Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds [CD]

At last - and worth the wait. Noel Gallagher proves he's worth the accolades that are frequently thrown his way by producing this, his debut "solo" album, which is both interesting and comfortable in its content. All 10 songs are of a good quality (with perhaps "Stop The Clocks" my least favourite but it's all relative). Opening track "Everybody's on the run" sets the tone and all that follows doesn't really reduce the quality with "If I Had A Gun", "...Record machine", "AKA..What a Life!" and "Broken Arrow" all top notch songs. Think of Noels clearly solo offerings on past Oasis albums such as "Importance of Being Idle", "Sunday Morning Call" and "The Masterplan" and that's about where we are here.

All in all an excellent debut from a very assured and accomplished artist. Highly recommended.

This album is one of the best things to come out of music in a long while, with the exception of a few albums. It's good to see Noel back and doing what he does best.

"Everybody's On The Run" is one of those songs that gives you chills like The Masterplan. The string arrangement is fantastic (with credit to Rosie Danvers) & the structure in itself is wonderful. The bassline to this song is very repetitive but is brilliant in the way it effects the song, working over every chord change in the verses. The chorus melody is extremely catchy, which works even better over the chord progression played at the end when the song is in it's climax. The Strings at 4:05 give me goosebumps almost every time I listen. Great open to an album.

"Dream On" is has a much more "pop" sound to it. And is probably the most "pop-like" thing on the album. The chord pattern is very Oasis which isn't strictly a bad thing (those complaining about the Oasis sound are crazy, what do you expect?). The lyrics however, don't mean much, but personally I listen to the music rather than the lyrics. Still, a nice catchy tune.

"If I Had A Gun" is one of those songs that bring you right back to those wonderful days of Wonderwall & Half The World Away. I rate this as one of my favourites on the album. The acoustic has a lovely "push" sound to it, and the lyrics are beautiful. The vocal harmonies on this track are also something to note. Once again this song's arrangement is similar to stuff we have heard before. But I love it for that very fact. I personally have always loved Noel's music, and why should he change the way he writes?

"The Death of You and Me" is a slightly new approach for Noel, despite it's similarity to The Importance of Being Idle. The Brass section is absolutely first-class, when that section enters it is as if you have entered a completely new dimension, it's simply brilliant. And for those who say he can't sing; give this track a go, very difficult to nail with the switching from falsetto to full voice.

"(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine" is the first song on the album I really took some serious notice of the choir. The choir part on this track is fantastic, with some simple but brilliant parts. The strings on this once again speak for themself, Rosie Danvers has done a great job. As for Noels side; once again pleasing, but not quite as pleasing as the first 3 tracks. The coda makes this song. The guitar solo is melodic and harmonises with the strings perfectly. Once again a very good song, with a cleverly put snippet of "Stop The Clocks" played just towards the finish.

"AKA..What A Life!" took us all by surprise, but a very good type of surprise! I'm open to new things from Noel as much as I love the old stuff, and this is an example of how this guy can easily go out of his comfort zone and create something special. I first heard this song on an advert and have loved it since. The looped guitar at 2:13 and synthesized strings is my highlight of this song, chilling!

"Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks" gave me a bit of a repetitive impression at first, I didn't like it too much. Until I focused on the lyrical side; which is very clever. Brass is reintroduced in this song, which mimics the vocal melody, adding to the mood of the song completely. However, not the best on the album.

"AKA..Broken Arrow" is another one of my favourites, a fairly simple chord pattern turned into something special. Something Noel does best; less is more. The bassline in particular is what I love on this song.

As for "(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach" and "Stop The Clocks", both are again fantastic songs, both very easy-listening and give a good round up to a brilliant album.

Buy it. Good chilling out music. Noel at his best. It's one that you will listen to often. Will become a classic