I'm still working my way around "Council Skies," the new record from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds." Full disclosure: when "Definitely Maybe" was released, I hated every second of it. All of The Beatles' comparisons drove me apeshit. Ending a few songs on a major seventh chord, and ripping a few chords from "Hello Goodbye" does not make you The Beatles. But then, "(What's The Story) Morning Glory" was released, and I completely changed my tune. I loved it so much, I bought tickets to see Oasis at the Hammerstein Ballroom and loved that show as much as the record.
Then...nothing. Every record that followed left me cold. They were interchangeable, as were the various solo projects from the Gallaghers, from Beady Eye to the High Flying Birds, I couldn't tell one song from another.
But here's the rub. I keep trying because there is something that draws me back to the Gallaghers. They love the same music that I do, and I do hear some of that from time to time. The records sound good. They are big and noisy, with plenty of jangle and harmony, and at times, have a real nasty attitude, as well. The problem is, they keep writing the same song over and over for the last 30 years. Even my beloved "Morning Glory" could use a few snips.
That said, if there are any loyal and devoted fans of the Gallaghers out there, no need to suggest any particular record, as I have heard almost all of them. Sadly, I only remember the first two.
And so...that brings us back to "Council Skies" which did not hit me right off the bat. But the two songs I am sharing here, did indeed, make me go back for second and third spins.
11 comments:
BTW.........Gallagher(2) was just announced as the opening act for Art Garfunkel Junior's show at the City Winery.LOW TICKET ALERT. You're welcome!
I bought into the hype as well and got "... Morning Glory" when it came out. It never had a second turn in the CD player. Over the years I've tried but like you aways felt a sameness in the songs. I bear the brothers Galagher no ill will and enjoyed watching "Oasis: Supersonic" and "Liam Gallagher: As It Was" (What a character!), but the music left me cold.
Now this. Two really good cuts so I'm going to have a little visit with Noel.
in the immortal words of David Seville on the b-side of The ChipmunkSong — hey, that’s almost good.😎
Big fan of Morning Glory, but never really got into the other albums, and I haven't listened to any of the solo albums by either Brother G. These songs both sounded pretty good, so may give the full album a spin.
Bill
Of course, I thought this was going to be about Tattoo which is the best album by a guitarist named Gallagher. That said, I like N. Gallagher's new album and we're going to see him on a double bill with Garbage. Hmmm
I have always liked Oasis. Yes, their albums had diminishing returns after Morning Glory but each release had a few good songs.
As for the Noel and Liam's solo endeavors, the same. Each album has a few good songs that I download. To be honest, I prefer Liam's stuff a bit more. Perhaps because he's using outside song writers.
Back in the 90s, there was an Irish Bar literally called The Irish Pub on 7th ave just north of Times Square. At the time, I was a semi-regular there. One Friday afternoon, I show up, order my Heineken and head straight to jukebox to plug in $5 worth of music (GnR, Stones, Black Crowes, etc). But I didn't hear any of my songs that day. It was all Beatles music. Not that I minded but was curious as this never happened before. I asked the bartender about it and he just nodded to the person sitting next to me....Noel who was eying me with suspicion. We clicked bottles and I walked away. A few minutes later, Liam showed up in a policeman's uniform for reasons unknown. Good times.
But wait, they both had guitars!! The Watermelon guy was half of Gallagher & Lyle.
I like "hey that's almost good"
In the '80's I listened to The Rain Parade, Swimming Pool Q's, Jet Black Berries, Plan 9, and countless others who liked the music I liked. They were almost good too.
There's something important missing from Noel's music here. It sounds dated, and more like something behind glass in a museum than vital and alive.
My favorite thing about Liam is how spectacularly he explodes on occasion.
I have the same exact relationship with Oasis. They seemed to have definitely lost the map after that second record. And everything I've heard after I think "Yeah. sure. that's fine." And that's about it.
Will give the solo stuff a try
I was an Oasis fan when the second album came out, and wanted to see them live. But two little kids left me unable to stay awake past 9:30! Haha! I didn't even know about the solo career, but thanks for these songs!
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