Music

Beady Eye: 'The Roller'

Released on Monday, Jan 24 2011

Published Friday, Jan 14 2011, 16:59 GMT | By Mayer Nissim | 3 comments

After teasing us with the stomping 'Bring The Light' and equally energetic Noel-baiting 'Four Letter Word', Liam Gallagher has taken the tempo right down for the first Beady Eye single proper. As with those tracks, there's been no massive change in style from his former group - unsurprising considering that this very same foursome wrote plenty of Noel-free Oasis songs during the band's latter days as a splintered democracy. Question is, can Liam / Gem / Andy / Chris really go it on their own for the full length of upcoming debut Different Gear, Still Speeding? On this evidence, there's no reason why not.

It'd be remiss not to mention how much the verses sound like The Beatles' 'All You Need Is Love' while the drums borrow from Lennon's 'Instant Karma', but there's only so much fun to be had in playing spot the tune. Sure, this is nowhere near as exciting or tingle-inducing as those first Oasis singles, but given the age of the band and Liam's moonlighting as Victoria Beckham, no-one has any right to expect it to be. Steve Lillywhite's production gives a classic rock sheen that's refreshing compared to Oasis's occasionally muddy wall-of-guitars, Liam's voice is better than it's been since the '90s, and 'The Roller' survives its predictably dreadful lyrics ("I'm hiding out in the sun / I'm getting everyone done") to emerge as a pleasant enough old school rocker which will nestle comfortably on many a radio playlist over the next few months.