In the history of Oasis, there are countless stories of debauchery, drunkenness, missed gigs, arguments, etc. One of the most famous occurred in 1996 when the band was due to perform on MTV’s very popular Unplugged series. Instead of performing with the band, a very drunk Liam Gallagher sat in the balcony drinking and heckling the band. For whatever reason, 20+ years later Liam went to Hull to perform a set of 15 MTV Unplugged tunes, 10 of which were later released as an album.
His only live album that does not start with “Hello” and instead works in the solo number “Wall of Glass” that is pleasingly heavy on the organ. Dedicated to his daughter Molly Moorish, album highlight “Now That I’ve Found You” is a lovely ballad that gets pumped up in mood by the backing vocalists. “One of Us” gets boosted by strings on the melancholy track that declares, “act like you don’t remember/you said we’d live forever”.
Broken up between five solo and five Oasis songs, the earliest 90s classic appears with “Some Might Say” in a performance that shows the tune holds up remarkably well without the guitar bluster of the original. The most surprising selection is the inclusion of Definitely Maybe extra track “Sad Song”. The original is performed by Noel so nice to have a Liam sung version. “Stand By Me” gets a wistful run through with an abbreviated “Champagne Supernova” closing out the show. Liam is on fine vocal form throughout the 40 plus minutes on a set that contains a handful of gems.
In the deepest, darkest COVID days of late 2020, Liam Gallagher threw music fans a lifeline when he released a live streamed concert of him and his band sailing down the Thames playing a selection of solo tracks and Oasis classics. The beautifully shot video was a much-needed respite for those not able to attend concerts. Not to mention the site of much loved Bonehead on guitar.
Opening with “Hello”, the younger Gallagher then plays three solo tracks including “Halo” whose piano intro get obliterated by a wall of sound by the first verse. “Greedy Soul” from Gallagher’s first solo album is a driving rock song, a bit daft but all attitude before “Once” slows things down for a few minutes while looking back at the good old days.
Concentrating on the punkier, sneering tracks from his back catalogue – Liam throws the heads in the crowd a few looks with Oasis b-sides “Fade Away” and “Headshrinker” along with the psychedelic swirl of “Columbia”. “Champagne Supernova” appears in a shorter, lovely piano led style as he wishes all a Happy Christmas. Gallagher closes the set with a tender new song, “All You’re Dreaming Of” that had just been released the week before. Whereas a DVD of the event would be a welcome addition, the CD is a reminder of a fun night had by fans across the world who could hear some much missed live music.
With just three solo albums under his belt, Liam Gallagher has also released three live albums since the dissolution of his two previous bands – Oasis and Beady Eye. In early June of 2022, Gallagher returned to the scene of one of Oasis’ greatest triumphs when he headlined Knebworth for two shows, equaling that of his pervious band. As with most Gallagher solo shows, Oasis songs feature prominently in the setlist and on this collection, nine songs are included including “Hello” that starts off the main set followed by the anthemic “Rock n Roll Star”.
Gallagher then goes into three solo tracks including “Wall of Glass” and last year’s single “Everything’s Electric”, both of which keep the energy up. One surprise of the album is the inclusion of Standing on the Shoulder of Giants closer, “Roll It Over”. It’s a welcome addition of being recognizable but not a smash single so carries with it an element of surprise. The main set closes with four more solo tracks including the choir of “More Power”. It’s this closing set where his previous band is missing. While Gallagher has several upbeat rockers to add to his setlist, he’s lacking that one big anthemic ballad to bring the crowd home.
Coming back for an encore, the disc ends with five Oasis classics including their first number one single “Some Might Say”, the world beating “Wonderwall” and the guitar tones of John Squire on “Champagne Supernova”. Comparing this to the Oasis Knebworth release from 2022, the sound is crisp and Liam’s voice is in fine form. The listener will miss the guitar heroics of brother Noel, not to mention the banter that he adds between songs. Still, Knebworth 22 does a fine job of playing the greatest hits of Liam Gallagher’s nearly 30 year recording career.
5. Tears for Fears – The Tipping Point: The duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith returned in 2022 in a big way. A new album, planned tour (that unfortunately had to be cancelled), and numerous TV appearances. The centrepiece of the year was The Tipping Point. The light electronics mixed with traditional instruments on tracks such as “The Master Plan” for both a mature and bright sounding pop album.
4. Lightning Seeds – See You In The Stars: Ian Broudie returned to his Lightning Seeds moniker for the first time in well over 10 years. The result was a terrific pop album bursting with sunny melodies and scratchy vocals. Tracks such as single “Great To Be Alive” reminded listeners of how positive life can be regardless of the news. It was the album many of us didn’t know we needed until we did.
3. Wet Leg – Wet Leg: In many ways, this feels like a 2021 album as four singles were released a year ago. Since then, Wet Leg has taken the indie rock world by storm with sold out shows and appearances on nearly everyone’s year end list. The duo still managed to save the blasts of “Ur Mom” and “Angelica” for 2022 along with several strong album tracks.
2. Liam Gallagher – C’mon You Know: Right from the first moments of the 60s like children’s choir opening, Gallagher’s third solo album was an unexpected powerhouse. As his brother Noel notes, Liam has kept 90s rock alive and well with a younger generation eating it up. “Better Days” has the strut of a quality Oasis tune while “Moscow Rules” co-written with Ezra Koenig opened up further depths to his sound. Liam’s quality control rarely let him down here on a terrific set of 2022 rock tunes.
1. Beach House – Once Twice Melody: The eighth album from the Baltimore duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally ran an ambitious 84 minutes with four separate chapters. Highlights include the title track, “Only You Know”, and “Hurts To Love”. While the formula does not stray too far from their atmospheric, indie rock, Beach House manage to explore new vistas of sound. With a lengthier run time, it is easy to submerge in this luxiourously expanded album.
10. Yard Act – The Overload: I came across this track through Cillian Murphy’s recommendation on his excellent BBC podcast. The band from Leeds mixes several different genres and on the title track of their debut album, really nail their outsider status with a few pop hooks.
9. Wet Leg – Angelica: The duo from the Isle of Wight saved one of the best tracks from their debut album for a 2022 release. The energetic track really takes off when the drums explode as they sing of Angelica going to a party. Another slice of indie rock perfection from the breakout act of 2022.
8. Taylor Swift (Feat. Lana Del Rey) – Snow On The Beach: A highlight from the Swift’s highly successful Midnights album was her collaboration with Lana Del Rey. While Lana is used sparingly, she adds a bit of texture to a song that would not sound out of place on either of their albums. Hopefully this is just the first of many tracks the two work on together.
7. Tears For Fears – Long, Long, Long Time: Curt Smith takes over the vocals on this midtempo track that adds Carina Round in the chorus. Smith turns in an excellent vocal performance over a bed of shimmering synths and electronic beats. The track is one of several highlights from their very good album, The Tipping Point.
6. Fontaines D.C. – I Love You: The moody track was the second song released from the band’s very good third album, Skinty Fia. It’s a hauntingly atmospheric track that really suits singer Grian Chatten’s deadpan delivery. The love song to Dublin is like one from beyond the grave.
5. Lightning Seeds – Great To Be Alive: This jangly piece of indie pop was the first song that many had heard from Ian Broudie in several years. The upbeat track was an unusual slice of sunshine in an otherwise hard slog for many people that was 2022. Co-written with James Skelly from The Coral, it is never anything than uplifting.
4. Liam Gallagher – Moscow Rules: The third Gallagher solo album had several bangers and highlights. “Moscow Rules”, co-written with Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend, was more understated. The atmospheric track sees Liam turn in a very good vocal performance that gets amped up in the chorus as soon as the drum kicks in. With songs like this, the younger Gallagher can leave a few Oasis tunes off the setlist and add in more solo work.
3. Suede – She Still Leads Me On: Called their punk rock record, Suede released a very good album in Autofiction. One of the highlights was the first track about singer Brett Anderson’s complicated relationship with his mother. To hear him sing with this much passion about something so personal was awe inspiring as the band rocks behind him. Excellent stuff from the legendary band.
2. Beach House – Only You Know: One of the highlights from the second half of the excellent 2022 album from Beach House, “Only You Know” was never released as a single. The cascading synths match Victoria Legrand’s repeated vocals before the tumbling drums appear. A characteristically atmospheric track that easily glides along a celestial plane. The line, “every disaster comes faster and faster” is one of many that can get lodged in a listener’s head for days.
1. Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero: One of the biggest pop tracks of the year deserved all it’s attention. The inward looking track features several moments of clever wordplay that the internet would turn into many memes, specifically as Swift sings, “It’s me/hi/I’m the problem, it’s me”. That is followed by the devastating line, “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”. It’s something many of us could do more of in 2023. Nice work, Taylor!
The Light Appears 