Top 10 Post-Oasis Solo Singles

Oasis will certainly go down as one of the biggest musical acts of all time. Stadium-packed tours, one of the best selling albums of all time and two huge personalities consistently making headlines mean that the band’s memory is still having a huge impact today, despite being more than a decade since Noel and Liam parted ways. However, whilst an Oasis reunion is still the hot topic on many fans and interviewers lips, both brothers have managed to create their own successful solo careers. Noel reacted quickly to the Oasis break-up by forming his own band ‘Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’, and whilst ‘Beady Eye’ came and went without leaving much of an impact, Liam has released two solo albums that have been both commercially and critically well received. But who has done the better job in following in Oasis’ footsteps? This is a ranking of the Top 10 post-Oasis singles released by Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

Honourable mentions: ‘Come back to me’, ‘The Death of You and Me’, ‘Now that I’ve found you’

10. Greedy Soul

This is a perfect example of what Liam’s first solo album ‘As You Were’ is all about. Lyrics with attitude and a hard guitar sound are in abundance in ‘Greedy Soul.’ The pressure was on for Liam’s first solo album. Not only was it his first recorded music since the end of Beady Eye, but the High Flying Birds album ‘Who built the moon?’ was to be released around the same time. With many comparisons between the two popping up in the media before the album’s release, Liam really needed to make his mark. In many ways, I think he took everyone by surprise by just how sophisticated his first solo album was; NME even included it in their top ten albums of the year. Maybe his statement in Greedy Soul’s chorus ‘I got the Midas touch’ isn’t too far from truth for the rock legend.

9. Black Star Dancing

We knew Noel liked to experiment with his song writing way back in the days of ‘Definitely Maybe’ with songs like ‘Columbia’, but this is easily the most experimental song on this list. One of the things I most admire about Noel Gallagher is that he doesn’t write music to sell records. He doesn’t really care about writing songs that people may not like or that won’t satisfy his current fan base, he wants to write songs that he wants to write, and if people don’t like it, who cares?! There’s a strong David Bowie influence which is probably heaviest in the bridge and overall I think he pulls off this step into a new phase of disco/funk/psychedelic music.

8. Once

Liam’s swansong to a time gone by is perfectly placed on his second album. He’s gone through the success of ‘As You Were’, receiving critical acclaim, high sales and a number of awards, but in doing so realises that it will never reach the heights of his time in the 90’s with Oasis. He tells us ‘it turns out you only get to do it once,’ with lyrics full of melancholy and reminisce. It’s songs like this that remind us that that arrogant rock star strutting around wearing a parkour, slagging off his brother does actually have a soul.

7. Holy Mountain

A lot of fans are torn on the lead single from the third High Flying Birds’ album ‘Who Built the Moon?’, and even though it did take me a few listens to get along with it, I’m now sold. This is certainly a hark back to the 70s, even sampling a track by 70s band The Ice Cream, but fuelled with a 21st century indie twist. It feels made to be played live and give fans a well deserved dance (something that doesn’t come so easily in most Gallagher brother tracks).

6. Shockwave

No need to worry about Liam suffering from second album syndrome. Much like his first single ‘Wall of Glass’, this packs a punch and reminds us that we’re in the presence of a true rock legend. Some may argue that it shows a lack of development as a solo artist that this doesn’t build on anything in ‘As You Were’. I would say it’s Liam doing what he does best, why bother changing?

5. Wall of Glass

This is what we wanted! This is what we’d been waiting for! 8 years after the break-up of Oasis (4 years after releasing his last album with Beady Eye), Liam made his comeback to the music scene with ‘Wall of Glass’, and he came back with a bang! This is the kind of hard rock that Liam is known for with lyrics full of arrogance and attitude. The jury was out before this release as to whether Liam’s song writing skills would be up to it, and he more than answers his critics with the opening angry guitar strum, telling us that we are in safe hands.

4. AKA... What a Life

Originally coming to the mainstream eye when it was used for a Vauxhall advertising campaign featuring the England football team, this is the pick of the bunch from the High Flying Birds’ debut album. This is a classic Noel stadium-thumping anthem, also giving him the chance to show off his usually underused vocals. This was the first big post-Oasis hit for either brother and it is still a big part of Noel’s repertoire, leading him to even say in interviews that it was his only solo hit. This is also a sign of things to come, that Noel has moved from the traditional rock’n’roll Beatles tribute that was Oasis to something more alternative and inventive.

3. Chinatown

It should be unsurprising that the man who wrote ‘Songbird’, potentially the most romantic and poetic song in Oasis’ discography, could release something as moving as ‘Chinatown’. Despite the fact it is one of two songs on Liam’s debut album that he doesn’t receive a writing credit on, this stands out as something very different to the usual guitar-thumping rock that we got used to with songs like ‘Wall of Glass’ and ‘Greedy Soul’. It may be a love song to London, but the lyrics range from a variety of themes to police violence and the EU, almost turning it into some form of protest song. It’s weird that the guy whose voice is known for songs like ‘Supersonic’ and ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ fits so perfectly for this song. It’s at times eerie, at times political, but every second is pure beauty.

2. For What It’s Worth

Liam’s apology song is his best solo track to date. He described it as ‘the most oasis-like song on the album’, which is maybe why this feels like the most personal song that he’s put out so far. The lyrics are full of emotion and self-reflection, ‘for what it’s worth I’m sorry for the hurt, I’ll be the first to say I’ve made my own mistakes.’ This is another level of maturity that we see from Liam as he confesses to leading a controversial life, full of ego and attitude. Of course, the speculation that it was an apology to Noel was rife on the internet, but I don’t think it’s as simple as that. I think it’s an apology to everyone, maybe even an apology to himself for the way he has acted or the things he has said. It’s a song about wanting to make amends and move forwards into the future with those mistakes behind him. It’s an incredible ballad which fully solidifies Liam as not only a great singer and star, but also a great artist and songwriter.

1. In the Heat of the Moment

The first time I heard this song was actually a remix being used for the cinematic trailer of the videogame ‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’ (on a side note, Ubisoft are so good at picking songs for their trailers!). The remix by ‘Toydrum’ is really good, but the original is on another level. Noel said that the inspiration for the song came from a documentary which featured an astronaut comparing going into space for the first time to ‘touching the face of God’. It’s no wonder then that ‘In the Heat of the Moment’ feels like a journey. Bell chimes and Noel’s echoing vocals have a feeling of something out of this world, and even the vibrant colour spectrum featured in the music video have a touch of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ about them. This is Noel’s showstopper; the powerful drums and a huge chorus would be more than enough to have an arena on its feet. Perhaps the biggest compliment for this song is that you can see it fitting into an Oasis setlist with ease. This is a true rock classic, harking back to the days of ‘Definitely Maybe’. Although Liam has more songs on this list, Noel takes the top spot!