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Post by PepsiNebula on May 26, 2022 8:12:12 GMT -5
A place to gather media reviews of the new album.
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Post by oasisitalia on May 26, 2022 8:22:31 GMT -5
NME Vote: 4/5 link: www.nme.com/reviews/album/liam-gallagher-cmon-you-know-3231721Liam Gallagher – ‘C’mon You Know’ review: his best and most experimental solo album yet R Kid doesn't overthink this third record, which is packed with Summer of Love anthems that find him mixing up the formula for his massive comeback “I’m quite happy with the formula,” Liam Gallagher shrugged back in February during his latest in a long line of NME cover interviews. “All these people that go out and do something different – good for them and all that, but if I like something, I just stick with it.” It was typical Liam insouciance – after all, you don’t get to be one of the coolest, most enduring figures in British music for three decades by looking like you’re actually trying – and also a bit of a red herring. Because although the self-professed parka monkey’s (trust him to brilliantly reclaim the shade that Noel threw at his madferrit, guitar-loving fans) third solo record doesn’t exactly find him dabbling in hyper-rap or jetting off to a taqueria on the moon, it is easily the most interesting, experimental and varied album he’s put his own name to. The first moments of ‘C’mon You Know’ stop you in your tracks until you realise that the children’s choir-led ‘More Power’ is mainly The Rolling Stones’ ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ repurposed for the third Summer of Love. And yet: familiar but unexpected, glossily produced but charmingly homespun, naïve but calculated, this is the perfect way to open a Liam Gallagher album in 2022. “The cut, it never really heals / Just enough to stop the bleed,” the kids croon in falsetto over pristine acoustic guitar. “People talkin’ like they’re gods, but that’s just not the deal,” parries Liam in his typically, yes, insouciant sneer. What does it mean? Who cares? This is pastiche at its very best, absorbing the memories of the song’s influences and also refracting the vulnerability and longing of the now. Or, in other words, it’s been a rough couple of years and we all wanna get off our mash together, and everyone likes The Rolling Stones. He doesn’t overthink things, Liam, and that’s why he’s still packing out stadiums and will soon perform to 160,000 people across two nights at Oasis’ old stomping ground, Knebworth Park. He pulls a similar trick with ‘Better Days’, a trippy rocker that channels the spirit of The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ in its clattering drum beat and swirling atmospherics. Rather than turn off your mind, relax and float downstream, though, LG wants you to light a flare, neck a pint and shake off your pandemic funk in the festival mud with your best mates, “all the sadness washed away in the rain”. It is a very tempting proposition. ‘C’mon You Know’ is a not a COVID record (“Fuck that shit – I don’t want to fucking hear about [the pandemic] ever again, do you know what I mean?” he mused in that NME interview) but it does ebb with a sense of freedom that will forever timestamp it in the summer that the world returned. At one point on the uplifting title track, because Liam Gallagher doesn’t really do subtlety, everything goes quiet before the tempo ramps back up and a gospel choir belts out: “Freedom!” And then there’s ‘Everything’s Electric’, the effervescent, Dave Grohl-featuring lead single, the kind of unifying, stadium-sized banger that seemed inconceivable from a Gallagher brother during their late-period Oasis era of mid-paced plodders. While that song also summons the Stones – this time cribbing the “woo-woos” of ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ – Liam experiments with less road-tested influences elsewhere. Take the moody ‘Moscow Rules’, co-penned by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, which is the most theatrical he’s ever sounded (think Fagin lamenting his lost fortune in a production of Oliver! set in Burnage). Meanwhile the opening riff of the fake news-skewering ‘I’m Free’ delivers the Stooges-style, “in-yer-face” punk he promised NME he’d explore in 2018, before unexpectedly segueing into a dubby breakdown that wouldn’t sound of place on an album by – dare we say it – Gorillaz. The slower numbers, such as the lighters-in-the-air ballad ‘Too Good For Giving Up’, are basically foil blankets for sweating out the weirder stuff. His 2017 debut solo album, ‘As You Were’, had a clear task: to establish his epic comeback. Album two, 2019’s ‘Why Me? Why Not.’, was the glorious victory lap, the second pint that deepened the pleasure of the first. This third record is the sound of Liam with little to prove; it’s loose and relaxed, as evidenced by the Macca-style ad-libbed backing vocals of woozy closer ‘Oh Sweet Children’. And you don’t sing a lyric like “I had a girl, she gave me hell / In a flat in Camberwell”, as he does on the buzzing ‘Don’t Go Halfway’, unless you’re having a laugh. At once experimental and familiar enough to keep his stunning second act on course, ‘C’mon You Know’ finds Liam Gallagher having his cake and eating it – and there’s plenty to go round at this party. If he doesn’t overthink it, why should you? Turn off your mind, relax and bring the cans.
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Post by PepsiNebula on May 26, 2022 8:23:25 GMT -5
Gigwise review. Thanks go to girllikeabomb, who posted it to the hype thread. I hope you don't mind that I copied it over.
Album Review: Liam Gallagher - C'mon You Know By far his most engaging record yet Harrison Smith 14:41 25th May 2022
There are moments on C'mon You Know, the third album by Liam Gallagher, where everything he's been striving for in the years since the fallout of Oasis feels like it finally clicks into place. From the harmonica-driven groove on 'The World Is In Need,' a bluesy track that would fit comfortably on the Stones' Beggars Banquet, to the melancholy theatrics of 'Moscow Rules,' the record creatively eclipses anything his solo career has, so far, produced.
Ahead of its release, Gallagher hinted that this record would be his most experimental, yet "some of it's odd. I'd say 80 per cent of the record's a bit peculiar but still good" — and he was right. Whether it be the fairground-sounding outro of 'Was Not Meant To Be' or the jazz flavour of the title track, it's a sign that the once-regimented rock'n'roll shackles inflicted upon himself as an artist have loosened, and he's relishing in such freedom. Lead single 'Everything's Electric' saw Gallagher following the same path as his previous two records: a catchy riff and an instantly memorable melody with the noteworthy addition of Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl joining his band on drumming and co-writing duties. With exceptional lyrics such as "Chain of missing links is all that's left now", 'Everything's Electric' was a barrage of Britpop and Indie swagger, incorporating elegant guitar lines, witty lyrics and a bounty of attitude — ticking all the boxes of what fans want. Signature Liam, then.
Although the song felt familiar yet fresh, it wasn't until the release of the title track only a few weeks later that Gallagher's new bold approach was finally revealed to audiences. Lyrically flowing with gratification for life, a jaunty saxophone line in the closing minutes highlights his willingness to try new things and humorously contradicts a statement he once made on the instrument deeming it "a bit creepy".
With a treasure trove of Oasis hits under his belt and an ever-growing number of solo songs gaining their own positive reputation, the expectation of staying authentic, exciting and replicating the surprising success of his first two records was looming. Album three is where Liam Gallagher pushes himself. Opening track 'More Power' is a homage to the Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', and sees a children's choir addressing parental figures, wishing for strength in times of hardship. It's also easy to see a growing maturity towards the fractured situation with his brother, and he even seems to apologise to his mother for the strife: ''I'll admit that I was angry for too long" he sings. The track borrows many elements from John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band and finds Gallagher at his most reflective in years.
Speaking of, The Beatles influences are — expectedly — here, but less blatant than on previous outputs. The woozy 'Don't Go Halfway', culprit of the lyric "Had a girl / she gave me hell / in her flat in Camberwell" has an abundance of the experimental characteristics the Fab Four's Revolver paraded, whilst the Lennon wail of the anthemic and saccharine 'Too Good For Giving Up' touts his strongest vocal performance yet.
There are questionable parts. Despite the nasally delivery on the softer numbers, the vocal snarl steals away their sentimentality. While it is part of his unique aesthetic, it’d be wise to tone it down occasionally. Still, with the album being the true apotheosis of everything he has put out since the break up of Oasis (Beady Eye included), C'mon You Know is by far LG's most engaging record yet. Now five years into Liam Gallagher's glorious comeback, our kid is in magnificent form, and the eagerness to expand his sound is thoroughly welcomed.
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Post by girllikeabomb on May 26, 2022 16:37:30 GMT -5
If you were waiting for the bad review, here it is (word to the wise: don't read it if these things upset you):
The New Statesman
Liam Gallagher’s new album is a soporific wade through the swampy waste of Britpop
Recycled choruses, vapid lyrics and meat-and-two-veg guitar: C’mon You Know could only achieve profundity if you were four pints deep at Glastonbury.
By Emily Bootle
In a recent tweet, Liam Gallagher wrote that Oasis, his old band, “piss all over” the Beatles, his favourite band. That’s nice, isn’t it. Ironic, actually, as Gallagher seems to be pissing out the Beatles’ liquid waste on his new album, C’mon You Know, a soporific wade through the kind of swampy Britpop that achieves profundity only when you’re filthy, sunburned and four pints deep at Glastonbury.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, of course, but you’ll forgive me for finding Gallagher’s arrogance – no matter how performative, ironic or on-brand – slightly jarring. For some, C’mon You Know will no doubt be a balm: a return to the glory days of Oasis. Others may speculate on the value of writing 12 new, less exciting versions of “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. Not all music has to be deep, but this record isn’t fun or experimental either, which makes the whole exercise seem rather pointless.
The album opens with a heartfelt, spangled children’s choir on “More Power” in a self-aware nod to the Rolling Stones’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, before it unfolds into Gallagher’s trademark andante pace and meat-and-two-veg guitar band, which dominates the rest of the record.
Nestled among the sludge, C’mon You Know is at its best with the harmonic jangling of “It Was Not Meant to Be” and folky optimism of “World’s in Need” – the two tracks, incidentally, that sound most like the Beatles. It momentarily picks up in the middle with a few chantable choruses. Title track “C’mon You Know” drives forward at a quicker pace, with vapidly optimistic, crowd-pleasing lyrics – “You know it’s gonna be alright/And we’re gonna dance all night”. On “Everything’s Electric” there are syncopated piano riffs and some heady British summer energy, with twanging guitar solos and a satisfying stomp.
Although “being alright” and “dancing all night” are very post-Covid feelings, Gallagher was adamant that this wasn’t a “post-Covid” album – “Fuck that shit – I don’t want to fucking hear about [the pandemic] ever again, do you know what I mean?” he told NME. Fair enough, you might say, but it does knock the wind out of such sweeping lyrics, which are very quickly transformed from heart-warming collective sentiments to completely meaningless clichés.
Gallagher’s spicier moments – the kick drum chorus on “I’m Free”, the mournful nostalgia of closing track “Oh Sweet Children” – are a much-needed injection of life into what is otherwise a textbook exercise in drear. Sure, everyone will stomp around shouting and throwing drinks when Gallagher does his festival circuit this season, and sure, the diehards will be pleased at this full-length return to late-1990s form. The problem is that throughout C’mon You Know I was – to borrow a phrase that Gallagher used to describe his experience of that lockdown we’re not allowed to mention – “bored shitless”.
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Post by Thomas on May 26, 2022 16:50:34 GMT -5
If you were waiting for the bad review, here it is (word to the wise: don't read it if these things upset you):
The New Statesman
Liam Gallagher’s new album is a soporific wade through the swampy waste of Britpop
Recycled choruses, vapid lyrics and meat-and-two-veg guitar: C’mon You Know could only achieve profundity if you were four pints deep at Glastonbury.
By Emily Bootle
In a recent tweet, Liam Gallagher wrote that Oasis, his old band, “piss all over” the Beatles, his favourite band. That’s nice, isn’t it. Ironic, actually, as Gallagher seems to be pissing out the Beatles’ liquid waste on his new album, C’mon You Know, a soporific wade through the kind of swampy Britpop that achieves profundity only when you’re filthy, sunburned and four pints deep at Glastonbury.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, of course, but you’ll forgive me for finding Gallagher’s arrogance – no matter how performative, ironic or on-brand – slightly jarring. For some, C’mon You Know will no doubt be a balm: a return to the glory days of Oasis. Others may speculate on the value of writing 12 new, less exciting versions of “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. Not all music has to be deep, but this record isn’t fun or experimental either, which makes the whole exercise seem rather pointless.
The album opens with a heartfelt, spangled children’s choir on “More Power” in a self-aware nod to the Rolling Stones’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, before it unfolds into Gallagher’s trademark andante pace and meat-and-two-veg guitar band, which dominates the rest of the record.
Nestled among the sludge, C’mon You Know is at its best with the harmonic jangling of “It Was Not Meant to Be” and folky optimism of “World’s in Need” – the two tracks, incidentally, that sound most like the Beatles. It momentarily picks up in the middle with a few chantable choruses. Title track “C’mon You Know” drives forward at a quicker pace, with vapidly optimistic, crowd-pleasing lyrics – “You know it’s gonna be alright/And we’re gonna dance all night”. On “Everything’s Electric” there are syncopated piano riffs and some heady British summer energy, with twanging guitar solos and a satisfying stomp.
Although “being alright” and “dancing all night” are very post-Covid feelings, Gallagher was adamant that this wasn’t a “post-Covid” album – “Fuck that shit – I don’t want to fucking hear about [the pandemic] ever again, do you know what I mean?” he told NME. Fair enough, you might say, but it does knock the wind out of such sweeping lyrics, which are very quickly transformed from heart-warming collective sentiments to completely meaningless clichés.
Gallagher’s spicier moments – the kick drum chorus on “I’m Free”, the mournful nostalgia of closing track “Oh Sweet Children” – are a much-needed injection of life into what is otherwise a textbook exercise in drear. Sure, everyone will stomp around shouting and throwing drinks when Gallagher does his festival circuit this season, and sure, the diehards will be pleased at this full-length return to late-1990s form. The problem is that throughout C’mon You Know I was – to borrow a phrase that Gallagher used to describe his experience of that lockdown we’re not allowed to mention – “bored shitless”.
Such a funny read. Nothing against bad reviews, of course – each to their own and art is always subjective. But this really reads as the reviewer had only listened to the first 30s of each song! This line in particular: " For some, C’mon You Know will no doubt be a balm: a return to the glory days of Oasis. Others may speculate on the value of writing 12 new, less exciting versions of “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. Not all music has to be deep, but this record isn’t fun or experimental either, which makes the whole exercise seem rather pointless."... it's so weird. Not going into quality matters – cause, again, it's subjective –, but this album is as far from Oasis Liam has ever been. 12 new DLBIAs? What on earth?
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Post by PepsiNebula on May 26, 2022 16:56:00 GMT -5
This was such a funny read. Nothing against bad reviews, of course – each to their own and art is always subjective. But this really reads as the reviewer had only listened to the first 30s of each song! This is hilarious. Imagine listening to Diamond in the Dark and going, "Ugh, it's Don't Look Back in Anger again ."
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Post by Thomas on May 26, 2022 16:57:15 GMT -5
This was such a funny read. Nothing against bad reviews, of course – each to their own and art is always subjective. But this really reads as the reviewer had only listened to the first 30s of each song! This is hilarious. Imagine listening to Diamond in the Dark and going, "Ugh, it's Don't Look Back in Anger again ." My thoughts exactly! I edited my original post to include something similar to this. I genuinely had a laugh reading it
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Post by PepsiNebula on May 26, 2022 17:05:57 GMT -5
This is hilarious. Imagine listening to Diamond in the Dark and going, "Ugh, it's Don't Look Back in Anger again ." My thoughts exactly! I edited my original post to include something similar to this. I genuinely had a laugh reading it Giving it a bit more thought (definitely more than it deserves), they managed to pick the one famous comparison that this album has ZERO overlap with. Liam had literally nothing to do with DLBIA! At least pick something he actually sang!
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Post by AubreyOasis on May 27, 2022 10:48:14 GMT -5
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Post by tiger40 on May 27, 2022 13:04:46 GMT -5
If you were waiting for the bad review, here it is (word to the wise: don't read it if these things upset you):
The New Statesman
Liam Gallagher’s new album is a soporific wade through the swampy waste of Britpop
Recycled choruses, vapid lyrics and meat-and-two-veg guitar: C’mon You Know could only achieve profundity if you were four pints deep at Glastonbury.
By Emily Bootle
In a recent tweet, Liam Gallagher wrote that Oasis, his old band, “piss all over” the Beatles, his favourite band. That’s nice, isn’t it. Ironic, actually, as Gallagher seems to be pissing out the Beatles’ liquid waste on his new album, C’mon You Know, a soporific wade through the kind of swampy Britpop that achieves profundity only when you’re filthy, sunburned and four pints deep at Glastonbury.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, of course, but you’ll forgive me for finding Gallagher’s arrogance – no matter how performative, ironic or on-brand – slightly jarring. For some, C’mon You Know will no doubt be a balm: a return to the glory days of Oasis. Others may speculate on the value of writing 12 new, less exciting versions of “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. Not all music has to be deep, but this record isn’t fun or experimental either, which makes the whole exercise seem rather pointless.
The album opens with a heartfelt, spangled children’s choir on “More Power” in a self-aware nod to the Rolling Stones’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, before it unfolds into Gallagher’s trademark andante pace and meat-and-two-veg guitar band, which dominates the rest of the record.
Nestled among the sludge, C’mon You Know is at its best with the harmonic jangling of “It Was Not Meant to Be” and folky optimism of “World’s in Need” – the two tracks, incidentally, that sound most like the Beatles. It momentarily picks up in the middle with a few chantable choruses. Title track “C’mon You Know” drives forward at a quicker pace, with vapidly optimistic, crowd-pleasing lyrics – “You know it’s gonna be alright/And we’re gonna dance all night”. On “Everything’s Electric” there are syncopated piano riffs and some heady British summer energy, with twanging guitar solos and a satisfying stomp.
Although “being alright” and “dancing all night” are very post-Covid feelings, Gallagher was adamant that this wasn’t a “post-Covid” album – “Fuck that shit – I don’t want to fucking hear about [the pandemic] ever again, do you know what I mean?” he told NME. Fair enough, you might say, but it does knock the wind out of such sweeping lyrics, which are very quickly transformed from heart-warming collective sentiments to completely meaningless clichés.
Gallagher’s spicier moments – the kick drum chorus on “I’m Free”, the mournful nostalgia of closing track “Oh Sweet Children” – are a much-needed injection of life into what is otherwise a textbook exercise in drear. Sure, everyone will stomp around shouting and throwing drinks when Gallagher does his festival circuit this season, and sure, the diehards will be pleased at this full-length return to late-1990s form. The problem is that throughout C’mon You Know I was – to borrow a phrase that Gallagher used to describe his experience of that lockdown we’re not allowed to mention – “bored shitless”.
What a shit review.
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Post by tiger40 on May 27, 2022 13:07:24 GMT -5
There's three reviews on Stop Crying Your Heart Out which are much better than that last review on here.
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Post by DCUnited on May 27, 2022 13:11:38 GMT -5
There's three reviews on Stop Crying Your Heart Out which are much better than that last review on here. Your Stop Crying Your Heart Out plugs make me laugh everytime 😆
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Post by tiger40 on May 27, 2022 13:49:39 GMT -5
There's three reviews on Stop Crying Your Heart Out which are much better than that last review on here. Your Stop Crying Your Heart Out plugs make me laugh everytime 😆 Why.? It’s a good site for anything Gallagher related.
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Post by mancraider on May 27, 2022 15:39:14 GMT -5
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Post by tiger40 on May 27, 2022 17:02:04 GMT -5
That's not a bad review. However, the reviewer didn't really mention the songs much though.
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Post by mancraider on May 27, 2022 17:35:26 GMT -5
Telegraph
Liam Gallagher, C’mon You Know ★★★★☆ The last of the rock stars is back, on bravura form. You can tell from the title that it’s going to be a good one. Liam Gallagher has always evinced a snappy turn of phrase, exemplified on his trio of solo albums, As You Were (2017), Why Me? Why Not (2019) and now C’mon You Know.
Because, c’mon, we do know. Love him or loathe him, Gallagher commands attention. He has a singular look that he carries off with panache, a powerful voice that mixes raw attack with bittersweet tinges of vulnerability, and enough swagger to solve the nation’s energy crisis if only we could power the national grid on self-belief. He may work with teams of pop writers to craft songs to match his more musically gifted brother Noel’s great Oasis anthems, but Liam’s got the charisma and conviction to carry it off.
Indeed, C’mon You Know may be the greatest album Oasis never made, in part because it is not slavish in its attempt to relive his own past. Gallagher has frequently admitted he would still rather be in Oasis, the Britpop champions who broke up in 2009 after one sibling spat too far. But building on the stellar success of his reluctant solo career, with two sold-out nights at Knebworth lined up for the Jubilee weekend, Liam has spread his wings here, drawing on a wider range of musical influences than usual, albeit never straying too far from his amped-up-Beatles template.
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Everything may remind you of something you’ve heard before, but Gallagher remains a singer who can deliver utopian exhortations and sneering put-downs with equal conviction, even in the same song, as he does on the Coral-meets-Bo-Diddley strum of World’s in Need, a peace-and-love ditty with sideswipes at “drips” and “snowflakes”.
Placeholder image for youtube video: Ob_1D1Y76Ac The opening track More Power unabashedly emulates the children’s choir from the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want for an anthem of epic yet empty profundity. Does anyone apart from Liam himself think he warrants having more power? What would he do with it? “I’m floating like a lion in the ark,” he bafflingly proclaims over the slinky, Stone Roses-style groove of Diamond in the Dark. Meanwhile, on the psychedelic pastiche Don’t Go Halfway he depicts himself “In the back of a cab, spangled as a flag in America”.
He vents his spleen with declamatory Mark E Smith vitriol (“You’re the sole prisoner taken in the info wars!”) on rowdy Stooges-style rocker I’m Free, locating an extra syllable in the title phrase (“I’m free-ah!”). He reheats the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows (again) on Chemical Brothers-style electro-rock belter Better Days, and there’s a brace of phones-aloft, it’ll-be-alright-in-the-end ballads that will go down a treat at Knebworth.
Advertisement Gallagher has a hand in every song, although a Venn diagram of his collaborators would find links with Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Lady Gaga, Adele, Beyoncé, Lily Allen and Kylie Minogue. Foo Fighter Dave Grohl thunders on drums for Everything’s Electric, and Vampire Weekend’s Erza Koenig plays tasteful piano on Moscow Rules, an intriguingly baroque ballad that showcases Gallagher’s softer tones.
There may be something mercenary in the former firebrand’s willingness to co-opt pop professionals to essentially emulate his estranged brother’s oeuvre, but the results speak for themselves. C’mon You Know is comfortably better than anything Oasis released after 1995’s world conquering What’s The Story (Morning Glory).
Even Noel might be begrudgingly impressed
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Post by themanwholivesinhell on May 27, 2022 17:38:18 GMT -5
www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/liam-gallagher-cmon-you-know-album-review-17876/Will Richards - ROLLING STONE UK★★★★☆Is Liam Gallagher starting to soften up? Indie’s bolshy hardman has built a career on singing unashamed love songs while maintaining a tough exterior as one who is seemingly altogether unmoved by anything and everything. The pandemic got to us all, though, and on his touching and intimate Christmas 2020 song ‘All You’re Dreaming Of’, Liam sang delicately of a love that will “be there when the world is at its worst” and “cover you in kisses unrehearsed”. His third solo album, C’mon You Know, appears to have been a turning point for the Britpop icon. On the new record, Gallagher cuts a softer and more breakable figure, and it results in a far more relatable album. Opening track ‘More Power’ begins with a children’s choir. “I wish I had more power,” they sing angelically before Gallagher’s voice comes in for the first time: “If you want to keep the things you love, then you better learn to kneel.” The fact that Gallagher has managed to wrestle a successful solo career out of the Beady Eye-shaped doldrums he sat in a decade ago remains somewhat remarkable. It goes without saying that his solo shows — which have reached biblical levels over the past few years and will see him return to Knebworth this summer for two sold-out nights — still revolve around the Oasis classics, but his first two studio albums, 2017’s As You Were and 2019 follow-up Why Me? Why Not., kept Gallagher in the conversation while not reinventing the wheel. C’mon You Know pushes things much further forward, though, to the point where its swaggering moments are the ones that feel out of step. “I had a girl, she gave me hell, in our flat in Camberwell” he shouts at the start of ‘Don’t Go Halfway’, with its kiss-off — “C’mon you freak / you know what I mean” — at odds with the message and tone of the rest of the album. The musical textures on C’mon You Know — provided by long-term collaborators Greg Kurstin and Andrew Watt — are perfectly tailored for Gallagher’s impressive but largely inflexible voice. Before he’d only thrive when sing-speaking in a rage, but the chorus of the slinky ‘Diamond in the Dark’ houses a melodic vocal perfectly, while single ‘Everything’s Electric’ is quintessential Liam, with his voice powerfully bursting out of its chorus. If there’s one track here that will feel most at home among ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Supersonic’ et al at Knebworth this June, it’s the album’s title track. Suitably, this is also the song that most strongly embodies the album’s surprising but welcome philosophy. Over a formulaic but moving slow- build of handclaps and gradually rising instrumentation, Liam Gallagher encourages us to “start living, be thankful” and “show love”. Most importantly, he sings it like he bloody well means it. “I’m sick of acting like I’m tough / C’mon baby, giz a hug,” he then pleads, softening up and feeling more relatable than ever as a result. He’d do well to give us more of it in the future.
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Post by tiger40 on May 28, 2022 13:13:30 GMT -5
Telegraph Liam Gallagher, C’mon You Know ★★★★☆ The last of the rock stars is back, on bravura form. You can tell from the title that it’s going to be a good one. Liam Gallagher has always evinced a snappy turn of phrase, exemplified on his trio of solo albums, As You Were (2017), Why Me? Why Not (2019) and now C’mon You Know. Because, c’mon, we do know. Love him or loathe him, Gallagher commands attention. He has a singular look that he carries off with panache, a powerful voice that mixes raw attack with bittersweet tinges of vulnerability, and enough swagger to solve the nation’s energy crisis if only we could power the national grid on self-belief. He may work with teams of pop writers to craft songs to match his more musically gifted brother Noel’s great Oasis anthems, but Liam’s got the charisma and conviction to carry it off. Indeed, C’mon You Know may be the greatest album Oasis never made, in part because it is not slavish in its attempt to relive his own past. Gallagher has frequently admitted he would still rather be in Oasis, the Britpop champions who broke up in 2009 after one sibling spat too far. But building on the stellar success of his reluctant solo career, with two sold-out nights at Knebworth lined up for the Jubilee weekend, Liam has spread his wings here, drawing on a wider range of musical influences than usual, albeit never straying too far from his amped-up-Beatles template. ADVERTISING Everything may remind you of something you’ve heard before, but Gallagher remains a singer who can deliver utopian exhortations and sneering put-downs with equal conviction, even in the same song, as he does on the Coral-meets-Bo-Diddley strum of World’s in Need, a peace-and-love ditty with sideswipes at “drips” and “snowflakes”. Placeholder image for youtube video: Ob_1D1Y76Ac The opening track More Power unabashedly emulates the children’s choir from the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want for an anthem of epic yet empty profundity. Does anyone apart from Liam himself think he warrants having more power? What would he do with it? “I’m floating like a lion in the ark,” he bafflingly proclaims over the slinky, Stone Roses-style groove of Diamond in the Dark. Meanwhile, on the psychedelic pastiche Don’t Go Halfway he depicts himself “In the back of a cab, spangled as a flag in America”. He vents his spleen with declamatory Mark E Smith vitriol (“You’re the sole prisoner taken in the info wars!”) on rowdy Stooges-style rocker I’m Free, locating an extra syllable in the title phrase (“I’m free-ah!”). He reheats the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows (again) on Chemical Brothers-style electro-rock belter Better Days, and there’s a brace of phones-aloft, it’ll-be-alright-in-the-end ballads that will go down a treat at Knebworth. Advertisement Gallagher has a hand in every song, although a Venn diagram of his collaborators would find links with Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Lady Gaga, Adele, Beyoncé, Lily Allen and Kylie Minogue. Foo Fighter Dave Grohl thunders on drums for Everything’s Electric, and Vampire Weekend’s Erza Koenig plays tasteful piano on Moscow Rules, an intriguingly baroque ballad that showcases Gallagher’s softer tones. There may be something mercenary in the former firebrand’s willingness to co-opt pop professionals to essentially emulate his estranged brother’s oeuvre, but the results speak for themselves. C’mon You Know is comfortably better than anything Oasis released after 1995’s world conquering What’s The Story (Morning Glory). Even Noel might be begrudgingly impressed Another decent review .
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Post by tiger40 on May 28, 2022 13:14:12 GMT -5
www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/liam-gallagher-cmon-you-know-album-review-17876/Will Richards - ROLLING STONE UK★★★★☆Is Liam Gallagher starting to soften up? Indie’s bolshy hardman has built a career on singing unashamed love songs while maintaining a tough exterior as one who is seemingly altogether unmoved by anything and everything. The pandemic got to us all, though, and on his touching and intimate Christmas 2020 song ‘All You’re Dreaming Of’, Liam sang delicately of a love that will “be there when the world is at its worst” and “cover you in kisses unrehearsed”. His third solo album, C’mon You Know, appears to have been a turning point for the Britpop icon. On the new record, Gallagher cuts a softer and more breakable figure, and it results in a far more relatable album. Opening track ‘More Power’ begins with a children’s choir. “I wish I had more power,” they sing angelically before Gallagher’s voice comes in for the first time: “If you want to keep the things you love, then you better learn to kneel.” The fact that Gallagher has managed to wrestle a successful solo career out of the Beady Eye-shaped doldrums he sat in a decade ago remains somewhat remarkable. It goes without saying that his solo shows — which have reached biblical levels over the past few years and will see him return to Knebworth this summer for two sold-out nights — still revolve around the Oasis classics, but his first two studio albums, 2017’s As You Were and 2019 follow-up Why Me? Why Not., kept Gallagher in the conversation while not reinventing the wheel. C’mon You Know pushes things much further forward, though, to the point where its swaggering moments are the ones that feel out of step. “I had a girl, she gave me hell, in our flat in Camberwell” he shouts at the start of ‘Don’t Go Halfway’, with its kiss-off — “C’mon you freak / you know what I mean” — at odds with the message and tone of the rest of the album. The musical textures on C’mon You Know — provided by long-term collaborators Greg Kurstin and Andrew Watt — are perfectly tailored for Gallagher’s impressive but largely inflexible voice. Before he’d only thrive when sing-speaking in a rage, but the chorus of the slinky ‘Diamond in the Dark’ houses a melodic vocal perfectly, while single ‘Everything’s Electric’ is quintessential Liam, with his voice powerfully bursting out of its chorus. If there’s one track here that will feel most at home among ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Supersonic’ et al at Knebworth this June, it’s the album’s title track. Suitably, this is also the song that most strongly embodies the album’s surprising but welcome philosophy. Over a formulaic but moving slow- build of handclaps and gradually rising instrumentation, Liam Gallagher encourages us to “start living, be thankful” and “show love”. Most importantly, he sings it like he bloody well means it. “I’m sick of acting like I’m tough / C’mon baby, giz a hug,” he then pleads, softening up and feeling more relatable than ever as a result. He’d do well to give us more of it in the future. Another good review.
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Post by joladella on May 29, 2022 8:17:20 GMT -5
www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/29/liam-gallagher-cmon-you-know-review-star-cast-earthbound-resultsLiam Gallagher: C’mon You Know review – star cast, earthbound results (Warner) Gallagher Jr enlists the likes of Dave Grohl, Ezra Koenig and Nick Zinner for an album that has pleasing touches but can’t rise above solid
3/5 stars
Given that he was written off as the Gallagher Brother Least Likely To when Oasis imploded in 2009, a feeling compounded by the underwhelming career of Beady Eye, it’s perhaps a surprise that it’s Liam, not Noel, who has sold out two nights at Knebworth next month. That he has achieved such enormous popularity when his solo albums have been consistently solid rather than exciting makes it an even more remarkable feat. C’mon You Know hardly sets the pulse racing any more than its two predecessors, despite Gallagher’s clear attempt to broaden his palate. An all-star cast of writers, producers and special guests, including Dave Grohl, Ezra Koenig and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, provide plenty of polish and ideas, prompting an unexpected sortie into dub (I’m Free) and nice flourishes throughout (such as the euphoric female backing vocals on the standout title track). Elsewhere, there’s a subplot involving the Stones circa Let It Bleed: recent single Everything’s Electric, a Grohl co-write, has a guitar coda that echoes Gimme Shelter (with added Sympathy for the Devil woo-woos, for good measure). Opener More Power (key lyric: “Mother, I’ll admit that I was angry for too long”), meanwhile, has a choirboy intro that’s perhaps a little too much in the style of You Can’t Always Get What You Want to not sound like pastiche. Gallagher still has a voice that can imbue even the most meaningless lyric with more feeling than it deserves. But the old adage about cooks and broth holds true, because for all the efforts of the crack team surrounding him, the results are largely unremarkable and at times, as in the case of Oh Sweet Children, downright cloying.
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I can live with that, coming from the Guardian, especially the sentence I put in bold!
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