Graham Reid | | 1 min read
Mars to Liverpool
Although never much greater than the sum of its partners, this pairing of former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher and Stone Roses guitarist John Squire is not without interest.
We dispense immediately with the lyrics because most of them are lame, lazy or referential as has often been the way with Gallagher in his solo career.
And we concede immediately that much of this is music aimed for the terraces crowd with its anthemic aspirations and simian swagger. As original as the album's title.
But . . .
This is clearly a promising pairing for Gallagher whose solo albums after Beady Eye – with numerous collaborators – were not too bad.
They were of course Oasis-adjacent but As You Were (2017) and Why Me? Why Not (2019) were more than passable rock albums with some personal lyrics in places.
Unfortunately C'Mon You Know (2022) was a real nadir and Gallagher also delivered a couple of cupboard-clearing live albums (on the Thames and at Knebworth) which cherry-picked the best of his solo stuff and Oasis' crowd-pleasing classics.
He certainly needed something to make him either up his game or get more creative.
Unfortunately this new album does neither of those things, it is Liam being Liam vocally and only occasionally does this aim to be something greater than the sum of those parts. Not a smart idea to have a song titled I'm So Bored (“with this song”).
Squire here is an old school guitar hero with his ears on Hendrix, Clapton and Page, notably on the bluesy I'm a Wheel (we're back in 1969) and Love You Forever.
The early single Just Another Rainbow is emblematic of the album, it opens with Liam's distinctive sneering whine, there's a Roses-like guitar wig-out in the middle and a Beatlesque coda.
Mars to Liverpool may seem like merely a respectable pop-rock anthem but Squire introduces a jangling guitar figure which might have come from the Searchers.
You're Not the Only One – which opens with banging rock'n'roll piano from bassist/producer Greg Kurstin – is a head-down boogie rocker quite unlike anything either party has done previously.
So there are moments here which elevate the interest levels, but not quite enough of them to attract a new following or make you think this is a major leap forward and career reinvigoration for either party.
Funny that the cover has the songs as titles on commodity products, huh?
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You can hear this album at Spotify here
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