Even after the acrimonious split from brother Noel Gallagher in Oasis, Liam Gallagher really has done his best to keep his vision of Rock music alive today. Meanwhile, Noel has seemingly gone on a fairly unsuccessful musical route of fantasy land artsy weirdness, although neither Gallagher brother admittedly has been anywhere near as big as Oasis was. True, in the age of AI based PCs and mobile phones, beats, textures and autotuned vocals seem far more relevant to many postmodern listeners out there, rather than guitars, drums and naturally pleasant vocals that made Rock music so big in the past. Still, the switch from Rock to Rap as the biggest genre of music listened to has indeed hurt the Rock music scene badly. In addition, there have been too many one-hit-wonders out there who have autotuned vocals along with pre-arranged lyrics and tracks. Sadly, it has been this way and increasingly so for some time in the music industry. Fear not, however. Liam Gallagher is still keeping the flame of Rock and Roll alive, complete with a sold-out re-hash of his own massive Knebworth gigs, minus Noel Gallagher and the rest of Oasis. However, he has made a point musically. This is Liam Gallagher’s latest release and for reasons mentioned here, it must be covered, so without any further hesitation, let’s give this album a listen.

More Power begins this album with a boys choir and strummed acoustic guitars. This is certainly an unusual left turn from the Liam Gallagher we know. It’s strangely enjoyable though. Liam quickly emerges into the track, singing about some socio-realist concepts on modern day life. It’s his solo version of Don’t Believe The Truth. Singing about the loss of his father and pleading with his mother to forgive him, this song quickly breaks into a decent and thunderous set of drums. Liam’s voice hasn’t aged that well over the years, but he still has that arrogant attitude that kicks the proverbial. This is an unusual beginning for a Rock album, but the mixture of the boys’ choir and bold statements makes for a decent listen. “Is this what you came for?” Liam asks the listener. This sounds rather NGHFB-ish but despite that, Liam does well. A strange and semi-psychedelic outro with a string section concludes this. At last, Liam Gallagher is back.

Diamond In The Dark begins with some distorted drums, guitars that are heavily overdriven and Liam Gallagher singing confidently about a typical lifetime experience that he is having. This is a lesser track on the album, but Liam sounds like he sings with nothing but a huge amount of confidence here. That’s the thing about him, he was never a totally great singer in the beginning, but he retains more confidence than any Pop star today, especially considering how poor his singing voice is today. This is a nice listen regardless, although it will probably age fairly quickly within the next few years. Still, credit must go to Liam Gallagher for creating some decent tunes that are better than the Heathen Chemistry Oasis album ever was. A very enjoyable, although rather unoriginal and a little lacking, listen.

Don’t Go Halfway has some reversed guitars, to begin with, before launching into a fantastic sounding groove. Liam’s voice here is pretty shocking here, which sadly brings the song down a little. Still, this is better than anything Noel Gallagher has done fairly recently, including learning how to drive a car at over the age of 50. This song title may be a subtle Be Here Now reference to the brilliant song Don’t Go Away, but Liam sings with his heart on his sleeve, regardless of the fact that his voice isn’t anywhere near as good as it was. A really cool listen, with some nice instrumentation in the background, Liam may not be as good as a songwriter as Noel, but he excels beyond expectations here. An enjoyable tune with some neat sounds and production, as long as Liam Gallagher is alive, so is Rock music. The outro is full of electrical static sounds. Odd, but good.

C’mon You Know is the title track of the album. It begins with some synth washes, pounding drums, handclaps and a slight air of melancholy about it. This sounds a bit depressing to hear, to be frank, and this goes against Liam Gallagher’s personality for the most part. The melodies however are quite good, and although it sounds like Liam has had better days as a Rock singer, he does okay here. The lyrics are fairly cheesy and this tune isn’t the best on the album. But, does it matter a great deal? Not really. This is nonetheless good, but certainly not great. Liam Gallagher sounds a lot like Bob Dylan these days, and although his voice has admittedly improved since Dig Out Your Soul, it still lacks continuity and power. In any case, this is an interesting tune. A psychedelic breakdown occurs in the second half with some very King Crimson-esque sounds, hard to believe that this is the case. Anyway, a good song but again, not a great song. There is plenty of production here to keep people listening, but it feels awkward here. A good tune to listen to all the same. There is a fuzzy outro with saxophone as well, something that Oasis never did. Liam and Noel obviously know how to make music in their own particular way.

Too Good For Giving Up is a piano ballad that sounds pretty awful from the start. It sounds a bit like Liam Gallagher doing a Coldplay style ballad. Liam Gallagher and depressing melancholy style tunes do not flow well together, sadly. The sentiment here is eventually very good though, and this song, along with Stop Crying Your Heart Out should be played to Rock music fans when they are depressed. The thing about life is that, no matter what, we all have a purpose, which is why we exist. Liam Gallagher thoroughly understands this, and this comes across as a mature sentiment from him, unusually. Still, an awkward mixture of emotions and purpose, but a reassuring sentiment nonetheless. Liam really should do an acoustic album with brother Noel if they ever get back together as musicians in Oasis, that would be fantastic. Still, a good song here, once again.

It Was Not Meant To Be begins with strummed acoustic guitars and jangly Rock sounds, with Liam singing a better tune. This is a shorter piece of music with some sampled drum breakbeats that sound delicious. Sure, this is not anywhere near as magical as Definitely Maybe or (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? However, these tunes do hit emotional levels very well. There are some nice production touches but sadly, the song seems a little like filler. However, the same sort of thing could have been said for any Oasis album from Be Here Now onwards. Liam still proves he has a musical soul in a way. This song fades out quickly, before resuming with a fade-in. There are organs galore, along with some rapid fire hi-hats. Different, and arty.

Everything’s Electric is the most popular tune from this album. It begins with some electric guitars and processed sounds, before pounding drum rolls launch this piece into a good groove. Again, the shelf life of these songs isn’t very long, but still, this is a nicely crafted and constructed tune that is enjoyable to hear at this point. It is clear that Liam Gallagher could benefit from some more concise songs here, but he still Rocks well. These songs are very much the sort of material that Liam would have made if Noel Gallagher never joined Oasis back in 1991. Sadly, it is not as amazing as early Oasis, but it will do for now. Enjoyable for what it is.

World’s In Need begins with a kick drum pounding, strummed acoustic guitar and harmonica. This is a better song with an uptempo feel to it. The sounds and feel of this song are actually really good, and although the lyrics aren’t 100% original or different by Liam, he does sing with relevance about the stage that the world is in. Let’s face it, three decades on from Oasis’s peak days, the world is in a much worse state at the present day with the threat of WWIII ongoing. Still, Liam may not be a great singer, but he sings from the soul. The majestic strings, followed by what sounds like Spanish classical guitar, are a really beautiful addition to this song. A pretty and unique tune by Liam’s standards, and worth hearing here. Pretty and lovely to listen to.

Moscow Rules is not exactly a statement that one should have in light of recent international events, namely the Russia-Ukraine war. This song sounds very melancholy and depressing as well, it just doesn’t really sound like Liam Gallagher at his best. This is a particularly unpleasant listen. Liam Gallagher does not need to make wannabe Coldplay tunes mixed with some NGHFB influences, it just doesn’t work at all. The purpose of this song is seemingly unsure, and it falls apart as a result. One hopes that this isn’t a poisonous political statement, but it seemingly comes across as one. Not a good tune.

I’m Free begins with some strange Fender style guitar sounds, a 4/4 kick drum beat and Liam Gallagher swearing profanely. This is very awful listening, and to top it all off, Liam’s voice sounds really terrible too on this song. It simply sounds like a nonsensical rant, and considering the other songs on this album are much better, this could have been junked. Quality control is not at times Liam’s strong suit, and this is clear proof that this is the case. Fortunately, it is over after three minutes, so even if you listen to this rather torturous song, it’s fairly short. Another poor quality piece of music.

Better Days begins with some rather romantic sounding string sections, computerised beeps and quickly launches into a pounding Rock groove. Thankfully, this is a big improvement over the last few tracks and it sounds superbly excellent. Liam Gallagher sings passionately here, and even if he is not the brilliant songwriter Noel Gallagher is, he does have a more consistent musical feel than anything that the NGHFB have done. Seriously, not a bad tune. Liam preaches to his fans here, and he sounds happy and euphoric. At last, Liam is in his solo career stride here. The album title is repeated by Liam over backwards guitars and other sound effects, before the verses resume. Enjoyable, Liam sounds more natural and happy on the upbeat tracks rather than on the downbeat ones. This is his talent. This song ends with loads of pounding drums and strings, a nice touch musically.

Oh Sweet Children begins with a dark and rather ordinary keyboard sound, and Liam launches into another Little James, this time without emotion. Seriously, not exactly a great tune. It is pure garbage from Liam Gallagher, and perhaps proof that he didn’t really need to add this to this solo album. A pathetic and weak statement by Liam, it just falls flat. Perhaps a lullaby rather than this terrible song would have been better? This is so difficult to appreciate at all. A definite poor point, Liam could do better here, and he probably knows it. Fortunately, it is fairly short and ends after three minutes of torture.

The Joker begins with some single coil Fender style guitars, which have a load of delay on them. Soon enough, a fairly average tune again emerges. Liam Gallagher sounds more confident here, but all the same, this album runs out of steam by this point. It’s perfectly okay if you have reached this point and you are disappointed by these last few songs. After all, Liam seems to put his musical ego ahead of the quality music here, and it fails. Credit must go to this dude for making tunes, especially as Noel Gallagher was the main musical force in the early days of Oasis. A really ordinary song and the backing vocals are unnecessary, too. Skip this one if you can.

Wave sounds very terrible from the beginning. It sounds like a trashy post-Rock and Roll jam that falls terrible. Liam sadly lacks quality control on some of his music, unlike what he and Noel exhibited in Oasis, especially prior to the Knebworth gigs. There is a deliberate stab at Noel Gallagher in the lyrics here, which isn’t very good or wise, especially considering that lawyers may be involved between the two. It’s a pathetic tune with little direction or musical quality about it. The lyrics and music are in dire need of either reworking totally or junked. Anyway, this is a poor finish to a mixed bag of an album. Can’t blame Liam for trying, however.

This is a mixed bag of results. To be fair, Liam Gallagher does put his heart and soul into his recordings. After all, Oasis do treat their fans with a great deal of respect, more so than most Rock bands of yesteryear. However, the songs on this album are rather awkward sounding, and this is by no means a classic album in comparison with some contemporary postmodern musicians. Still, if you are an Oasis fan, this may be worth it, but if not, probably forget about this solo record from Liam Gallagher. It’s good to see him keep on going, just as he is being plagued with serious physical health issues as he is much older now. A good effort, but certainly lacking that Oasis magic that made Liam Gallagher so popular as the lead singer of Oasis in the 1990s.

A mixed effort of conflicting emotions.

6/10