MTV Unplugged

Sound DNA

• Alt/Indie
• Britpop

• stripped-back
• earnest
• confessional

About

A few weeks after this live performance in August 2019, Liam Gallagher told Apple Music, “I’m not an artist, and I don’t see myself as that. I leave that up to the likes of Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr. I’m a rock ’n’ roll singer. So that's what I do.” While he might resist suggestions that he’s turned his voice into an art form, Liam Gallagher has been one of rock ’n’ roll’s very best singers ever since Oasis ignited Britpop’s booster rockets in 1994. Here, he brings all his charisma and skill to an acoustic/orchestral setting more readily associated with those aforementioned “artists.” After all, it was Noel who was left to helm Oasis’ MTV Unplugged in 1996 when, with the band spiraling into one of their most fractious periods, Liam came down with a “sore throat” hours before the gig (not sore enough to prevent him heckling his brother from the gods, though). Twenty-three years later, by way of belated compensation, Liam played this Unplugged show at Hull’s City Hall. Singing a mix of solo and Oasis songs while assisted by the Urban Soul Orchestra’s string section and, on occasion, Oasis guitarist Bonehead, Liam shines as brightly with love and defiance, yearning and menace, as he’s ever done. “Sad Song,” once an acoustic, Noel-sung Oasis rarity, is elevated by gliding strings and Liam’s aching rasp—a voice that ensures that “Gone,” from Liam’s 2019 album <i>Why Me? Why Not.</i>, loses none of its bullish splendor against the orchestra’s cushioned backdrop. While he’s never struggled to make himself heard over a wall of guitars, this quieter setup emphasizes how Gallagher’s power and sparkle remain undimmed after all these years. It’s just what he does.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits