This is an artist that doesn’t get nearly the amount of appreciation he deserves – at least not in America. If you have never heard of Noel Gallagher, he is one of the prominent members of the band Oasis. If you have never heard of Oasis, then you are probably an alien and are reading this review for some reason.
Oasis was one of the biggest bands of the 90s. Formed by Noel Gallagher and his younger brother Liam, Oasis was one of the leaders that commenced the surge of Britpop in the 90s that saw other bands like Blur and The Verve gain international claim as the new millennium approached.
Oasis was responsible for hits such as “Live Forever,” “Champagne Supernova,” and, most importantly, “Wonderwall.” However, after the split of the band in 2009, Noel Gallagher started Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds while Liam formed a project of his own called Beady Eye. Since Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds began, the project’s self-titled debut gained critical acclaim with hits such as “If I Had a Gun…” and “Everybody’s on the Run.” Now, Noel Gallagher has whipped up another album called “Chasing Yesterday” that sees Gallagher further evolve his product.
“Chasing Yesterday” begins with “Riverman,” which sounds like it should be the opening song for a new CSI series. The only problem is that Noel Gallagher is not The Who, so that won’t be possible. The bluesy “Riverman” is rock & roll through and through. Things even get a little interesting towards the song’s core when horns blare in the distance and a saxophone solo steals the show for a brief moment.
Following “Riverman” is the album’s first single, “In the Heat of the Moment.” No, this is not a cover of “Heat of the Moment” by Asia, although that would be rather interesting. Noel’s “In the Heat of the Moment” actually has a bit of a dance feel to it, something that Gallagher touched a bit on “AKA… What a Life!” from the High Flying Birds debut, and he actually makes it work fairly well with a catchy “NA NA NA NA NA” hook that will leave you humming it for a good while.
Later, comes “The Dying of the Light,” which is an absolutely heart-wrenching, yet beautiful track. “The Dying of the Light” is actually an unreleased song from the High Flying Birds debut, but it’s cold, delicate sound contrasts the rest of “Chasing Yesterday” so well as Gallagher sings, “Woke up sleeping on a train that was bound for no-where. The echoes that I could hear were all my own” over the somber piano chords.
“Chasing Yesterday” has a lot of great tunes. “Lock All the Doors” is an exciting driving-down-the-highway track and “The Mexican” has a cool, movie trailer feel to it, but there are also a few not-so-great tracks. “You Know We Can’t Go Back” sounds like a recycled track from The Killers and “Ballad of the Mighty I” is a way overproduced dance tune, but not every song can be a winner unless we’re talking about Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” which is a totally unfair comparison.
“Chasing Yesterday” is one of the more versatile albums I’ve heard in a while. There’s rock & roll, there’s blues, there’s pop rock and there’s even some dance elements involved. As good as the first High Flying Birds album was, it would be hard to compare the two, but it’s actually much closer than anticipated. “Chasing Yesterday” is a very good album. Though there are just a couple of weak spots, there are a ton of strong spots as well. Again, if you don’t know who Noel Gallagher is, you need to change that.
My rating: 8/10
