The music world is an odd place in this post-millennium world. Dance, R'n'B and pop music has taken over the charts thanks to Simon Cowell, Lady Gaga, Will.i.am and Co., while a lot of indie/guitar bands are left to fight their way through from the underworld of sweaty venues, demo tracks and Facebook pages. It seems like an age since we had a genuine rock star in our midst. Alex Turner is extremely talented yet too quiet to truly be a rock star, Matt Bellamy is in the same boat and don't even get me started on Pete Doherty. It seems Tom Meighan of Kasabian is the closest we have nowadays, as he is the lead singer of one of the biggest bands we have. And who's mantle is that taking? Why, that would be Oasis.
Say what you want about the Gallaghers, but there has been nothing like them to hit the music scene in the 20 years since 'Definitely Maybe' came out. Don't get me wrong, there have been good bands and there is some quality music out there from many different sources; The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Coldplay to name but a few examples, but none quite had the same impact as Oasis did. And it was Liam Gallagher at the forefront of that boom. Armed with the anthems Noel wrote, Liam combined the best parts of Mick Jagger, John Lydon and John Lennon to write himself into the history of British music. And with Beady Eye, he's back. And it's as if he hasn't been away.
Exploding in with Jerry Lee Lewis piano, 'Bring The Light' is a raucous rocker that already makes Beady Eye one of the most eagerly anticipated bands of 2011. It may be on the simple side, Liam's lyrical talent has developed more but not yet fully, but the 3 and a half minutes are full of pace, power and attitude that we have come to expect from a Gallagher. Complete with an infectiously pounding beat, luscious soul backing vocals and a Beatle-borrowed guitar solo, Liam snarling in his instantly recognisable way 'Baby, come on, Baby, come on' is up there with anything in the charts at the moment. Add in a 'Hindu Times'-esque video, it's a nice little package for Gallagher, Archer, Bell and Sharrock to return with.
It's only a small snippet of 'Different Gear, Still Speading', but if the rush to get the 'Bring The Light' as a free download from the Beady Eye website is anything to go by, they're not short of early fans. Many, myself included, descend from Oasis and are not disappointed with this first taste of Gallagher Part Two. Again, like many, I eagerly await what Noel has to offer but Liam has got their first; bursting back onto the scene with this rocker along the lines of his Oasis songs 'Better Man', 'Meaning Of Soul' and 'Ain't Got Nothin'', with a little extra quality thrown in there.
Beady Eye's first release was always going to battle between my heart and my head. Liam is a talented man, but any brother to Noel Gallagher is going to be slightly in their shadow, so this has given Gallagher Junior the chance to strut his solo stuff. My heart yearns for it to be good, for it to rewrite the history books of British rock with some legendary anthems. My head just wants it to not be humiliating, for someone who relies so much on ego to release an awful album would take a huge chunk out of the bravado, the reputation the frontman brings. Luckily, 'Bring The Light' falls somewhere in the middle.
It's a good little song. A bit of a toe-tapper, gets stuck in your head and has a decent swagger about it. It hasn't uprooted any trees, re-set the record books but it is just what Beady Eye needed; to break out in their own right. It's just different enough from Oasis, but it's still well worth a listen, and sets a good precedent for the upcoming album. And that will do just fine for now. It's good to have you back Liam.
And coming very soon is what I think of their second song, 'Four Letter Word'. But for now, here's Beady Eye with 'Bring The Light'.
NWR
No comments:
Post a Comment