•
Rating: "And if I wanted to explain my career with films, I would say that this part of my career is like a really strong TV series like Breaking Bad“.
It may have been the most sober thing Noel Gallagher has ever said at the brink of releasing one of his albums, although, as usual, this time the usual digs weren't missing either at his brother Liam, at Chris Martin, and even some avoidable jokes at Robbie Williams. But Noel Gallagher is also this, for some primarily this, for many, millions of fans of different generations, he is that "The Chief" who has written some of the most memorable pop/rock songs of recent years.
Three years after his excellent solo debut, “Chasing Yesterday” is the second album that Noel records with his “High Flying Birds”; contrary to what emerged from listening to the two singles extracted “In The Heat Of The Moment” and the splendid “Ballad Of The Mighty I”, “Chasing Yesterday” is actually a deeper and more introspective album than it might initially appear. The album begins with "Riverman", highlighting a clear shift in sound, less bound to the classic schemes that have often characterized the sound of the Manchester songwriter and more open to blues and jazz contaminations. In “The Girl With X-Ray Eyes” Noel and his band venture into classic '60s-'70s atmospheres reminiscent of the Eagles, while the rock’n’roll of “Lock All The Doors” is the classic Oasis track, or rather a track written during the early years of the Manchester band's career exploiting its lively flair.
As anticipated before, there are no lack of blues influences and soft atmospheres, already used at times in the past but never so prevalent as in this album, “The Dying Of The Light” is a poem destined to be released as a single and together with “The Right Stuff” brings back the psychedelic influences typical of the 2000s for which Noel wrote the controversial album “Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants”.
“While The Song Remains The Same” is the track that convinces less due to its repetitiveness (the title itself seems self-referential) but opens up to an exceptional trio of tracks that conclude the standard version of the album of ten tracks. “The Mexican” is a ‘cool’ track, one of those to which Gallagher likely referred when comparing himself to Breaking Bad, “You Know We Can’t Go Back” with its natural and immediate flair will rightfully enter among the key live tracks, one of his most beautiful love songs in recent years, much like “The Ballad Of Mighty I”, co-written with Johnny Marr of the Smiths, closing “Chasing Yesterday” with its change of key and melancholy atmospheres in the best possible way.
The deluxe version contains four additional tracks including the b-side “Do The Damage” and a remix version of “In The Heat Of The Moment”
In simple terms and without particular interpretations, Chasing Yesterday is the evolution of Noel Gallagher’s solo career which, thanks to the help of his new band, simultaneously revives that rock spirit a bit lost in recent years, once again proving to be “The Chief”, the leader of a genre, BritPop, which he surely did not invent but which he has made famous for years by personalizing it and making it modern and unforgettable; in the title “Chasing Yesterday” there is undoubtedly all his passion for what he has been able to give and can still give to music; to such an extent that an Oasis reunion seems inevitably to drift further away, but never say never.
Tracklist and Videos
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By GrantNicholas
Noel Gallagher confirms himself as one of the best British songwriters of his generation.
With this work, Noel Gallagher confirms his solo ambitions, consolidates his so-far flawless path, and increasingly distances any hopes of a restart of the 'mothership.'
