There is often even an option for the next album baked into the deal ... so WB can have a contract for 3 albums and an option on the next 2, that kind of thing.  But don't know any specifics, of course.  Contracts are rarely made public while they're in operation unless something goes terribly wrong!  

Depends on the contract as well.  Some recording contracts will have language that specifically says that live albums will NOT count towards the total, but can't know for sure.  

Not just talking money.  Money is only part of what a contract is about (not realizing that is one way people get screwed!).  And you did say earlier that his contract left him without any control, though I think you're backtracking on that now, so 

But yes, of course there is going to be a marketing strategy and input from the label, And yes, we know the company put him together with proven songwriter-producers who they hoped he might jibe with (and he did).  And yep, of course they all want to create something that people will like.  Most people do, even Nobel Prize for Literature winner Bob Dylan gets off on having his songs sung back to him by pretty young things.  And as we've talked about before Liam isn't driven by some kind of creative purity.  That's not who he is.  He just wants to sing the hell out of good songs that mean something to people, and if he happens to write a few so much the better.  I don't think any of that is controversial to anyone.  

So that's all fine.  But when you say above that he gets no more input than a yes or no ... well, now you're just going off again into territory where you have  zero clue..  You don't know if Liam sent a spate of partly-written songs to Andrew Wyatt who helped him finish/polish them or if Wyatt came to him with a slate of pre-written songs or if it was both or some other process entirely.  You're just guessing, which is fine, but that's all it is.  

I'd leave Freud out of it.  It's only rock and roll (or close enough.)  

Pretty much the holy trinity right there, except maybe his mother who I think is also pleased ... 

How so?  All of those things were true at the time and they are still true.  In something like a global pandemic there are multiple inflection points where things can go one way or another and that's where human decision and competency come in as stated.  There were inflection points where in fact humanity could have gone for Zero Covid but the world's most powerful governments decided the economic cost was too high.  What was possible once is now no longer possible, but progress is still both possible and happening.  

If you're referring to Australia, although they've had small surges now (no surprise with such low vaccination rates) they've still had nowhere even in the remote ballpark of the truly horrifying and tragic death rate of England or the US nor have they been responsible for major new variants that have spread around the world and endangered billions.  They did a really good job back then.  What they've done very poorly at is vaccinating the population.  (That's where humanity got so incredibly lucky so if you screw that part up it's pretty big ...)  

Every country has challenges unique to its government and people.  But overall humanity truly did dodge a bullet. The virus was (and still is ... so far) controllable with basic measures.  We developed a highly effective vaccine in record time. There is still a lot more work to be done.  And the success that has come has not been equitable.  Dangers still exist and decisions being made right now could blow the whole thing up.  

But there's no doubt that millions of loved ones lives have been saved.  I'll never be sorry for wanting that outcome.  

Yeah exactly.  And, I wouldn't be surprised if Warner are the permanent record label for Liam. 

Oh absolutely.  

Did not know that! Exciting.

Like the sound of the out there album.

Album cover? He can't be that close to completing Album 3 can he?

I would love to have some new music from Liam soon but I doubt it'll be this year now.