Those who were around to witness the release of the Stone Roses’ Second Coming album will no doubt remember how a record-buying public were generally left shaking their heads in disbelief when, instead of a raft of tunes echoing the magnificent “Fools Gold”, they got a stodgy disc of lumpen Dad Rock. It may have sold zillions in the 30 years since its release, but the general lack of enthusiasm that was left in its immediate wake was a major influence on the band soon going their separate ways.
Not one to be told, it seems, John Squire has now got together with Manchester’s most adept self-publicist, Liam Gallagher, to basically go over the same ground with an album that plods along in a way that anyone with even a passing interest in the duo’s careers could have anticipated without hearing a single note.
Debut single, “Just Another Rainbow” might have shot up the charts when it was released, but it’s hard to imagine it being remembered as a highlight of either Liam Gallagher or John Squire’s careers in years to come. Despite all the excitable boisterousness of the Gallagher hype-machine, nothing on the album is markedly better than any of Beady Eye or the Seahorses’ less tedious moments. It’s certainly neither “spiritual” nor “crucial” no matter what Liam might have to say.
Essentially, there’s nothing out of the ordinary on Liam Gallagher John Squire and calling one song “I’m So Bored” (which even includes the line, “I’m so bored with this song”) and another “Make It Up as You Go Along” is just a gift to any naysayers. While having a 50-something middle aged man proclaim “You should have fucked me when you had the chance” on “One Day at a Time” is just high comedy. No doubt, dyed-in-the-wool Oasis and Stone Roses fanatics will still lap up this album though. Everyone else will shrug their shoulders and move on.
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