“There’s loads of f**king guitars in it and it’s f**king perfect”: Liam Gallagher on his new album with John Squire
“Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist, but he’s a top songwriter too, man,” says Liam of his new partnership with another Britpop legend.
Following the release of the first single from their much-hyped collaborative project, Liam Gallagher has shared details of the forthcoming album he’s been working on with The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire.
The former Oasis frontman has revealed that the Mancunian icons have come together to work on a 10-track album, the first single from which, Just Another Rainbow, was launched on Friday. The new song is a treat for Britpop aficionados, bringing together two of the genre’s most recognisable sounds – Gallagher’s voice and Squire’s guitar – in suitably psychedelic style.
Now, in a new interview in the February 2024 edition of Uncut, Gallagher reveals that the idea of a collaborative album was posed to him by Squire when the guitarist guested on Champagne Supernova at Gallagher’s June 2022 blowout Knebworth shows.
“John was like, ‘I’ve been writing some tunes… you up for singing em?’” Gallagher recalls. “Yeah, fuckin’ too right. John sent us three songs and they were mega. Then there’s another three, and another three…”
“Everyone always bangs on about [Squire] as a guitarist, but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it. As far as I’m concerned, there’s not enough of his music out there,” Gallagher adds.
Squire has a slightly different take on how the partnership came about, telling Uncut, “My manager called me in for a catch-up and I mentioned I was playing again. He said, ‘Fancy working with a female vocalist this time?’ So he went away and came back with Liam! I had a hunch that we’d sound good together but I wasn’t prepared for it to be such a good fit, sonically.”
The tracks for the album were eventually recorded at Squire’s studio in Macclesfield, before working with Los Angeles producer Greg Kurstin. Kurstin also features as the bassist on the album, alongside Beck’s Joey Waronker making an appearance on drums.
As the single suggests, the duo’s release is set to be killer in the guitar department. “There is loads of guitars in it, and it’s fucking perfect,” Gallagher enthused to Uncut. “But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind. Which is important, innit?”
If the record goes down well, it’s set to be Gallagher’s sixth number one in his career since Oasis – his latest being the Knebworth 22 last year. And we’re sure the UK will be enamoured with the formidable Mancunian’s indie powerforce. But for now – as you were.