NEW RECORD

Great post.

Plus, there's nothing on this record that's as bad as Wind Up Dream & Kill For A Dream; 2 songs from the debut that I can't handle listening to in full.

1. Flick of the Finger – a smashing tune. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. I really really wanted to like this record based on the strenght of this song alone.

2. Soul Love - is it a weird hybrid between a ballad and a rock tune - it never takes off, never explodes into something greater. Reminds me a bit of The Turning because of the verse, but there's a good part of the song missing: the part where something actually happens!

3. Face the Crowd - it's an incredibly thin rock tune that doesn't seem to have a beginning, a middle and end...the weird thing is, the song is both angular and terribly obvious at the same time. It's insipid

4. Second Bite of the Apple – it’s one of the best tunes on the record. I like the vibe and the overall songwriting, though I would have liked the idea of a full “mambo” song rather than another hybrid. Still good though.

5. Soon Come Tomorrow - I think this song shows the limits of BDI as a bunch of songwriters, as they don't seem to be able to tell a verse from a middle eight from a chorus etc. I am struggling to find some balance in this song, some structure that makes it memorable to the ear, but I can't find it. I actually had this feeling for most of the record: it seems as there's always some big piece missing, and incidentally the missing piece is always the one that separates the proper songs from the sketches. Also, I find the production so wrong here: this is clearly a song with darker tones, and Liam’s voice should have sounded less crisp and young. The production doesn’t bring out the true character of the song.

6. Iz Rite - this is one of the most structured songs on the record. It's not good and this Byrd-ish arrangement and the overall cheesy vibe is inappropriate for a bunch of rockers in their 40s, but at least it provides something you can hold on to while listening to the song. This must be one of Gem's, because it has the rancid Archer touch all over it - it is ghastly but compared to the other songs, at least it has a direction.

7. I'm Just Saying - another one of these songs where nothing happens and all the energy and the charge the song gathers is released in one single word (C'mon) instead of exploding in a proper singalong/punchtheair chorus. Then for some reason, the Jackson Five appear in the studio and start to sing their 123 - 789 thing. What the fuck. It's a bit like Face the Crowd, only improved.

8. Don't Brother Me - it sounds like the "classic" Liam ballad a-la I'm Outta Time, only very far from being as good. It has potential I think, but it still needs a ton of work, songwriting-wise, to bring out the beauty in it. Again, this proves that Liam desperately needs a talented songwriter by his side to help him work on his own songs. He needs someone to tell him “Don’t repeat that line there” or “Go write a middle eight to put between these two parts”. It's not bad but it needs help.

9. Shine a Light - I don’t mind the production on this, but again if the song is based on nothing, you can't squeeze that much out of it. Same thing, the song goes nowhere and it’s one of the emptier takes on the album.

10. Ballroom Figured - at this point I am desperate for something, and this song, which sounds like a Heavy Stereo demo, does the job. At least it has some movement in it, something that expands the life of the song after the first 40 seconds.

11. Start Anew – a sweet and tender little tune, but are we serious? This cannot be sold as a full song, can it? Let alone as a closer. Sitek does a miracle in making a song out of one single verse repeated over and over, but a producer can’t fix all the bloody songwriting holes. This is where a producer should stand up and say “You know, there’s something missing in this song” “Yes? What is it?” “IT’S THE BLOODY SONG ITSELF YOU FUCKIN IDIOT”.

Reckon face the crowds pretty decent, most songs I'd cut about 2 minutes off but I feel like that about virtually every song anyway

1. Flick of the Finger – The best thing on the album and shame it's completely non-indicative of what we're going to get. Solid lyrics in the classic Oasis style (sounding really important without being specific), no terribly clunky lines. Different sounding to the traditional Beatles/Stones/Who model, and short to boot. The addition of a spoken word passage at the end (a la Manics) was something I'd hoped we'd see more in later tracks. 8/10

2. Soul Love - Weak. Says nothing, goes nowhere. 4/10

3. Face the Crowd - It's filler but not terrible. A song like this is needed to mix up the pace. 6/10

4. Second Bite of the Apple – Horrible choice for a single. "Tickle my feet with the NME"? "The word is up if you're tough enough"? Change those two lines to ones a bit more respectable and it becomes a much stronger song; decent melody, sparse opening, horns. As it is though? 4/10

5. Soon Come Tomorrow - great; menacing sound. Top notch guitar solo. Decent lyrics with only "Breathe in, breathe out and then breathe in again" being terribly lazy. That bit reminds me of that old parody track; "Come in, come out, of the rain" - same delivery. 7/10

6. Iz Rite - Big wall of sound Oasis style music - lyrics pretty basic and vague and good enough. The chorus is very poppy, and a bit cringe-worthy, but can imagine a huge singalong at live shows. 7/10

7. I'm Just Saying - One of the top tracks. Great opening couplet, though the roundabout bit is a bit silly. No problem with the "1 2 3" bits. The beginning sounds like it'll be a dark song; totally thrown when it becomes a happy number. 8/10

8. Don't Brother Me - Fair enough, not one I'll come back to all that often but no terrible lyrics, a decent melody and solid production. Just a bit slight. Not exactly something many people can connect with, and I don't know why they bother with these extended ambient outros. 6/10

9. Shine a Light - Vocal melody is pretty annoying in its simplicity, but the intro and breakdown are nice. And the bits where Liam stretches to a high wail are something different. The rhythm's a departure and the backing vocals a nice touch. Wouldn't mind more backing vox - both Gem and Andy have been vocalists in the past, after all. 7/10

10. Ballroom Figured - Not sure about the title but this is another of the more impressive tracks. The lyrics include "song" so was this written by Liam? Dark, moody, mournful - a follow-up to Don't Brother Me, aimed at Noel as well? 8/10

11. Start Anew - Beautiful closer. Sure it's short, but so was Married with Children. The lyrics are slight but what more is there to say? 8/10

All up, a huge improvement over the debut. 8/10

Is Liam that hard to understand? The lyrics to most of the songs are wrong on all those lyric sites:

"Don't bother me when I'm done - Have a little fun, did you hear he come?"

"Don't bother me when you're done - Sick of all your lying, skimming and you crying"

"Stars are high, clouds set roll away"

"It's plain to see, it's already down for me"

"Rising fast on my feet, let me breathe, let me speak - I'm at home, I'm alive, both in veins above the size"

BE has arrived. Well, the deluxe CD version anyway. I had the signed vinyl sent to work and I'm not back until tomorrow.

This will be my first listen to the album in full. First impressions are that the book smells nice, but ultimately some blurry band shots and lyrics aren't the best deluxe package I've ever seen. Just put the cd on and Windows Media Player didn't seem to recognise it. Luckily the search function worked. A close shave.

Flick of the Finger kicking in....

So Flick of the Finger is huge. One of the best Gallagher related tunes of the last 10 years in my book. The brass makes me think of Kasabian at times but this is so much more powerful than that thanks to Liam's vocals and the production. When the spoken word bit comes in it takes it up a notch or two even more. Special.

9/10

Soul Love

I like this one more than I probably should. It's fairly plodding and simplistic but gets under your skin - a bit like Eddie Murphy. 7/10

Face in the Crowd

The first two tunes I had heard before on Jools Holland and stuff so this was the first one that is brand new to me. A big 60s vibe going on and I like the little outro bit. Overall though a little forgettable. 6/10

Second Bite of the Apple.

This one didn't hit me as instantly as Flick of the Finger when I first heard it but I love it now. Can't wait to see this done live, proper singalong classic. 9/10

Soon Come Tomorrow

Sounds like High Flying Birds sung by Liam and with a decent solo. Therefore I actually really fucking like it. Could see this one doing quite well commercially if they released it as a single. 8/10

Iz Rite

I know this one has taken some stick on here but I find it catchy as fuck and can't help but quite like it. It is very light guitar pop like Torn by Natalie Imbruglia or something but c'mon that's a fucking tune too.

7.5/10

I'm Just Saying

Not really feeling this one on first listen. A bit too "fun" with the overall feel to it and the number lyrics thing is horrible. Like a worse version of She's Electric or something.

4/10

Don't Brother Me

It's a shame that this song will get a lot of press attention as it's full of the stuff people like to parody Liam about. Rubbish lyrics, Lennon wannabe vocals and song references. The length properly kills the album at this point. After a good start it's seeming to have a little slump, a bit like tuckerman's career as a forum member when he got with Steph. Let's hope Beady Eye come out of it as well as he did. The outro is shit by the way, they're clearl trying to be a bit ambient and weird but didn't dare properly go for it. Should have thrown in some proper weird electronic shit and gone all out Aphex Twin.

4/10

Shine a Light

A much needed energy boost once the drums kick in. I like the overall vibe to this one. It feels a bit Beady Eye by numbers but an enjoyable tune and a turn back to the right direction for the album as a whole. 6.5/10

Ballroom Figured

Liam sounds lovely on this. The guitar playing reminds me a bit of early Karl Mahoney records. What a lovely song. 8/10

Start Anew

I like how this one builds. After hearing the acoustic version I was interested to see how this one sound fully recorded and I'm pleasantly impressed. 8/10

So overall on my first listen BE gets a....

7/10

There's a couple of horror show moments on there in the middle (no worse than Kill for a Dream though) but the rest I think is of a good quality. I think it's a slight disappointment after initially hearing Flick of the Finger and thinking the rest of the album might be as good as that, but overall another enjoyable album. Will be interesting to see how people's views change as they get a bit more acquainted with it.

Now for the bonus tracks...