(My personal favorite Liam sung Oasis track)
This album starts off with the strangely bluesy “Wall Of Glass”, but I don’t know about you but I really wasn’t expecting to hear much Britpop on this album. Overall, this one really isn’t that bad at all. Liam’s voice sounds just about as strong as ever, and instrumentally this is a nice change of pace. I honestly feel like for a Pop Rock tune (WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS DON’T DENY IT), I feel like “Wall Of Glass” is really solid. There isn’t anything necessarily game-changing here. But between those bluesy riffs, the choir backing up Liam for the chorus, and everything else, this one just works wonderfully. Now, I totally get that this is very shiny and shimmering Pop Rock, and there isn’t anything remotely edgy or wild going on here. But it still works, and I may just be the only one who feels any of that. Up next, “Bold” is much more stripped down and has a sort of Singer-Songwriter vibe to it. But this one introduces us to one of this album’s biggest issues. Liam at his worst on this album sounds like he is plucking out some of the worst Oasis songs ever recorded. Most of the time, they come off overinflated and overblown. To be honest though, “Bold” is one of the lesser evils here. Mostly because of just how personal the lyrics are, and I feel like Liam actually pulls this vibe off really well. It’s smooth still, and it certainly has a catchy hook. But “Bold” is also packed with a bunch more cliches and goofy moments that I really can’t sort of wrap my head around. But for Liam Gallagher in 2017, this really is far from bad. Now, moments like “Greedy Soul” are seriously going to make people cringe and shut off the album. But I think Liam can actually pull off this sort of Bluesy Singer/Songwriter vibe really well (at LEAST for the moment. Once again, Liam isn’t holding back a single punch as far as lyrics go. And when it comes to Liam’s lyrics and personality, obviously everyone is going to have their own opinion. As for me, I actually enjoy a lot of this track Liam’s voice does this sort of track a whole lot more good than I thought it would. The grooves on “Greedy Soul” are great, that choir once again adds a ton, and I really can’t say no to any of this. Now, “Paper Crown” on the other hand comes off like a long lost Oasis B-Side, maybe from “The Masterplan”. But Liam obviously sounds a whole lot older, which I actually think adds a lot to this track. Now, as far as the writing goes, we’re getting into some goofier territory and there are tons of cliches. But call me crazy, as far as Liam clinging onto his Oasis days go, once again, is this REALLY that bad?! The answer is no. As a matter of fact, “Paper Crown” is a very classy track, and Liam proves that he can easily still pen a really catchy tune. But I can’t stress this enough, so please listen. I’ve been totally into these opening tracks, mostly because I have a soft spot for Liam. You all may literally despise every second of this Oasis ripoff, and I totally get why trust me. But so far, I’m totally fine with this album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdJc7-ZEuT0
However, this album is very far from perfect. “For What It’s Worth” is where I draw the line and draw it hard. This track is by far the absolutely cheesiest and most ridiculously awful track here. Liam sounds like he hasn’t aged since 1999 on this one, in the worst way. This just ends up coming off like Liam recycled every lyric that he ever penned for Oasis, rehashed in the worst way, and is desperately trying to make another “Don’t Look Back in Anger’. The lyrics are cheesy, and this one just ends up coming off incredibly awkward. Not to mention, while the sort of Singer/Songwriter vibe came off pretty well so far, here it just comes off stale like Liam’s been doing it for years and you’re just saying for him to switch it up a little. Not to mention, this is just so damn overblown, like Liam truly believes this is the greatest track he’s ever written. Trust me, Liam, it isn’t. So let me just stop for a second and warn you guys. This album overall is decent, not great, but decent. But when it gets bad, it gets absolutely awful. “When I’m In Need” continues down the unbelievably cheesy and awkward path that the last track started. It’s smooth and all, don’t get me wrong. But there isn’t a single moment here that comes off as something new or genuinely exciting from Liam. I will give him this though, I appreciate some of the shifts in lyrical content, I was starting to get sick of him sounding like a big baby. But at least those tracks gave Liam a little bit of a bite and some attitude. On the other hand “When I’m In Need” is just so sappy and boring. And trust me, he’s written unbelievable love songs in the past so there’s no reason he can’t make something like this sound great. Moment’s like “When I’m In Need” just sound like he’s not putting any effort in. Thankfully, “You Better Run” has a little bit of a bite to it. I honestly think this sort of bluesy vibe actually works really well for Liam. That slight edge is back, and Liam actually sounds comfortable and so much less cringe-worthy. It’s funny, tracks like this actually do have a very grand feel to them, and are certainly much more epic than any of the slower tunes. “You Better Run” is groovy, and it’s got some seriously snappy moments here and there. Even lyrically, I feel like Liam’s being so much less of a big baby that he’s known to be, at least for the most part. It’s moments like this that really grab me and say that Liam certainly still has some really great tunes left in him. And hell, this is certainly much more interesting than Beady Eye. Then we have “I Get By”, which is certainly one of the heavier tunes here. It’s got some nice crunchy guitars and bluesy breakdowns. It’s a bit of a weird tune though, and I feel like this could have been a little more fleshed out and written better. But it’s not bad, and it’s certainly better than most of the slower ballads here. But even though this is a decent song, it’s just becoming more and more obvious just how overblown and empty some of these tracks really are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKBh8cC0BjI
Now like I said, when this album gets bad, it gets really bad. “Chinatown” let me tell you has my eyes about ready to roll out of my sockets. It’s cheesy, it’s full of itself, it’s everything that I was afraid to hear on this album. The folky vibe to this one just comes off so dated and stale. And Liam, let me just say this lyrically this is just so incredibly full of itself that you should really be ashamed of yourself. Moments like this make me want an Oasis reunion even more, and more importantly, make me never want to hear a Liam solo album again. At least on bluesy tracks like “Come Back To Me”, Liam sounds at least like his heart is into this. It’s groovy, it’s heartfelt, and while once again lyrically this is a little full of itself it's a whole lot easier to swallow here. Not to mention, even vocally I love just how sort of rugged Liam sounds in his performance. It’s moments like this that instantly get me more interested in this once again. But this just further proves that Liam really needs to stop living int he past. Because this isn’t Oasis, and it’s shown on every track here that has echoed Oasis that it’s not going to fly anymore. But if Liam continues to alienate himself from THAT, and focus more on his solo career, he can do something really special. Now, I really don’t know what it is about some of these slower acoustic tracks here, but I’m not feeling a single second of “Universal Gleam”. In these more stripped-down environments, Liam just sounds so much more pretentious I feel like. And it just becomes so obvious so quickly just how much Liam is clinging to the past and what might have worked for him 20 years ago. So no, “Universal Gleam” really doesn’t work at all. And while yes, there are some very pretty moments within the instrumental, I really feel like this one is one of the most boring tracks here. Not to mention, Liam just sounds bored to death here, and quite frankly so am I. Now, from the stripped-down intro of the finale, “I’ve All I Need”, I really didn’t think I was going to be into this. But of all of the stripped-down performances here, Liam hasn’t sounded any more humble and truly in the right place than he has here. If there were more tunes like this, I honestly feel like this album would have been much more acceptable overall. But “I’ve All I Need” is the sort of positive, sweet sentiment I really needed to hear from Liam to round this album off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdJc7-ZEuT0
However, this album is very far from perfect. “For What It’s Worth” is where I draw the line and draw it hard. This track is by far the absolutely cheesiest and most ridiculously awful track here. Liam sounds like he hasn’t aged since 1999 on this one, in the worst way. This just ends up coming off like Liam recycled every lyric that he ever penned for Oasis, rehashed in the worst way, and is desperately trying to make another “Don’t Look Back in Anger’. The lyrics are cheesy, and this one just ends up coming off incredibly awkward. Not to mention, while the sort of Singer/Songwriter vibe came off pretty well so far, here it just comes off stale like Liam’s been doing it for years and you’re just saying for him to switch it up a little. Not to mention, this is just so damn overblown, like Liam truly believes this is the greatest track he’s ever written. Trust me, Liam, it isn’t. So let me just stop for a second and warn you guys. This album overall is decent, not great, but decent. But when it gets bad, it gets absolutely awful. “When I’m In Need” continues down the unbelievably cheesy and awkward path that the last track started. It’s smooth and all, don’t get me wrong. But there isn’t a single moment here that comes off as something new or genuinely exciting from Liam. I will give him this though, I appreciate some of the shifts in lyrical content, I was starting to get sick of him sounding like a big baby. But at least those tracks gave Liam a little bit of a bite and some attitude. On the other hand “When I’m In Need” is just so sappy and boring. And trust me, he’s written unbelievable love songs in the past so there’s no reason he can’t make something like this sound great. Moment’s like “When I’m In Need” just sound like he’s not putting any effort in. Thankfully, “You Better Run” has a little bit of a bite to it. I honestly think this sort of bluesy vibe actually works really well for Liam. That slight edge is back, and Liam actually sounds comfortable and so much less cringe-worthy. It’s funny, tracks like this actually do have a very grand feel to them, and are certainly much more epic than any of the slower tunes. “You Better Run” is groovy, and it’s got some seriously snappy moments here and there. Even lyrically, I feel like Liam’s being so much less of a big baby that he’s known to be, at least for the most part. It’s moments like this that really grab me and say that Liam certainly still has some really great tunes left in him. And hell, this is certainly much more interesting than Beady Eye. Then we have “I Get By”, which is certainly one of the heavier tunes here. It’s got some nice crunchy guitars and bluesy breakdowns. It’s a bit of a weird tune though, and I feel like this could have been a little more fleshed out and written better. But it’s not bad, and it’s certainly better than most of the slower ballads here. But even though this is a decent song, it’s just becoming more and more obvious just how overblown and empty some of these tracks really are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKBh8cC0BjI
Now like I said, when this album gets bad, it gets really bad. “Chinatown” let me tell you has my eyes about ready to roll out of my sockets. It’s cheesy, it’s full of itself, it’s everything that I was afraid to hear on this album. The folky vibe to this one just comes off so dated and stale. And Liam, let me just say this lyrically this is just so incredibly full of itself that you should really be ashamed of yourself. Moments like this make me want an Oasis reunion even more, and more importantly, make me never want to hear a Liam solo album again. At least on bluesy tracks like “Come Back To Me”, Liam sounds at least like his heart is into this. It’s groovy, it’s heartfelt, and while once again lyrically this is a little full of itself it's a whole lot easier to swallow here. Not to mention, even vocally I love just how sort of rugged Liam sounds in his performance. It’s moments like this that instantly get me more interested in this once again. But this just further proves that Liam really needs to stop living int he past. Because this isn’t Oasis, and it’s shown on every track here that has echoed Oasis that it’s not going to fly anymore. But if Liam continues to alienate himself from THAT, and focus more on his solo career, he can do something really special. Now, I really don’t know what it is about some of these slower acoustic tracks here, but I’m not feeling a single second of “Universal Gleam”. In these more stripped-down environments, Liam just sounds so much more pretentious I feel like. And it just becomes so obvious so quickly just how much Liam is clinging to the past and what might have worked for him 20 years ago. So no, “Universal Gleam” really doesn’t work at all. And while yes, there are some very pretty moments within the instrumental, I really feel like this one is one of the most boring tracks here. Not to mention, Liam just sounds bored to death here, and quite frankly so am I. Now, from the stripped-down intro of the finale, “I’ve All I Need”, I really didn’t think I was going to be into this. But of all of the stripped-down performances here, Liam hasn’t sounded any more humble and truly in the right place than he has here. If there were more tunes like this, I honestly feel like this album would have been much more acceptable overall. But “I’ve All I Need” is the sort of positive, sweet sentiment I really needed to hear from Liam to round this album off.
Rating: 7.4/10
Give A Listen To: “Wall of Glass”, “Greedy Soul”, “You Better Run”, “Come Back To Me”
Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop Rock / Britpop / Indie Rock / Blues Rock
If You Dig This, Check Out: Honestly, just the entire Oasis discography, and stay the hell away from Beady Eye
Overall Thoughts: I mean, let's be real here. This Is Liam's first solo album after being active in the music industry since the early 90's, and this could have been so much worse. Yes, there are countless times on here where I think Liam's ego can't get much bigger, and there are other moments where I just want him to stop living in the past. But there are plenty of moments on here as well where Liam sounds refreshed, and like he's writing his most compelling material from the days of Oasis's "Be Here Now". So this may be a super glossy, well produced Pop Rock album at the end of the day, but it could have been so much worse.
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