In the interest of full disclosure, I never liked Oasis.

The Brothers Gallagher were always such buffoons. I remember seeing them on MTV back when MTV still featured music and they’d have to put subtitles under their dialogue. I never thought it was an issue with their accents, these guys were just thick. Who other than brothers would get into a fight on stage. You have one job as a musician, play music… and you get into a fight on stage. Christ, man, pull your heads out of your asses.

I remember when I first heard Oasis I thought, these guys are ripping off the Beatles. George Harrison was interviewed and mentioned he thought they were derivative and Liam Gallagher, the stupid one of the two brothers (and that’s saying a lot), responded by calling George “a nipple.” Maybe that’s British slang I’m unfamiliar with. I’ve always thought of nipples as good things, but I was raised clandestinely reading my dad’s Playboys… And as Robin Williams used to say, “Isn’t it great that men have nipples too?” but I digress.

In the latter part of their career I thought Oasis switched from ripping off the Beatles to ripping off the Stones. The riffs got harder. As a Stones fan, I at least appreciated the effort. Though, I’ll admit, I remained somewhat unmoved. The Beatles influence was still pretty strong.

As fate would have it, the dawn of a new millennium brought the Rock Chick into my life.  And, as I’ve documented many times before, the Rock Chick turned me on to a lot of really great music (and still does to this day). I wouldn’t have followed Green Day as intensely without her influence. I’d basically stopped listening to AC/DC’s music after ‘For Those About To Rock’ and the Rock Chick totally reintroduced me to their fine late catalog. Everything from ‘Razor’s Edge’ on is must have AC/DC. Sure, I’m still a Bon Scott guy, but Brian Johnson made great music with AC/DC too. As Karma often proves painful for me, I also found out The Rock Chick was an ardent Oasis fan. She had the whole catalog. I didn’t realize they’d put out that much music. I remember one of our first parties together as a married couple. Her friend Rich kept asking if we had any Oasis. I was dumbfounded. Maybe I’d missed out on something.

I put aside my bias and listened to the music. And damn if I didn’t realize these guys were actually pretty good. The first two albums, ‘Definitely Maybe’ and ‘What’s the Story Morning Glory’ were Brit-rock gems. If you can put aside their personalities, they’re a talented group. I really dug the last couple of records they did, 2005’s ‘Don’t Believe The Truth’ with it’s great first single, “Lyla” and 2008’s epic ‘Dig Out Your Soul.’ While they’d lost their superstardom in America, they were still cranking out great records. The momentum was palpable.

It was during this period The Rock Chick declared we were going to Denver to see Oasis at Red Rocks. Somehow, we ended up with front row tickets. I’m not a dancer. I’ve never been a dancer. When I dance, it looks like I’m running in place. I have the classic “white man’s overbite.” It’s embarrassing. I always half expect paramedics to show up and try to force wood between my teeth to prevent me from swallowing my tongue during the obvious seizure that’s occurring. So as I stood there, mere feet away from Oasis and being moved by the music, I air-guitared. I’m not proud of it, but it happens occasionally when I’m really into a song. And lo and behold, that rat bastard Liam Gallagher mocked me. He shimmied his hips and did a rather unflattering imitation of my air guitaring. To make it worse, he pointed at me, like I didn’t know he was mocking me. Sigh… I try to like these guys, and that’s the thanks I get.

Despite all that, the Rock Chick stuck with these guys after their rather ugly break up. I’ve heard a few of Noel’s High Flying Birds’ tunes and it’s pretty good. I even enjoyed that first Beady Eye record, tho not as much as the Rock Chick did. And yes, Rich still asks at every party if we have any Oasis, so I still hear quite a bit of them too. I guess the Beady Eye thing didn’t work out for Liam, so now we have his first ever solo record set for release in October.

I immediately announced this news to the Rock Chick and she downloaded the first two tracks from the record. I have to say, despite his starting the famous air guitar feud with me, Liam has a great album coming. The first track I heard was “Chinatown” and it’s one of those great, spacey, ethereal ballads that Oasis was famous for. It’s wistful and hopeful all in one song. I really dug it. It’s got a great melody that stick with you. I find myself humming the song after I’ve heard it.

The second track, “Wall of Glass,” is actually the opening track on the record, is a great rocker. It announces itself with a squalling harmonica which carries the tune. I really like the drumming on this song. It’s not a melt your face off tune, but it’s melodically rocking. While I’m probably on team Noel, Liam is just plainly the better singer. If the rest of the album is as consistent as these first two songs, this is going to eclipse Beady Eye by a mile and probably anything Noel’s put out. While I’d like to see the brothers work it out, for the Rock Chick and her friend Rich’s sake, ‘As You Were’ is going to be a great substitute.

Cheers! And yes, I still air guitar, Liam…