Liam Gallagher (one half of the defunct Oasis) is like musicโs grumpy old dad who just doesnโt get it. Still stuck on the sound of yesteryear and whatโs โrealโ rock. Heโs irritable, cantankerous, and not afraid to call things out as he sees them. In fact, itโs these very qualities and his less than elegant musings that have endeared him to so many people despite not putting out any music of consequence for at least the better part of a decade.
โWhen they gave you roses and believed your wild excuses
You were sealing the deal
Halfway down the road and ainโt it
Funny how the ghosts they fade and
Suddenly appearโ
While his turn as musicโs Uncle Scrooge has made him more immediately recognizable, heโs always been more of a background act, so the prospects of seeing what he could do by stepping into the leading man role with his first solo project were just too good to pass up.
One thing that canโt be argued, is that Liam knows rock and roll. He knows his sh*t and he knows how to make music. Being one of classic rockโs staunchest defenders and self-appointed last bastions of โrealโ rock and roll,ย As You Were came off as album trying to be an approximation of what he considers to be โreal.โ And while it definitely had itโs moments of really good (โWall Of Glassโ, โFor What Itโs Worthโ, โI Get Byโ), as a whole it felt a bit diluted and disingenuous. None of his gruff real life persona really came through in any of the music and the songwriting felt contrived and without any really weight or consequence to them. This was a huge missed opportunity that wouldโve elevatedย As You Were from a really good album to something great and worth mentioning in everyoneโs end of year lists. But Iโm still down for another solo album if that means we get another year of โpress runโ Liam in rare form.
Have you heardย As You Were? Whatโd you think about it? Do you think it matched or really brought out his real life gruff persona? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your own ratings and reactions to the album.
