Liam Gallagher is in a particular group when it comes to British indie singers. Like Ian Brown, Pete Doherty and (decreasingly) Morrissey, his artistic output is relatively critic-proof: large audiences still go to see shows irrespective of the quality of new releases.
Instead, the adulation is based on a love of his public persona, stage charisma and identification with a particular historical and cultural period. He knows this, too. Last year he described his solo musical output as “meat and veg rock ‘n’ roll”. His second solo LP, ‘Why Me? Why Not.’, certainly fits that description.
Within those parameters, there are some real high points. One of Us is an excellent song that reflects on Gallagher’s estrangement from his brother and former Oasis bandmate Noel. It’s a topic that fans will know, but which continues to intrigue and baffle them—perhaps because sibling estrangement is so common yet taboo.
“Hey kid, did you know?” he sings. “Today sixteen years ago / It was you and I for the last time / You angrily said / With a smoke ring 'round your hands / You would see me on the other side.” He is contrite but stops short of apologising—perhaps ensuring the row can rumble on.
Once appears to tread similar subject matter, with a pleasing nod to changed priorities and lifestyles: “It was easier to have fun back when we had nothing [...] Sometimes the freedom we wanted feels so uncool / Just clean the pool and send the kids to school.” Like much of the album, this song is drenched in familiar Oasis (Gallagherian?) production: lustrous arrangements, Beatles-esque melody writing and epic scale. It’s really good, actually, even if it fails to do anything new.
This is indeed a decent “meat and veg rock ‘n’ roll” album, and while one suspects it is Gallagher’s collaborators who have done the heavy lifting when it comes to songwriting, he remains the X factor on ‘Why Me? Why Not’. His presence is still as unmistakably raw and lairy as ever, and it is easy to see why he continues to occupy a particular space in the British psyche away from more typical music industry players.
It’s also a very confident album, which seems daft to say when talking about Liam Gallagher, but it felt like he was planning on retiring by the final song of 2017’s ‘As You Were’. As such, this creative bravado is noteworthy, and in many ways, reassuring.
Liam Gallagher Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon November 11 2019 - CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Tue November 12 2019 - BIRMINGHAM Arena Birmingham
Thu November 14 2019 - ABERDEEN P&J Live, Aberdeen
Fri November 15 2019 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Sun November 17 2019 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Utilita Arena
Mon November 18 2019 - SHEFFIELD FlyDSA Arena - Sheffield
Wed November 20 2019 - MANCHESTER Arena
Thu November 21 2019 - LIVERPOOL M&S Bank Arena Liverpool
Sat November 23 2019 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Sun November 24 2019 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Tue November 26 2019 - NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Thu November 28 2019 - LONDON O2
Fri November 29 2019 - LONDON O2
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
