Liam Gallagher and John Squire reveal progress on their 10-track album
Liam Gallagher and John Squire have given new updates on their highly anticipated joint album.
The duo just released their collaborative single ‘Just Another Rainbow‘ today (January 5), and have revealed that the record will consist of ten tracks total.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Gallagher said: “There’s 10 [songs] on the album, but we’ve done eight. We demoed eight of them in John’s studio and then John done another two songs and we recorded them for the first time. Sang them for the first time out in America in LA.”
Gallagher also claimed that the album “hasn’t got a title as such”: “It’s just Liam and John, like Liam Gallagher and John Squire, really.”
Squire also opened up about working with Gallagher, along with the inspiration behind ‘Just Another Rainbow’. “I live on a hill and I do see a lot of rainbows from there – when they’re available,” he said. “Well, it just came out that I didn’t have a particular urge or need to write a song that was about disappointment, but it scans that way on first listen. But I find it one of the most uplifting tracks on the album.”
In the same interview, the pair spoke about how the collaboration came about, with Gallagher saying he had “no doubt” the pair would get on.”
“The clothes said it all, the attention to detail,” he told Lowe. “I knew there was going to be no clowns in that band. So it was easy. It was all about me, not acting like a c***.”
Gallagher and Squire have long maintained a friendship in the lead up to the new record. The first show Gallagher ever attended was The Stone Roses’ concert as a 16-year-old. Later, they ran into each other whilst recording in Wales, where they would go on to write ‘Definitely Maybe’ and ‘The Second Coming’.
Squire would eventually join Gallagher at Knebworth 2022 to play ‘Champagne Supernova’; afterwards, he sent the Oasis singer three songs. Songs were put down at Squire’s studio in Macclesfield, before work with producer Greg Kurstin in Los Angeles. Kurstin also plays bass on the album, alongside drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M., Atoms For Peace).
Then, in October, Gallagher started teasing a potential collaborative album, claiming it was “the best record since [The Beatles’ album] ‘Revolver’”.
Touring guitarist Bonehead recently revealed he has heard the “very good” collaborative album in full, though he said he wasn’t involved in its creation.
“I’m not going to tell you anything. I’m going to keep you all in suspense,” he teased. “I’m not gonna say it’s this, that or whatever, but I’ve heard it from start to finish, and I’ll keep you all going, ‘Go on, tell us, tell us, tell us’.”
NME reviewed the ‘Just Another Rainbow’, praising the duo for playing to their strengths: “Liam’s vocals are full ‘Mind Games’-era Lennon, and Squire’s skills as a guitarist are given room to shine on a song that’s in a more familiar territory for the latter than the former. It’s a pleasure to hear Squire back on record at all, in fact.”
In other news, Gallagher has revealed he and Squire are in the process of planning some live gigs.
“We’ve got a bass player, we’ve got a drummer, we’ve got a keyboard player on hold and that if we need it. We’re going to try and tackle it without a keyboard player [or] piano player and give it a bit of bollocks, mate,” he said.
“A bit of rawness to it, but if it needs it, it needs it. But yeah, we’re going out on tour. We’re going to go and do some gigs, see what happens, and try to inspire people and make people happy. That’s it really. And then do another one.”
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Alex Rigotti
NME
