Tracklist
1.Wall of Glass 2. Bold 3. Greedy Soul 4. Paper Crown 5. For What It’s Worth 6. When I'm In Need 7. You'd Better Run 8. I Get By 9. Chinatown 10. Come Back To Me 11. Universal Gleam
12. I've All I Need 13. Doesn't Have To Be That Way 14. All My People / All Mankind
15. I Never Wanna Be Like You
Former Oasis frontman, Liam Gallagher, has released his first solo record called: As You Were. The album is available on vinyl, Cd, and most streaming services in either a standard 12 or deluxe 15 track editions.
After two disappointing albums under the Beady Eye banner (what was left of Oasis after Noel Gallagher departed in acrimony in 2009), Liam decided it was time to go solo. Wisely, he chose LA super-producer, Greg Kurstin (best known for his work with Lily Allen and Adele) and Andrew Wyatt (from Swedish electropop band Miike Snow) to help get back on track.
As You Were is definitely a return to form for Liam. The album is an unapologetic pop/rock record filled with Liam’s trade mark swagger. Kurstin and Wyatt keep the tracks tight and focused; the songs run time is limited to about four-minutes, avoiding the pitfalls of the unnecessarily dragging songs of Oasis and to some extent, his brother Noel’s solo work.
Album standouts are the bluesy album opener - Wall Of Glass, the mid-tempo -Bold , the gritty rocker - Greedy Soul, the reflective - Paper Crown and the apologetic - For What its Worth.
With this album, Liam Gallagher doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but he manages to capture everything we loved about him, namely his swagger and the conviction of each and every lyric on the record. Liam hasn’t sounded this good in years.
There are some minor flaws however. First, there are some really horrible lyrics on the record and here is an example from the track called: Chinatown.
Well the cops are taking over
While everyone’s in yoga
‘Cause happiness is still a warm gun
What’s it to be free man?
What’s a European?
Me I just believe in the sun
Now, I love the song, but I would appreciate it if anyone can explain these lyrics.
Second, I would have loved if the album had a few more bluesy/rock songs like the album opener. Other than that, Liam’s solo debut is just a fun pop/rock album that re-establishes him as one of the more captivating voices in the business. Recommended.
