Song Of The Week: 4/19/20

Song: "Listen Up"

Artist: Noel Gallagher

Album: "The Dreams We Have As Children"

Year: 2009

Place Of Origin: Manchester, England

Years Active: 1991 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Listen Up" appears to be a song about taking a stand and not conforming to what people want you to be. It appears the vocalist is choosing a path, and that path my be the lonely one. But, if he fully believes in himself and his goals then he doesn't mind going it alone. It's standing by your ideals and not letting anyone tell you how you should live your life. The version of "Listen Up" I chose for my song of the week is an acoustic rendition that was performed by Noel Gallagher in 2007 at London's Royal Albert Hall. The original version of the song can be found as a b-side to the 1994 single "Cigarettes & Alchol" by the band Oasis.

NOEL GALLAGHER DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2009 - The Dreams We Have As Children (Big Brother Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2011 - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (Sour Mash Records)
* #28 on the Billboard 200
* certified 2X platinum

2015 - Chasing Yesterday (Sour Mash Records)
* #35 on the Billboard 200
* certified platinum

2017 - Who Built The Moon (Sour Mash Records)
* #48 on the Billboard 200
* certified gold

MY THOUGHTS ON NOEL GALLAGHER:

Noel Gallagher, the Manchester, England native, is most famous for being the lead guitarist and main songwriter for the legendary British band Oasis. He agreed to join Oasis, which was his brother Liam's band, only if he could write the songs which all the guys agreed to wisely. Oasis was a juggernaut. From 1991 to 2009, the band sold more than 75 million albums worldwide! They spearheaded the Brit-pop movement of the mid-90's and early 2000's and put an updated spin on a Beatles inspired sound. But, the brothers Noel and Liam had major tension between them. Constant fighting and bickering began to take it's toll on Noel and in 2009, he decided he'd had enough and quit Oasis. He quickly began performing solo acoustic shows, which he had actually done even before leaving Oasis. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall. One of those shows performed in 2007 at London's Royal Albert Hall was recorded and released on Itunes. This acoustic performance is a masterpiece and clearly proved that Noel will be just fine as a solo artist. In 2011, Noel put a band together, calling it Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. This would allow Noel to perform with a full band again. The High Flying Birds have released three full length studio albums. While all three albums charted well in the United States, top 50 for all three, in the United Kingdom, all of these albums reached #1. Even as a solo artist, Noel Gallagher is having major success. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds most recent release was a 2020 EP titled "Blue Moon Rising". Noel Gallagher is a great pop songwriter. With Oasis, he authored several chart topping singles that featured great hooks and excellent melodies leading that band to become one of the biggest rock acts in history. Sometimes the true mark of success is when you are polarizing. Oasis was definitely polarizing. It seemed like people either loved them or hated them with not much in between. When you are at the top of the mountain, that just seems par for the course. As Oasis grew older, their style was shifting a little bit. Their songs began getting more complex and the radio friendly material wasn't as frequent. This wasn't a bad thing as Noel was still writing great songs, they just weren't as geared towards getting radio play. He continued growing as a songwriter with the High Flying Birds. Gallagher wasn't afraid to incorporate different styles of music in his songs with his new band, especially his affinity for electronic music. As a solo artist, perhaps he felt more freedom to explore different styles of music where he probably felt he couldn't do as much with Oasis. Through it all, Noel's music is heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Smiths, The Jam and U2. I think his solo material is very good but let's cut through the chase, I want an Oasis reunion. His brother Liam seems to want an Oasis reunion as well. Noel seems to still be holding that anger towards his brother however and an Oasis reunion doesn't seem to be in the cards for now. That being said, Noel Gallagher is a top tier songwriter and one of the bigger performers in rock music. One of the biggest when he is performing with Oasis.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Oasis
Beady Eye
Liam Gallagher
Paul Weller
Hurricane #1

TEN NOEL GALLAGHER SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. If I Had A Gun
2. Ballad Of The Mighty I
3. Holy Mountain
4. Don't Go Away (live Oasis cover)
5. A Simple Game Of Genius
6. AKA... What A Life
7. In The Heat Of The Moment
8. Sad Song (live Oasis cover)
9. It's A Beautiful World
10. Leave My Guitar Alone