Last year, back when the prospect of Oasis reuniting seemed about as likely as Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race, Noel Gallagher revealed on our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast that he’d written 40 songs during Covid lockdown. Some of those tracks were included on Council Skies, his most recent album with the High Flying Birds, but that left two full albums worth. “There is an acoustic album as well, which is very, very stripped back,” he said, “and which I started recording recently before I came away [on tour]. And then there’s a very, very heavily guitar-based stadium rock album.”
His original plan was to release the acoustic album (which still hasn’t shown up) and then get to “the euphoric guitar album,” but now that he and his brother Liam have announced an Oasis reunion, all bets are presumably off. And if he’s looking for a singer for that stadium rock album, Liam Gallagher sure seems like the right guy.
In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, we discuss the surprise announcement of the Oasis reunion, the possibility of a new album, and much more — while also playing relevant audio from both Liam and Noel’s previous interviews with the podcast. Andy Greene joins host Brian Hiatt for the discussion, which also delves into how Oasis have seemingly gotten much more popular in the U.S. during their absence.
“Before we get back together — if we ever get back together — we’d have to become brothers and friends again,” Liam told Rolling Stone Music Now in 2017. “And then I imagine once that happens, and we start hanging out or whatever, and we’re mates and we’re talking to each other on a nice, respectful level, we would probably go, ‘Fuck it. We’ll take the fucking band out for a spin and go on tour,’ you know what I mean? ‘Cause I know he wants to do it, and I know I want to do it… I know he doesn’t want to be supporting U2 playing a third of a stadium when he could do it himself with his brother… I would prefer to be speaking about an Oasis album than Liam’s solo album. And I know Noel Gallagher would. Because we’re better together… And I’m well aware of that. And so is he. ”
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