder but this will be a stomper come their live shows.
"WigWam," begins gently with sha la la's aplenty and defiant lyrics sung lowly, then towards the end psychedelic guitars and swirling backwards pianos accompany Liam singing "I'm Coming Up" pinched from Paul McCartneys Wings, a statement? Macca never looked back from leaving the best band in the world.
"Three Ring Circus" makes me think of Crowded House and I can't help thinking it's one stab at bursting the bubble that was Oasis.
"The Beat Goes On" trundles along until the chorus which has great sing-along-ability and does sound a little like "Seasons in the Sun" by Westlife or Terry Jacks?
"The Morning Sun" is a slow burner that builds from lapping sea and gulls, more echo on LG vocals, to epic sounding string accompianment and drum roll finish. It's "Little James" grown up brother!
All in all, it does not offend in any way and with each listen you'll pick out new favourites. It sounds like it will easily translate to the live arena, hopefully leaving no room for boozy idiots to shout out for Oasis songs mid set. So as a first attempt, as a NEW band, it's alright by me.
@rudgey76
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=3862EB90957C289F
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