Release Date: March 1, 2011
Reviewed by Joseph Novak
I had no idea that Oasis recorded a new album. Wait, they didn’t? Noel quit, you say? They’re called Beady Eye now? I listened to the entire album and I had no idea.
Beady Eye, formed by the remaining members of Oasis after Noel Gallagher’s departure left the band, released Different Gear, Still Speeding on Feb. 28, an album that although consists of all new material, seems more like Oasis’ lost tracks meets Liam Gallagher’s side project.
Oasis fans shouldn’t panic, as they’re still going to find the big, rich sound they loved on (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, Be Here Now and Dig Out Your Soul with shit kicking tracks like the opener, Four Letter Words, Kill for a Dream and The Beat Goes On.
The aforementioned first track would have been great on any Oasis album, but if the guys from Beady Eye have any desire to stand on their own and not just be considered a glorified Oasis tribute band, that’s not what they should be aiming for.
Songs like Bring the Light seem to show that they have the desire to split from their past. The piano-driven romp sounds like what would happen if you locked Jerry Lee Lewis, John Lennon and the Supremes in a studio for an afternoon.
They follow that up with For Anyone, which is the kind of track you’d expect to find on the cutting room floor during an Oasis session. Its airy tone sounds like it was laid down in the course of a few hours, not toiled over and overproduced like so much of what we’re used to hearing from the Gallagher brothers.
Of course, with most of the album, there’s no mistaking that this band is 4/5 of Oasis and the comparisons aren’t going to go away any time soon, especially if they keep producing albums that sound so much like their former band.
As with any other Oasis album, Beatles influences are everywhere. The Roller channels John Lennon’s Instant Karma (the slap-back echo effect in the beginning seems identical to the Lennon song) while tracks like For Anyone seem to be shout outs to early Beatles and their influences like Carl Perkins.
Interestingly, the song Beatles and Stones, named for the band’s two biggest influences, sounds more like the Who than anything McCartney or Richards ever wrote.
The band shows that they have other influences as well, Wind Up Dream has kind of a rootsy, Credence Clearwater Revival feel to it, for example.
There aren’t enough tracks on this album that show a true departure for Liam Gallagher, guitarist Gem Archer, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Chris Sharrock to make this feel like it is anything but an Oasis rehash. It feels as if they compromised, trying to please fans of their former band and people looking for something new at the same time. In doing so, they’ll leave both groups disappointed.
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