Digital Spy

So what's Liam been up to without Noely G?
By Mayer Nissim, Senior Entertainment Reporter

According to former Creation Records boss Alan McGee, Noel Gallagher is calmly sitting on the next 'Live Forever'. But apart from posing for some astonishingly retro promo shots, what has his kid brother been getting up to? This week we finally found out, as Beady Eye premiered their debut track 'Bring The Light'.

Like genre war vet Taylor Momsen, Liam promised that his new band would serve up "proper rock 'n' roll", making Oasis look like a "pop band" in comparison. What this means is that - vocals aside - instead of taking his lead from The Beatles, it's now all about the Stones. 'Bring the Light' trundles along like a freight train, combining the chugging guitars of Oasis at their rockiest with the pounding pianos of Mick n' Keef's 'Let's Spend The Night Together'.

Over the top, Liam borrows the melody from 'Great Balls Of Fire' for some lyrics that would make even his older brother blush ("I see no point in what you're thinking / I'm going out, I'm taking you drinking"). It's energetic stuff that will no doubt get the crowd bouncing down the front of a sweaty venue near you soon. As the handclaps and '60s backing vox kick in though, you do wonder if we really need a band that makes Oasis look progressive - especially since we've already got Primal Scream to do that Stars In Their Eyes Stones thing every few years anyway.

www.digitalspy.com/music/thesound/a287284/so-whats-liam-been-up-to-without-noely-g.html

New York Magazine:


Forgot all about this, didn't you? Well, here's a pleasant manner by which to remind yourself: “Bring the Light,” the first single from Beady Eye — the band Liam Gallagher formed with a few former members of Oasis after the split but, obviously, not the one he's related to — was released this morning on the band's official site. Not to get ahead of ourselves or toot our own horns, but this isn't bad at all! Heavy on the piano, succinctly rocking, and admirably casual for a debut single, it's an all-around pleasant surprise (also: Liam's doing something different with his voice, right?). Now here's the upshot: Noel hasn't announced any concrete plans for his post-Oasis project. Will hearing “Bring the Light” effectively throw down the gauntlet, inspiring him to put together a quickie album just so he can sneeringly drop it on the same day as Beady Eye's debut? Please?

Seattle Weekly
Surprise! Liam Gallagher's new band sounds straight out of the '60s
By Bryden McGrath

Liam Gallagher, the ex-Oasis front man, entrepreneur and all-around badass (or douchebag, up to you), proclaimed earlier this year that his new band Beady Eye would be "bigger" than his former band. Not going to happen. Besides the fact that--and I realize this may come as a shock to many Americans--Oasis released four post-'90s studio albums that sold ridiculous amounts around the world, it's much more likely that brother Noel's eventual solo album will gather more acclaim than Liam's venture.

Nevertheless, Beady Eye, whose lineup consists of Oasis minus Noel, released their debut single "Bring the Light" today as a free download. Borrowing heavily from the Rolling Stones and The Kinks, the song is a bluesy, energetic romp with a driving piano riff. Lyrically, Liam sneers out lines about drinking, love and being tough. Far from his best and, luckily, far from his worst. Beady Eye's first full-length is set for release next year, though with U2 producer Steve Lillywhite on board and this surprisingly decent first single, it might not be the train wreck I had been fearing.

The Boston Pheonix
Oasis 2.0: First Beady Eye track released
by Michael Christopher


Things have gotten off to a shaky start for Liam Gallagher as he has officially set off on his post-Oasis career, one where he claimed to be “doing the best record you'll hear for the next 50 years.”

Don’t kids say the darndest things?

Today saw the free download offering of “Bring the Light,” the first single from Beady Eye (a moniker only slightly less lame than Gallagher’s first choice of Oasis 2.0). It’s as you might expect, like leaving a child in charge of the house for the first time unsupervised while the parents go away on vacation; upon return it might look clean at first glance, but you just know that there’s some vomit in the closet that wasn’t cleaned up properly.

Liam pukes his predictable Sometime in New York City-era John Lennon imitation and unimaginative lyrics over a rollicking piano melody that poorly tries to ape The Beatles version of “Slow Down.” Stringing together “moon” with “June” would be a marked improvement over the lyrical felonies he creates on the repeated verse “I bring the light, you get to see / You bring the love, it’s ecstasy.” And the chorus is as basic as it gets, consisting of “Baby hold on” and “Baby come on.”

The rest of the lads keep the thievery tradition alive. Gem Archer shamelessly lifts the guitar break from “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” for his solo, and a ridiculously out of place choir of female back-up singers do their best to mash-up up The Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” with The Isley Brothers’ “Shout.”

The Beady Eye full-length isn’t due until next summer. That’s just enough time for big brother Noel to come home and set Liam straight for doing something he shouldn’t have done in the first place.

MOJO
Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye: First Listen
by Ross Bennett

Liam Gallagher is back. After a year at the helm of his Pretty Green clothing label, the ex-Oasis mainman has returned to the world of music with his new band Beady Eye. Bring The Light - the first song to be taken from next year's as-yet-untitled debut album - was made available to download this morning and is the first new music to rise from the ashes of the Oasis funeral pyre.

So, what's it like? Well, it's not great, but it's not awful either. For a start, Gallagher's previous assertion that "a lot of it sounds more like T. Rex or really old rock'n'roll like Jerry Lee Lewis," is startlingly borne out. The oily whirlpool of guitars that defined the last decade of Oasis albums has been replaced by a boogieing, barrelhouse piano riff and a lean production that reminds us of a glammed-up Status Quo or a Jim Jones Revue minus the ear-exploding, psychobilly edge. Producer Steve Lillywhite has even found a soupçon of Elvis-reverb for Liam's lead vocal.

The change seems to have done Liam the world of good. The last time we heard from Gallagher Jr he sounded bored out of his mind - listen to the utterly dreary Soldier On from Oasis's Dig Out Your Soul for evidence of a singer bereft of energy. Those attempts to draw on the British psych upsurge of 1966/67 seem to have stopped (no Noel, no anthems?) which means that on Bring The Light Liam and his reconfigured band sound pared-back and peppy.

So here's Gem Archer, employing his Paul McCartney guitar fills to spiky effect in the breaks, while Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock use their prior experience as Noel Gallagher's purposefully unfunky rhythm section to tap into the song's pugilistic pulse. Let's remember that Sharrock - arguably the star of Oasis's final world tour - gives the other three something they've never really had before: an exciting drummer to work off. In the annals of Oasis history, only Zak Starkey comes close. Alongside the female backing vocals, it's Sharrock - dusty snare drum snap in tow - that fuels Liam's sneers of "baby, c'mon" and really seems to make the choruses swing. Liam Gallagher may have rocked and roared, but he's never, ever swung.

After almost 20 years slapped across the Oasis frontpage, it's going to take a while for Liam to blast free from his history - particularly if he insists on song titles like Bring The Light (how Oasis is that?). But as a stripped-bare statement of intent, Beady Eye could have done a lot worse.

These reviews are surprisingly positive for as much as everybody around these parts hates the track.

I wouldn't pay much attention to the Boston Phoenix, we all know the sort of quality writers they hire for that rag......

It gets a lot of hate on here because lets face it, its an Oasis forum and I am not surprised that people were not after this type of music.

Oasis to me were rock/punk were as Beady Eye will be Pop/Rock. I do not blame certain people on here for not digging this track.

To Oasis fans, half will get Beady Eye and half wont.....simple as that. To the general public, Beady Eye will receive a majority of good reviews and the odd bad one. They are gonna be quite public friendly and therefore quite successful in my humbled opinion.

How do you know it has? One song ffs, one song.

Sorry should have typed MIGHT be more pop rock than rock punk.

I was commenting of someones opinion. Why are you so touchy?

I'm not touchy you just keep making far reaching assumptions based on the strength of one song.

I was obviously responding the gaspanic2000s assertion that it would be more pop/rock. OBVIOUSLY.

So why did you try and pull me up on that when he said the exact same thing immediately above me?

I said that I wouldn't have expected the punk aspect of Oasis to gone away when Noel left since I always thought of Liam having the more punk attitude of the 2.

We working in a world full of hypotheticals here guys. And judging by the actual tune that has been released...the album may be influenced more by the early 60's pre-punk era. That is a valid guess base on the information @ hand.

Major theme from these reviews are that "Liam & co could've done a lot worse" We talked about this for a bit in other thread about BDI getting a pass because people didnt expect much from them. I think we're starting to see that. We said that as long as the single was not complete crap that they would get praised and they have. The song is okay, but okay is great if you're BDI.

It wouldnt surprise me if Noel gets judged more harshly, because lets be honest. If Noel had released BTL a lot of people would be slagging him off. It has do with expectations. There were low expectations for BDI, there will high expectations with Noel. Its the cross that both have the bear or the cross that Liam should celebrating.