Liam Gallagher: As You Were (2017)

As You Were is Liam Gallagher’s first solo album, borne out of similar circumstances to Keith Richards’ first solo album in 1988: he wants to make music, but his old band isn’t getting back together any time soon. Almost reluctantly, Liam took the plunge and announced his debut album late last year, and since then has engaged in an extremely entertaining press tour, where his uncharacteristically at-peace-with-the –world demeanour suggested that he was quietly confident with what he had produced. But was it just bravado? Could Liam deliver the goods on his own?

The answer is yes, but the truth is that Liam is not on his own. Openly admitting to his limitations as a songwriter, Liam has co-written half of the songs on As You Were with established pop songwriters. This is a very good move, since the last two albums Liam released (with his post-Oasis band Beady Eye) were sorely lacking in strong hooks and melodies for Liam to sink his teeth into. The remaining six songs are credited to Liam alone, including the excellent ‘Bold’ and some sneering rockers like ‘I Get By’ and ‘Greedy Soul’, but it’s the tracks that involve other writers that really push the album to the next level.

‘Wall of Glass’ opens the album and immediately gets your attention with a duel between a wailing harmonica and a screeching electric guitar; ‘Paper Crown’ and ‘For What it’s Worth’ are lovely ballads with very hummable choruses; ‘Chinatown’, my favourite song on the album, has a wonderful acoustic guitar riff that gradually becomes hypnotic and draws you into the song’s mellow atmosphere; and ‘Come Back to Me’ has a great effect where Liam’s voice comes from different parts of the speaker at different points, making it sound like Liam Gallagher trading vocals with another Liam Gallagher.

Speaking of Liam’s voice, I think this is the best it has sounded in 20 years. His vocals on the first few Oasis albums were, for me, the highlight of those discs, but as the years went by it often felt as though he had stopped trying. Here, with something to prove for the first time in years, he really unleashes his voice and puts 100% into every song. It’s like the 1990s version of Liam has awoken from some kind of deep freeze, replacing the imposter who took his place in the early 2000s.

The instrumental backing on the album is polished, but not overly so, with just the right amount of grit left in. There is subtle but very effective use of horns and strings across the album, which adds extra texture, and the playing is tight and lean with no wasted notes. The backing musicians generally stay in the background throughout, placing the emphasis on Liam’s rejuvenated vocals.

This is a really great album from Liam and I’m really happy for him, especially since not so long ago he appeared to be close to leaving music altogether. Bring on album number two!