LIAM
GALLAGHER
Shockwave
By Tom Lanham
photo by Rankin
W
hat becomes a legend most? It’s
an old question when it comes to
pop stars and celebrities in gen-
eral. Not rhetorical at all, but a real proce-
dural, albeit aesthetic conundrum whose
answer — either flamboyant or conversely
simplified — can often have disastrous
long-term results on the career of the said
performer. You'll recall all the terrible sty-
listic cul de sacs that the truly overrated
producer Rick Rubin has pushed his post-
Licensed to Ill proteges down (Pete Yorn,
Jake Bugg, and Nicole Atkins, to name a
few), with the tepid results sucking out all
of the vibrant momenta their music was
building at the time. No empathy for the
individual artist at all. But no one wants to
question his clumsy sonic shifts because
he’s, like, a quotation-fingered “genius,”
right? And, like, surely he knows best what
makes a hit record, right? Wrong. And to
paraphrase the always on-point Pink
Floyd, “Hey! Rubin! Leave those kids
alone!”
Imagine the difficulty, then, of Liam
Gallagher’s situation. At 47, he’s already
proven himself to be one of the most com-
manding vocalists in rock history, via the
unique John Lennon-nasal drawl he per-
fected alongside his guitarist brother Noel
in the UK super group Oasis. But after con-
stant feuding led to an inevitable break up
in 2009 — with Noel forming High Flying
Birds and his sibling soldiering on with
Beady Eye — the singer was cast adrift, in
a way. And without being poked in the
ribs, metaphorically, by Noel’s blistering
leads, it was doubtful that he’d reach ven-
omous Hindu Times heights again.
Such is the blessing — and the curse —
of family bands. Their members often
understand each other far too well. Thus
Beady Eye folded after only two albums,
leaving its frontman in uncharted new ter-
ritory. Like Frank Sinatra before him,
Gallagher had a distinct, people-pleasing
talent far beyond that of most of his con-
temporaries. But what, exactly, should he
be doing with it? Draping it in the richest
velvet? Strip it down to its most basic
metallic gears? Or perhaps settle for some-
place safely in between? The answer — as
posited on his 2017 solo bow, As You Were
and clarified on this year’s followup Why
Me? Why Not — is a resounding 'none of
the above.'
Gallagher could have taken out a full-
page song solicitation for himself in any
London daily, and Britain’s most brilliant
composers would flock to his aid. With,
admittedly, sketchbooks full of tunes that
would suspiciously sound like Oasis, Jr.
It’s to be expected.
Instead, he chose another path. He put
his faith mainly in two key collaborators,
Adele alum Greg Kurstin and cohort
Andrew Wyatt, a relationship that revved
to life with the honking debut single ”Wall
of Glass” in 2017 (sort of a Hindu Times lite)
and continuing into the folkier new Why
Me? Why Not (named for two original John
Lennon drawings Gallagher owns), which
merely succeeds by not straining to clutter
Esch mix with Oasis bombast. And the
vocalist co-penned every last track.
The set opens on the gruff harmonica-
edged stomper “Shockwave,” a karmic
fable that’s already topped the charts over-
seas. No, it’s not Oasis, but it easily paral-
lels it in rumbling megawatt intensity,
believe it or not. A subtly orchestrated ‘60s-
ish ballad, “One of Us" follows, and some-
how it makes perfect sense, as does the
proceeding slapback-glossed reminiscence
“Once,” which encapsulates more of his
life philosophy than fans have ever been
privy to. And so it goes, song to song,
Gallagher bravely trying on new sonic
suits that all wind up looking chic, contem-
porary and becoming. From pop (“Now
that I’ve Found You”) to roadhouse rock
(“Halo,” with a sly wink to T Rex), to
Beatles homages (“Meadow”) and regula-
tion anthems like the title cut. It’s Liam,
Mach 2. Liam, reimagined. Liam, ready to
take on the world again with his stellar
gift, every bit the equal of his estranged
brother. And sure, in a perfect world, these
two would shake hands, bury the hatchet,
and spark Oasis to life again. But Liam
Gallagher is rapidly making a case for him-
self as his own man, with his own story to
tell. Which, of course, is what becomes a
legend most. A shockwave, indeed. And
he’s happy to explain his motivations…
IE: What have you learned over the past
couple of years?
LIAM GALLAGHER: What have I
learned? Hmmm. I’ve learned to live in the
now and not worry about the future or the
past. I mean, take little bits and bobs from
it, but take each day as it comes, man.
Because yeah, we’re getting older. But
we’re also getting closer to what it’s really
all about.
IE: How do you stay grounded?
LG: Well, I’m not chasing anything, d’ya
know what I mean? I’m not chasing any-
thing in life.
IE: And you jog, too, right?
LG: Yeah. But I’ve got a little bit of arthri-
tis kicking-in these days, so I don’t run as
much as I’d like to. But I did a lot of run-
ning up in Seattle and across the Golden
Gate Bridge, too. I loved doing that, and I
did it all in just one go. And then I couldn’t
walk for several days.
IE: My motto is 'Everybody has an agen-
da, and it rarely includes you.' You don’t
seem very trusting either, so how tough
was it to invite new people like Greg
Kurstin into your circle?
LG: I don’t think I invited him — it sort of
just happened. And then me, him and
Andrew all got on together. We just want-
ed to make music, and that’s what you’ve
got to do — it’s a business kind of relation-
ship, so we just go in and do what we do,
and I’m really happy with the results. But I
like him as people, even though I haven’t
spent much time with him.
IE: How does an average day begin for
you guys?
LG: Well, how it all started was when I
met Greg, and he had a song for me on the
last album called Wall of Glass. And he said,
“Do you like this kind of riff?” And I said,
“I do indeed!” And he said, “Right then —
let’s get fuckin’ cracking!” So I wrote some
lyrics, we messed about with a few
melodies, and before we knew it, we had a
song. And that’s what happened on this
album. I can send over the few bits that
I’ve got knocking about, and they’ll take it
from there. Not everything I do stays on
continues
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22 illinoisentertainer.com december 2019