The Liam Gallagher song Noel said “will stand up in years to come”
If Noel and Liam Gallagher never spoke to each other away from the stage, chances are Oasis would still be going strong today. Even though each brother brought a certain magic to every one of their band’s classic tunes, their talent was only matched by their volatility, with ‘Wibbling Rivalry’ being a perfect example of how harsh their disagreements could get when not playing together. Although Noel was usually the boss in terms of the music, Liam was starting to come into his own towards the start of the 2000s.
Granted, Liam was always looking to stretch himself musically in the band’s 1990s prime. Throughout the recording of their first album, Liam would occasionally throw out different lines that would turn into iconic turns of phrase, coming up with the main melody of what would become ‘Columbia’.
Although Noel usually took the credit for writing most of the tracks, Liam’s songwriting debut came when he started putting together a few chords during Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. Recorded as a trio with drummer Alan White, Liam’s ‘Little James’ became a touching tribute to his son, tugging on people’s heartstrings in the only way Liam’s iconic snarl could.
While many fans may have seen the song as a novelty record at the time, this would be the start of Noel having a more democratic process to their songwriting. After bringing in Gem Archer and Andy Bell to round out the lineup, Heathen Chemistry would be the first time each band member contributed tracks to the final record, with Liam throwing in ‘Better Man’ and Bell making the instrumental ‘A Quick Peep’.
Then again, Noel’s songs shine far greater than the other tracks on the record. Putting together a brilliant ballad in ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ and the stadium anthem ‘Little By Little’, Noel would have tracks that would live on far longer than he expected, still incorporating both tracks into his solo shows.
Even though Noel may have been up to his old tricks, he felt that one of Liam’s songs was enough to rival his. Compared to the other non-Noel pieces on the record, ‘The Chief’ had a particular affection for the track ‘Born on a Different Cloud’. Sounding closer to John Lennon than Johnny Rotten, Liam lets the song sprawl out over nearly six minutes, sounding like a slow dirge that keeps building in intensity.
Although Noel admitted that his tracks may have been more immediate, he claimed that ‘Born on a Different Cloud’ would gain recognition as a classic later, telling Mojo, “[It’s] a fantastic song. He had three bits of music which he was trying to make into songs. We recorded it on a little ghettoblaster, and he went, ‘Fucking hell, that’s brilliant’. That song’ll stand up in years to come.”
That wasn’t the only time that Noel had high praise for his brother, either. Elsewhere on the record, Noel thought that ‘Songbird’ was one of his brother’s finest tracks, even fighting to put the track in the setlist during Oasis’s later years. As much as Noel may have been the resident boss of Oasis’s songwriting, he still had enough of his ego in check to realise when Liam was giving him a run for his money.