Excerpts from the article “Noel Gallagher After Oasis” by Chuck Klosterman:
“Noel Gallagher’s first official solo record won’t be released in America until November, but there’s already a party for it in August. It’s described as a “listening party,” so that’s what I expect it to be: six or seven people sitting in an otherwise quiet room, listening to an album titled Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. For those who care about the music of Oasis, anticipation for this record is greater than for anything Oasis has done in the past 10 years. This is not only because Noel was the principal songwriter for the band, although that’s certainly part of it; equally significant is the fact that the finest moments in Oasis’ two-decade trajectory have generally occurred when Noel was singing: “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” the chorus on “Acquiesce,” their live cover of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey My My (Into the Black),” and a 1996 episode of MTV Unplugged (when Noel sang everything while his brother drank beer in the balcony). Oasis completists are interested in Liam Gallagher’s new project, Beady Eye, the way Smiths fans were interested in Electronic, but Noel’s material is what matters. The potential is real. Considering the circumstances of the Oasis split, it seems entirely possible that Noel might make a memorable album purely out of spite.”
“This, it seems, is why Noel is different than Liam (and always will be). Liam denies his hangovers and sues people for joking about them; Noel confesses his hangovers and will shake hands with anyone. And when you’ve been in a band that’s been drunk for 20 years, that difference tells you everything you need to know.”
– Chuck Klosterman / grantland.com
Thought provoking words there. Written by an eminent, articulate writer. Taken from an excellent article on Noel Gallagher’s newly-launched solo career.
The only problem being that the opening and closing paragraphs, highlighted here, leave it as nothing more than just another blindingly pro-Noel Gallagher slant on the rise, stumble and final demise of Oasis – and the subsequent paths the two brothers are now attempting to cement for themselves.
‘Fine‘, you might say. ‘An obvious response from someone in the Team Liam camp. Come on, claim Noel is twisting the media in his favour’.
Liam Gallagher himself has already done just that on numerous occasions recently. The problem being this particular writer, if held at gunpoint and forced to pick a favourite like some newly-divorced spouse, would go for the elder brother every time, no hesitation.
That shouldn’t mean though, simply because the most compelling sibling partnership the British music scene has conjured up since Ray and Dave Davies have finally gone their separate ways, that anyone should now attempt to flippantly dismiss either of their contributions to the force of nature that was Oasis with one fell swoop of a derogatory hand.
Since a final confrontation in a Paris dressing room back in August 2009 finally did for Oasis and, for the foreseeable future at least, any thread of a relationship between Liam and Noel, the media has seemed intent on pouring scorn on the younger brother, indulging ravenously in unsubstantiated accusations surrounding the now infamous V Festival cancellation, and Liam’s fashion venture Pretty Green, all after giving little credence to Liam’s own tales of Gallic turbulence.
Raging hangovers and thrown plums appear far more interesting than separate tour buses and smashed guitars. Backed into a corner, Liam responded – in a somewhat ill-judged fashion – with the threat of court proceedings. The actions of an animal wounded, surrounded by predators.
Indeed, Liam has, uncharacteristically, used the sensitive ’breaking my heart’ phrase to describe his feelings behind what he sees as lies being purported by Noel, which have in turn been unquestionably guzzled up and regurgitated by an ever willing gaggle of insatiable journalists.
It’s not hard to see why a court threat might seem like the last act of a desperate man – it’s time the record was put straight.
Those quotes alluded to at the start of this article; that a credible, talented writer could claim a live cover of ‘Hey Hey, My My’ surpassed Liam’s brilliantly powerful and emotive deliveries of, say, ‘Live Forever’, ‘Slide Away’, ‘Rockin Chair’, ‘Listen Up’, ‘Married With Children‘, ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ – the list could go on and on – is frankly ridiculous, but certainly representative of a now prevailing accepted wisdom.
To deny the weight and gravitas he added to those songs is to deny what truly made Oasis tick. Any sane observer should recognise genuine Noel-led Oasis highlights amount to ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger‘, ‘The Importance Of Being Idle‘ and a handful of early b-sides. But let’s be honest, saying that doesn’t help to add weight to a misguided view, does it?
The track itself always remains the bedrock; when Noel’s songwriting pool began drying up, a Liam Gallagher vocal was never going to be enough to lift certain post-2000 efforts beyond mere average.
For the best part of their career, it was on Noel Gallagher’s shoulders that the fortunes of Oasis were carried on. Equally the vision, direction and professionalism Noel lent to a bunch of jobbing Manchester musicians single-handedly steered them away from the dole queue and on to the road to glory. While Liam dreamt up Oasis, it was Noel who turned the dream into reality.
However, as the best frontman of his generation, Liam sprinkled a unique magic-dust on to many of Noel’s compositions, elevating them to a whole new level.
If a song was great, it became greater, it became an undoubted classic, with the Johnny Rotten / John Lennon hybrid let loose on lead vocals: imagine ‘Live Forever’ without him; while the ingredients of a timeless song would still be there, there would be an energy and a depth left unexplored, something would be missing. That something would be Liam Gallagher.
And it wasn’t just the voice. Liam brought the rock n roll to Oasis. Where Noel professed his arrogance and dreams in his songs, Liam lived it every day, and in doing so sparked an intangible chord in millions around Britain, and ultimately the world.
While Noel’s songs spoke to a generation, Liam belted it at them from that crouched stance in front of a microphone. He soaked up their adulation, he made Oasis heroes. When they called back Noel Gallagher’s songs, they were doing it to Liam Gallagher.
What propelled Oasis to superstardom by 1996 wasn’t Noel Gallagher’s songs, or Liam Gallagher’s showmanship, but a combination of the two.
Theirs was a formula that comes together all too rarely; an irresistible melting pot of songwriting talent, raw emotion, attitude, ostentation and sibling rivalry. For a few short months back in the nineties that formula rivalled The Beatles for popularity in the UK. It delivered one of the most influential rock bands Britain has ever produced: not Noel, not Liam, but the combination of the two.
Post Oasis, Noel Gallagher doesn’t have an awful lot to live up to. While Beady Eye’s debut album has one or two outstanding moments, most notably, and fittingly, Liam’s own ‘The Morning Son’, it is in the main an uninspiring, plodding effort.
Despite early critical judgements being surprisingly relaxed, with Noel back on the scene those same critics now appear ready to take sides again, and are once more setting up camp with Gallagher Senior. Diametrically, Noel has just been installed as second favourite to win the 2012 Mercury Music Prize before his album is even released…maybe he really does know how to play the media. Or does he?
The Liam / Noel rivalry has always been intensified by the press, and it’s clear nothing has changed with the end of Oasis. Yet this is where Liam’s court case threat was flawed.
What Noel did at his press conference – whether it was vindictive, manipulative, wilfully inaccurate or genuinely his own take on those final moments – was to offer up nothing more than Liam himself had done when first emerging with Beady Eye: his own version of events.
The big difference is that the media reported Noel Gallagher’s version as fact, Liam Gallagher’s as opinion. Is that Noel twisting the press, or simply journalists choosing to take up camp with the bright-as-a-button, engaging raconteur whilst simultaneously shrugging off an individual whose only crime so far seems to be having a less articulate vocabulary and demeanour than his older rival?
With the inescapable feeling of something to prove, Liam’s short time with Beady Eye has led to a renewed commitment in both his lifestyle and professionalism. His vocals, in seemingly rapid decline these past few years, have a new freshness about them, and his live performances have been his strongest for a decade.
Unfortunately, these vast improvements haven’t been enough to stop ‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’ from being arguably the weakest album of his career to-date. While the break from his brother is almost certainly what has led to these commendable changes, how he could do with some consistent songwriting to back it up.
For Noel’s part, the perils of being thrust into the ‘frontman’ role are clearly at the forefront of his mind, and while the early teasers offered up from the forthcoming ‘…High Flying Birds’ LP point to a man relaxed, a man enjoying a sense of freedom in the studio not experienced for many years, there’s still the danger that, without the verve and vigour of Liam, the album, and his solo career in the future, may lack the impact to truly make it great.
Indeed, at the very same press conference in which Noel made those well-publicised comments that would lead to the threat of legal action, he also admitted that Liam was likely to be far better off without him than he is without Liam. Yet, for some reason, very few outlets decided to pick up on those quotes. Funny that.
Soon, the siblings could be forced to accept that separated they are happier, but together they are stronger.
Had Oasis been a football team, Noel Gallagher would have been the midfield general; the captain who directed his troops, who led by example, and who went up the hallowed steps first to collect the trophy.
Liam Gallagher was the star striker; the glamour, the man who would hand his team victory with the last-minute winning goal, the maverick who would steal the headlines, whose effortless talent would deliver that very trophy for his teammates. Individually, their contributions were crucial, but it was the sum of the parts that made the team unbeatable.
Ultimately, Noel will always have the importance of being an idol, but Oasis was always Liam and Noel, and will always be Liam and Noel. That should never be forgotten and, at the moment, it needs to be remembered more than ever.
And Chuck, it should tell you everything you need to know.
(Dave Smith)
I personally prefer noels delivery of the majority of oasis songs including his acoustic of live forever liam cannot transmit an ounce of emotion into his voice and in live events vocally hes lost it. The last 2 oasis albums have shown noels songwritings is fantastic nd there were even jems on the previous 3. Noel seems to have made odd decisions about single releases cos from hearing demos i know theres at least 3 better songs than the 1st 2 which r also better than beady eye fromn someone who quite liked there album
Very good article.
totally agree with you. thought it was an excellent article but too pro-noel. he highlights noel’s vocals as the highlight of oasis including noel’s cover of hey hey my my. really? liam’s cigs and alcohol…or wonderwall… or champagne supernova… or live forever? liam always had and still has the best rock n roll voice period.
some valid points in your article, but “the morning son” is a very poor effort, in my opinion. it’s lyrics simplistic and, as usual, repeated over and over. the song lies there, never takes off. its energy provided by a very old trick: pounding out the same chords louder and louder (“can you spell ‘crescendo’, kid?”) in lieu of doing anything thoughtful. noel hasn’t matched it? to me even the weakest of the new songs is more inventive, crafted and interesting. (what’s more, “the morning son” is the kind of song noel, not liam, might have written. it’s not “rock and roll”, exactly, is it?) as well, you’ve forgotten a very important point: liam is suing noel for what he feels is an attack on his “professionalism”. really? liam’s “professionalism”? liam’s idea of “professionalism” is fighting in bars and calling bob dylan a “miserable c*nt”. he prides himself on NOT being “professional”, on being “rock and roll”. in order to get back at his brother he’s being a hypocrite as well as a spoiled brat. any band, oasis included, is the sum of its parts. bonehead and the rest were critical to the sound and feel of the first two oasis albums. they were a group. bringing it down to either noel’s writing or liam’s singing leaves out the rest of the band. (and they haven’t sounded as consistently good since the departure of bonehead, et al, have they?) maybe noel does get the better of the critics. he’s funnier, more articulate, and clearly in love with songwriting. he’s deeper, less likely to use thoughtless insults to get attention and, as a result, is actually more deserving of respected than liam is. (imo, of course) liam’s getting old and he’s still trying to be 19. let him grow up a little. critics will start to listen to him with some respect when he shows himself to be something other than a one dimensional, nasty attention seeker.
Totally agree with you in every word, Liam is being hypocrite.
And what about Liam’s declarations:
1.- Dig Out Your Soul Era:
“Noel is the best songwriter of his generation, I can’t compete with him in that”
2.- After Oasis Breakup:
“Noel’s record will be good, Us will better”
(so quickly a change of mind, how professional is that……)
“Our debut is up with definitely Maybe” , “Beady Eye will be bigger than Oasis”
(when you don’t have a brilliant work behind it, being arrogant is being a clown……. he is very profesional and mature)
“We are going to make a second album, people like it or not ”
(what happened?, Beady are going to be greater than Oasis…….)
conclusion: one dimensional, nasty attention seeker
maybe right but a bloody good frontman
How come no one mentioned Noel gallagher is a habitual chronic liar, i mean after all those years of doing cocaine affected his mind and he can’t tell the differance between the truth and a lie anymore
Any evidence there, Davy Jones, of where Noel has lied? Oh, Liam’s hangover? That’s not a lie. Why would someone go to the trouble of getting a doctor’s note unless he was covering up something.
What nobody mentions is that for more than a year, Liam did his best in every interview to slam Noel. He went on stage and slammed Noel. That was being professsional? The Beady Eye album is ok. Noel’s is already better.
Excellent article – the two solo (well, one solo and the other lot) projects have really thrown into focus for me how much one Gallagher really needs the other. The Beady Eye album is basically what you would’ve gotten from Andy/Liam/Gem on a latter day Oasis albim – about 4 good songs. You can easily imagine Noel saying “Right, well of that 12 we’ll have that one, that one, that one and that one, and I’ll write the rest”. Likewise on Noel’s album there’s bound to be a few songs where we wistfully think of how Liam could have delivered it.
Liam’s lawsuit is an absolute embarrassment. He may well have had laryngitis (Noel was silly to indicate otherwise, even if only cos they need good meedical reasons to cancel gigs wihout getting sued), but in thath case why was he up on the piss at 3 a.m.? There’s photographic evidence of this! Really the pair of them need to grow the fuck up.
Well he has lied because you can’t get a doctors note over laryngitis if you haven’t got laryngitis. So Noel must have lied. And he said himself that Liam had laryngitis. So you’re wrong.
Those pictures have been proved as fake btw. At a different time.
I love noel and i love liam they both made the “oasis sound” one is no better than the other an are both amazing together. what i will say about liam is his head is not up his own arse like noels, liam never got to big for his boots an if you read the book “the whole trut, the noel truth and nothing but the truth” by tony mccarol it explains how noel for a better word was a cunt and he did want tony to have money from the records that he played on! an it also says how liam would have your back through thick an through thin. liam also stated no so long ago that noel would go crazy if there wasn’t fresh flowers in his room everyday. i love them both like i said but every has a proper go at liam just cause he doesn’t write the song! beady eye should not be compaired to noels high flying birds cause beady eye is a band an noel is solo. beady eye’s stuff is good but never given a chance. liam isnt the bady an noel isnt the goody. stop picking sides. noel has flaws dont forget
Thanks Dave – well written, and a much-needed article showing that Oasis is both Noel AND Liam, and in this case reminding everyone of the undeniable brilliance that Liam brings to Oasis.
However, I must say that I’m a bit disappointed with the way you’ve taken the common journalistic trend of declaring anything post-2000 as ‘average’. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on Go Let it Out, but to suggest that the following songs are average or less is a disgrace, and perhaps doesn’t lend well to your Oasis knowledge: Lyla, Let There Be Love, Bag It Up, The Shock of the Lightning… and that’s not even mentioning the LIam, Gem or Andy-written tracks.
But apart from that, great article. Thanks for putting Chuck in his place and rightly demonstrating that Oasis is, and always will be, a 2-part phenomenon. Cheers,
Reg.
Oh, and tragically I forgot to include the Heathen Chemistry tracks, and one of Oasis’ best songs in The Hindu Times. In addition, Stop Crying Your Heart Out, (Probably) All in the Mind…. Thank you. Yes, I know, I’ve won the argument. Check me out on youtube too everybody. Reg.