Album Review : BEADY EYE - DIFFERENT GEAR, STILL SPEEDING

It is somewhat fitting that the first album review of my blog is that of, Beady Eye (effectively Oasis without Noel Gallagher). Yes, I am a huge Oasis fan and have been since my good friend, Kevin Bruce shared his most recent addition to his music collection back in 1994, 'Definitely Maybe'. To this day, it remains the favourite album in my collection and marks a time in which music became a huge passion of mine.

Now I know Oasis are not everyone's cup of tea. In fact, they appear to possess the uncanny knack of being able to generate a love or hate relationship with listeners. As for the question of preference, "Noel' or 'Liam?" among the Oasis following, I am fairly impartial. Noel clearly holds the song writing talents and the stage poise of a Pete Townsend/Paul McCartney type, while Liam holds the gritty vocals that I love and is more in the cast of the Robert Plant/Roger Daltrey brand of rock 'n roll star. Noel is clearly the more relaxed and mature of the two, with Liam having the tendency to be a little more contrived. He once referred to himself as being the reincarnation of his idol, John Lennon and more recently explained that the bands name, 'Beady Eye' stemmed from the fact that it will come immediately before his idols, 'The Beatles' in play lists. 

Sibling rivalry ultimately culminated in the end of Oasis in August 2009 when Noel Gallagher had enough of his little brothers attitude and antics announcing his departure from the band following a backstage altercation with Liam prior to a festival gig. This bickering shows no signs of dissipating with Liam publicly mocking his elder brother while performing the past weekends (25th March 2011) 'Teenage Cancer Trust' show at London's, Royal Albert Hall (where Noel incidentally headlined last year). Taunts such as "We were going to sit down to sing the next song, but apparently someone who played here last year stole all the stools" and "Where's Noel when you need him, eh?" clear jibes at his big brother.

Anyway, enough of the handbag fight between two Manchester brothers and on to the album review. 

Having heard some of Liam's previous songwriting efforts (Little James on 'Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants'), I was a little concerned about this album effort. However with Andy Bell (Ride, Hurricane #1, Oasis) and Gem Archer (Heavy Stereo, Oasis) sharing the burden, Gallagher had accomplished and proven specialists in the field to lean on. 

The 13 track album flits between the rock 'n roll Oasis sound that one would come to expect and Lennonesque efforts (some of which actually work) by Liam. 'Four Letter Word' kicks of the album nicely with 'Who' like riffs and psychedelic sounds accompanying strong vocals from the lead man. That said, I feel 'Bring the Light' (the first single released from the album) would have been better placed as album opener. A breathless, jazzy, soulful, rock 'n roll tune with piano at the fore and catchy lyrics expertly delivered by Liam. Lots of energy and get up and go. The video fits the vibe perfectly. For me, the strongest song on the album.

'Beatles and Stones' is a likeable little tune following 'My Generation' chords, but pretty basic in terms of lyrics and music. The same could be said for 'Standing on the Edge of the Noise' and 'Three Ring Circles' which are decent, but again, don't have a great deal of substance or creativity. There are a couple of tracks in the 'not so good' category such as, 'Millionaire' and 'Wind up Dream' which are pleasant enough, but don't really capture the imagination...something that my Mum might quite enjoy while doing the housework, nothing more. For the more chilled out songs and probably (dare I say it) more in the Noel genre of Oasis tunes, 'The Roller' is vocally brilliant from Liam. Simple, but effective lyrics that will have you tapping your feet and humming all day unable to get the song out of your head. These wistful melodies continue in 'Kill for a Dream' and 'The Beat Goes On' which are synonymous with 'Cast No Shadow' and 'Champagne Supernova' from the 'What's the Story, Morning Glory?' era and perhaps even 'All You Need is Love' from The Beatles. Liam's voice quality is certainly evident in the recording studio and hopefully he maintains that during the variety of festivals and gigs that Beady Eye have lined up this year.

Unfortunately, modern day albums rarely have more than five solid songs. To my pleasant surprise, this one just about makes the mark as a decent album. The following links are certainly worth a listen and although the album is no 'Definitely Maybe', it is definitely probably. Rating 7/10

Bring the Light 

Beatles and Stones

The Roller

Kill for a Dream