Liam Gallagher - Down By The River Thames
So, another Liam Gallagher live album (his second) is upon us. It’s a recording of his livestream gig that was recorded in December 2020 on a barge on the River Thames when we were still unable to attend gigs (remember those days folks?). So, its minus the live crowd, that regular comfort blanket if you like that so normally helps to make a Liam show come alive, so how does it roll?
It has a very raw energy and sound to it, but it really does work as some of the songs like Halo, (that he dedicates to Nemo), Shockwave, Why Me? Why Not, Greedy Soul, The River and Once go on a very different journey and really do come to life in a most wonderful way. Wall of Glass is different class as the backing singers as ever bring it all together (even on a boat), this really is one heck of a unique recording. Trust Liam to do something different.
He opens the set with the trademark Hello and at this point the gig could be anytime, anyplace, anywhere with fans, it’s an electric start to proceedings. Columbia, Morning Glory, Cigarettes & Alcohol and Supersonic all follow and sound fabulous too, the acoustics are sounding just great.
Champagne Supernova is quite gorgeous as he dedicates it to the Thames and all the people that have swam in it, “right were out of here”, he says before he heads into a very stripped back piano led version. Even without the fans he manages to create a quite unique and amazing environment and at its end, you can hear, quite literally the odd fan from the riverbank giving him their seal of approval. Yeah, he is most definitely on a roll as this takes some his own songs and at the same time the Oasis songs on a very different journey, quite literally. I am sure that had he of taken the same trip on the water back in the day, then one of the brothers would’ve probably ended up floating around in it, but these days its all about the music.
This is a very captivating album that fans will absolutely love to have in their collection, it is pure quality and a real treat as it cruises up the river very well indeed, thank you very much.
Whether he is down by the river, in a football stadium or in the grounds of a stately home. Liam is absolutely smashing it out of the water, stadium, or park right now! He can do no wrong, the swagger is more confident and less arrogant than his younger days, for he now has an even greater self-belief, swagger, and poise. He just knows, as do those of us that have been most fortunate to see him live recently, that he is right on top, right here, right now. The man is absolutely on fire.
He has done so very well; he has proven all his critics and doubters wrong and is now a veryaccomplished singer songwriter in his own right and producing some great music to boot. He has surrounded himself with some wonderful musicians that help to bring it all to life and is now well and truly out of his big brother’s shadow, with that unmistakeable voice of his back to its very, very best.
Fair play to that man, he can be incredibly proud of himself for how he and his music has turned out, hold your head very high, our kid. The people couldn’t come to him, so he went to them on the Thames. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. It’s a beautiful high.
