Went back to Why Me Why Not on a sunny afternoon, my opinions on the tunes:
01 - Shockwave (5/10) - Mixed thoughts. I love the bridge, and there is a swagger to the verses, but I hate those "heys" in the chorus. Just screams cheap radio rock to me and seeing as that's the moment the tune is built around, it's a tough listen. But overall, the stomping guitars and the basic tune do their job of making up a loud, in-your-face opener.
02 - One of Us (9/10) - One of the best solo Gallagher tunes. Hypnotic, mysterious, with splashes of colour and relentless energy. Liam sounds fantastic, the lyrics are great, it's just a banger in every department. This is exactly how to make guitar music that works in the modern world. Only criticism would be the fade-out, but that's nit-picking really. Great tune.
03 - Once (6/10) - I know people love this, but it just feels too "designed" as the beers-in-the-air acoustic anthem to me. How the drums come in, the strings, the way it ends, all just a bit on-the-nose, I suppose. It is a nice tune, though, and I understand why people would enjoy it. Controversially, my favourite bit would be the once-once-once build-up to the final chorus, which has a nice Bowie vibe, and the backing vocals are more ethereal than obvious.
04 - Now that I've Found You (3/10) - Don't like this. Don't like this at all. A crap radio song that feels soulless to me, like they just took a series of attempts to write a melody for a Capri Sun advert and put them all into one tune. The sound of it is oddly rough for a song trying to be summery and easy-going, as well, it's a bit nasty on the ears to me. Not a fan.
05 - Halo (5/10) - Another attempt at that Bring-the-Light style rocker, and the pace and energy are cool, but I don't think there's a lot to love beyond that. The melody is...there, the guitar solo also exists, and the chorus is certainly something that happens. Not much to say about it, but I enjoy how compressed and loud it's allowed to be. Plus, the whistle is fun.
06 – Why Me, Why Not? (8/10) - Better! Great dark swagger to it, feels all metallic and ruthless in the verses, and then bursts into a bright fountain of a chorus, and the two work together spot on. Liam is perfect, not even giving any other rock vocalist a chance. Banger.
07 – Be Still (5/10) - Can’t get into this. Chorus is okay, there’s a nice riff and some darkness in it, but it just sounds cobbled together to my ears, like a rushed Beady Eye track. The kind of song where you forget the tune of it ten seconds after it finishes.
08 – Alright Now (7/10) - I enjoy this. Pleasant Lennon pastiche with a summery feel and a light production that works nicely. It’s nothing to set the world on fire, but it’s nice. Gives me vibes of a film noir about a rich beautiful woman losing all her money or something.
09 – Meadow (4/10) - B-side stuff to my ears. I like the hazy, psychedelic feel but I think we’re getting a bit too much Beatles vibes together at this part of the record, it gets a bit eye-roll-worthy when gathered like that. Liam sounds good, but nothing else grabs me.
10 – The River (8/10) - Love the heavier, darker feel of this one. The verses are magnetic (a slight Dylan feel with that “I do comprehend”?) and Liam is just born to sing on songs like this. His voice is like sawdust and whiskey on that chorus line, and the production is strong too. Only criticism would be the quite generic ah-ah-ah section, but again, a nit-pick.
11 – Gone (8/10) - Better than I remembered! There’s an almost hip-hop feel to the vocals in the intro, and the song continues the dark swagger that defines all the best songs on the LP. The James Bond vibe from the title track returns and overall, it closes the normal tracklist on a strong note. The spoken word is a bit comical, but manages to work even still.
12 – Invisible Sun (8/10) - Fucking yes! Like The Hindu Times Demo, but with a better singer! When the drums kick in, it’s like a shot of lightning. Again, dark and metallic swagger. This is the sound that should’ve defined the LP, because it works every time. Love the groove, love the chorus, love Liam’s vocals. Beatles and Brown together, working perfectly.
13 – Misunderstood (7/10) -Nice little tune, this time with War on Drugs vibes, all languid guitars and hazy strums, like a melancholic summer dream. Definitely should have made the non-deluxe tracklist, it’s much better than the attempts at a similar mood that did make it.
14 – Glimmer (6/10) - No recollection of this one. It’s nice, though. Good drum groove and pace to it, and a melancholic feel. Fun little country vibe to the middle-eight, and again, probably should have made the proper album like the other two bonus tracks.
OVERALL - A mixed album, but better than I remember. Liam sounds great, and every time it goes for a darker sound, it’s brilliant. The problems are the singles sound a bit too designed to me – here's the ballad, here’s the rocker, here’s the pop one, etc... and some of the album cuts sound rushed. Still, no tune outstays it’s welcome, and if you swap the three worst tracks for the bonus ones, you end up with a very solid radio-rock record.