Tyler: Travis, you’ve got a working familiarity with The Stone Roses. I’m a longtime Oasis fan. Thus, here we are with dueling approaches to this evening’s subject: Liam Gallagher John Squire.
As the doubly-eponymous album title indicates, this LP marks a collaboration between Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and Stone Rose John Squire. I brushed this idea off when I first heard of it, but you in conversation noted that it could bring out the best in both musicians. The talents did, upon further reflection, seem a natural fit. Liam’s developed quite a successful solo career, which I celebrate, despite not much digging the released tracks. I’m glad he’s the rock star he was born to be, though, and I’m especially pleased that he’s digging in and really trying this time around. Hell, he’s got a personal hero writing and performing the tunes. Time for our kid to muscle up.
Does Liam, in fact, rise to the occasion? Are Squire’s tunes a cut above the average song on any odd Liam record? I know what I think—and I thought it within the first few moments of hearing LGJS leadoff track, “Raise Your Hands.” Something’s different about this one. Travis, my fellow American, what say you?
Travis: Liam Gallagher and John Squire working together did seem like a natural fit to me. Liam was the vocalist for maybe the biggest British band of my lifetime, and Squire was sort of the Noel of the Stone Roses, writing the majority of their music and lyrics. I haven’t listened much to either one’s music outside of the bands that made them famous, but this piqued my curiosity. And it sounds a lot like what I expected it to. That’s not a bad thing at all; sometimes fulfilling expectations is all that’s necessary, and I think this album, for the most part, does just that.
Tyler: My expectations were a little lower, as I feared a typical Liam solo offering—heavy on charisma, light on heart. LGJS is by no means a particularly romantic album—it’s actually rather coarse in some places, to its credit—but it stands taller than what I know of Liam on his own. That alone to me was cause for celebration.
Travis: The only post-Oasis Liam Gallagher offering I was familiar with before this one was Beady Eye, which was fine. It sounded a lot like Oasis, minus the Noel magic. So I can’t really attest to LGJS‘s place in the Gallagher pantheon. What I will say is that this is an enjoyable album that wouldn’t sound out of place at any point between say 1994 and now. It’s got a lot of Britpoppy bounce to it, the songs are catchy if not out-of-this-world, and the guitar heroics throughout are on point. I saw someone once describe the late Stone Roses single “Love Spreads” (the best song off of their second album) as a seven minute guitar solo with some singing over it, and some of the best moments here, like “Love You Forever” and “You’re Not the Only One,” follow that template, at more pop-friendly lengths.
Even when the songwriting fails here–there’s some definite hippy-dippy nonsense here lyrically–it’s saved by the bluesy, Hendrix-y guitar work.
In what is becoming a refrain for me in these chats, especially when we talk about newer albums, I wish the production allowed the guitars to snarl a little more and Liam’s vocals to have a little more bite. I think this would all be better a little sloppier, but that’s a minor complaint.
Tyler: Oh, you’re absolutely on point. It’s shiny, all polished. Greg Kurstin produced, which doesn’t thrill me thanks to his work on McCartney’s weak Egypt Station. Ragged authenticity is not the name of the game on LGJS.
Travis: I looked the guy up. He’s co-written and produced a ton of stuff and obviously has an ear for a hook, but probably wasn’t a good choice for this material. I think this needed a guy who would mic things up, leave, and let ’em rip.
Tyler: I think of a drug-haze Oasis B-side, “It’s Good To Be Free,” where things get a little nightmarish. LGJS is a polar opposite of such work, though, which makes a lot of sense, at least from Liam’s perspective. While maintaining his profanely impish persona, he’s become an elder statesman of British rock. He’s got it together, so to speak, and so Squire comes up with a big batch of sunny happy tunes. It’s got no ballads, it’s not mournful at any turn, it closes with some of that hippy-dippy nonsense. Overall, it’s an upbeat collection. It wants us listeners to be in a good mood.
Travis: It is. A pleasant listen, whatever my feelings about its production. And Squire too is an elder statesman, far-removed from his groundbreaking early days. He’s mostly retired from music and does a lot of painting. Obviously neither he nor Liam needed to make this album. You can tell they did it because they wanted to. It sounds like they had a lot of fun making it.
Any particular high or lowlights for you?
Tyler: The chorus of “I’m A Wheel” is terrific. Hell of a song overall, really. Love the hammering piano that comes into the picture on “You’re Not The Only One.” I even like “Mother Nature’s Song,” despite its wocka-wocka title and lyrical heavy syrup.
The recitation of Roy G. Biv in “Just Another Rainbow,” meantime, is kind of hilariously too much. “I’m So Bored” feels pretty put-on.
Truly, apart from the production and these occasional mini-missteps, there’s little for me to take down here. As you’ve noted, much of this project is all in good fun, and it’s certainly not a waste of our time. It deserves some attention.
Whether it’ll be in my rotation going forward, now, that’s a different story. My earliest reactions to this album were “Sounds great, not sold on the tunes, doesn’t matter, sounds awesome.” My feelings now aren’t too far removed from that.
Did you have any standouts? The opposite?
Travis: “Love You Forever” was my favorite on the album, it sort of felt like the platonic ideal of what I’d want a collaboration between these two to sound like. “Mars to Liverpool” is a good single–it’s funny, the guitar work on it reminds me of the kind of stuff Graham Coxon of Blur was doing in the 1990s, and feels like what might have happened if Blur and Oasis had in an alternate universe traded some members. My least favorite song was probably “Make It Up As You Go Along”…lazy swearing in song lyrics just makes me think of Ryan Adams at this point.
I hated “Just Another Rainbow” the first time I heard it, but the drony guitars saved it for me on future listens.
Like you, I don’t know if any of this material is going to have any staying power for me in terms of future listening, but I’m glad I spent a little time with it.
Tyler: Agreed. It’s rare that I spend a bunch of time spinning something so unabashedly happy. This is an age of decay, dammit! Kudos to Gallagher and Squire for a bit of escape from the reality of absolutely everything.
Travis: Where would you say this ranks in the pantheon of Oasis side projects?
Tyler: I’d call it tops from what I’ve heard from Liam, rivaled only by some spare tracks from Beady Eye’s first LP.
I can’t say it ranks above any of Noel’s albums, apart from Who Built The Moon?, one I just can’t embrace. Noel doesn’t have Liam’s rock-star voice, but his singing is a different kind of lovely, and he’s got the songs.
Well, that, and an aversion to producers like Kurstin.
Travis: Fair. I like the song “Alfie” by Lily Allen, but would never have said “that is the guy I need to produce my rock album.”
Tyler: “Alfie” is great!
Travis: I’d say for anyone reading who happens to listen to this album and like it, if they haven’t given the first Stone Roses album a listen, they should. I don’t think it’s as good as the British music mags who put it in the Top 10 all time do, but it’s an interesting mix of psychedelic indie rock and dance music and definitely important for Britpop.
The second Stone Roses album isn’t great, but the song “Love Spreads” is.
And I’d say at this point, people know if they like Oasis or not.
Tyler: Gallagher and Squire: capable sunshine rock with glossy production but star turns on vocals and guitar. I think we’ve got it settled.
Travis: As Chris Rock says about cornbread: ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.
Writers' Loom 