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Post by icebreath on Oct 5, 2011 3:54:59 GMT -5
The much anticipated debut solo record from Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher came across the Your Daily SPA desk this morning and we just couldn’t help but jot down a few words about what this larger than life rocker has in store for us. Some background rustling and a casual cough make for a disconcerting first couple of seconds of Noel Gallagher’s debut record, but it’s clearly there to throw us off the scent as Everybody’s On The Run erupts into an epic, anthemic piece, replete with strings, a choir and a big, bombastic chorus. If I Had A Gun does away with the lavish touches and rest on more of a standard rock band formation. The sentiment is a little weird; “ If I had a gun, I’d shoot a hole into the sun and never burn this city down for you ” isn’t exactly Gallagher at his most poignant, but we’ve never been too romantic so who are we to judge? Surely no one is looking forward to hearing a song called (I Wanna Live a Dream In My) Record Machine. We weren’t. The seemingly inappropriate sound of children chatting and playing opens it up, before we quickly realize this is yet another big ballad, this time driven by an acoustic guitar, some huge harmonies and before you know it, hello, here come those swirling strings and that choir again. It wouldn’t be that bad of a song, but when the chorus kicks in and Gallagher actually sings “_I wanna live a dream in my record machine_” you can’t help but laugh/cringe and then you just want those fucking kids to shut up. There’s a pretty nice guitar solo over an incredibly dramatic string interlude but it all feels a bit silly, really. The rolling piano and static bass of What A Life starts the song of promisingly, and the song putters along just how a nice and inoffensive modern rock tune oughta. It won’t blow your mind but it’ll make you tap your foot and the little dash of mellotron thrown over the top of the solid groove established by the rhythm section is a very nice touch. We certainly weren’t ready for The Death of You and Me. An intro that almost sounds inspired by a spaghetti western, Gallagher pulling out his finest falsetto and, frankly, one of the best choruses he has written in years is far removed from the sappy melodrama expected. It’s a perky tune with miserable subject matter and, most importantly, a big old fashioned New Orleans inspired horn section that kind of doesn’t fit, which actually makes it better. A bunch of rather disparate ideas smashed together doesn’t often work, but it has here. Might not be a single, but it’s bloody good all the same. Stop The Clocks is boring, quite frankly, and it features the line “ What if I’m already dead? How would I know? “, which leads us immediately to the skip button. Dream On is a jaunty slice of Britpop that takes itself a bit too seriously to be fun, but hits the mark all the same. Suspicious as we are, a song called Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks has us pretty excited, but sadly it doesn’t get anywhere as dark as its title had us hoping for, but it’s not anywhere near as banal as AKA Broken Arrow, which honestly sounds like Gallagher is just reading verbatim from a book called Clichés for Dummies; you have to hear this shit to believe it. The brackets are given a second run as (Stranded On) The Wrong Beach drops by. It’s far better than the last bracketed song and the gritty, swaggering chorus is one of the best on the record. It’s a bit more Stones than Beatles and shows us Gallagher has balls, without slapping us in the face with them as has happened a few times with the Forget the kitchen sink; Gallagher and co have thrown the entire housing estate at this record. It sounds like it cost millions of bucks to make and as if it would have been a bit of a pain in the arse to do. The production is slick, the instrumentation intense (sometimes too much so) and Gallagher really belts it out on his vocal takes. The results are mostly pretty impressive – a few missteps aside – now we just need to kick back and watch the fireworks as Oasis fans tussle over whether or not it’s better than Beady Eye… Noel Gallagher’s solo debut album Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will be released on November 8th on Sour Mash/Mercury Records. themusic.com.au/newsletter/first-listen-noel-gallagher-s-debut-record
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Post by RocketMan on Oct 5, 2011 4:01:00 GMT -5
nice read. and good to know that they claim (stranded on) the wrong beach as on of the best songs. it's a different point of view and shows that there is something for everyone to like
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Post by Frank Lee Vulgar on Oct 5, 2011 4:47:05 GMT -5
The comments about RM are a bit weird. Hope those children's chatting doesn't ruin the song. Also interesting that this is the first reviewer who dislikes Broken Arrow. And they got the lyrics to IIHAG wrong ;D
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Post by putthisin ® on Oct 5, 2011 4:50:44 GMT -5
Well, they really didn't like the album
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Post by King Blougaredoc on Oct 5, 2011 4:52:19 GMT -5
Well, they really didn't like the album They say "the results are mostly impressive"
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Post by mossy on Oct 5, 2011 4:52:57 GMT -5
Did they listen to the album on shuffle, skipping from STC to Dream On!?
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Post by jon81 on Oct 5, 2011 5:30:01 GMT -5
Best review so far... For the fact they blatantly didnt want to like it.. but they couldn't help like it!!!
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ozfan2
Oasis Roadie
Posts: 307
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Post by ozfan2 on Oct 5, 2011 5:40:12 GMT -5
Best review so far... For the fact they blatantly didnt want to like it.. but they couldn't help like it!!! My sentiments exactly! I live in Australia and the general Australian ( who knows who they are) do not like oasis or the Gallaghers. They represent the arrogant cocky Pom I'm afraid. I love the Aussies but there is this old rivalry thing which rears it's head from time to time. Before I read the post above I could tell that the reviewer wanted desperately NOT to like it eg you have to listen to this shit to believe it. That's hardly very articulate and I'm not just saying this but when I read stuff like that I decided to stop as it's obvious there is an underlying prejudice and bias which ruins the credibility of the reviewer. So pass this one- Next!
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Post by headshrinker84 on Oct 5, 2011 6:11:54 GMT -5
What a idiot that reviewer is. He skips STC because of one line.
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Post by cheese on Oct 5, 2011 6:44:51 GMT -5
Really weird review.
"“ If I had a gun, I’d shoot a hole into the sun and never burn this city down for you" What?
"...weren’t ready for The Death of You and Me. Might not be a single, but it’s bloody good all the same"
I'm not someone who learns the detail of every album and song, but anyone over the age of 5 that has listened to the songs would know these 2 points are completely wrong. Heck, if I was going to be reviewing albums, I would at least take the 1 minute to research the albums current status.
I don't know much of the site but I can't help feel it's been written by a guy with the mentality of a ten year old.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2011 8:14:16 GMT -5
They didn't do a great job of hiding the fact that they had no intention of enjoying it.
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Post by jeffrey on Oct 5, 2011 8:33:32 GMT -5
If IWTLIADIMRM and STC sound similar to the demos, then I agree that they'll be boring. IIHAG is a song Noel can write in his sleep and not what I hoped he come out with. Frankly, I want a different sound, a la SOTSOG.
I think there will undoubtedly be some good tunes on the album, but I'm looking forward to the AA album much more than this one.
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Post by icebreath on Oct 5, 2011 9:25:48 GMT -5
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Post by jeffrey on Oct 5, 2011 9:34:22 GMT -5
I Want To Live In A Dream In My Record Machine
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Post by icebreath on Oct 5, 2011 10:13:12 GMT -5
I Want To Live In A Dream In My Record Machine Yeah i know but why you don't just write Record Machine or RM instead
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putmeinmyplace89
Oasis Roadie
I live my life for the stars that shine
Posts: 208
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Post by putmeinmyplace89 on Oct 5, 2011 10:13:15 GMT -5
this guy does not sound to be much of a fan with already preconceived notions on how he's going to judge noel and yet he likes it overall. this is good
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Post by ceskojr on Oct 5, 2011 10:13:19 GMT -5
I Want To Live In A Dream In My Record Machine (I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine no "T" that's beacuse is his "WTF"
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2011 10:18:29 GMT -5
This review is pathetic really, how can it be a professional review if they skipped a track.
Oh and making the effort to say TDOYAM isn't a single shows the lack of research and effort they put into their work
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Post by CFC2013 on Oct 5, 2011 10:19:42 GMT -5
Shite review.
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dion
Oasis Roadie
Posts: 362
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Post by dion on Oct 5, 2011 13:30:35 GMT -5
Terrible review but the fact they clearly wanted to hate it and can't is reassuring.
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