‘Songbird’: Liam Gallagher’s only great song for Oasis, according to his brother
One of the many reasons why last year’s Oasis reunion had to happen eventually was because, perhaps more so than any other group of their era, the Mancunian outfit was greater than the sum of its parts.
In isolation, Liam Gallagher’s solo career, along with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, weren’t all that revolutionary, but combined together, that brotherly relationship made some of the greatest rock and roll of recent times.
Even for the legions of Oasis detractors out there, it is pretty difficult to dispute the songwriting credentials of Noel Gallagher, going right back to the early days of the group at Manchester’s Boardwalk. During the heyday of Britpop, Gallagher penned an unparalleled wealth of tracks which remain as beloved today as they ever have been, transcending generations and national borders; truly unifying rock and roll. Even still, those songs wouldn’t have been quite the same without Liam’s vocals.
Nothing exemplified that mutually-beneficial partnership between the Gallaghers more than their respective solo projects in the wake of Oasis’ eventual split in 2009. While the High Flying Birds boasted some impressive songwriting stylings, they simply didn’t have the same impact without the attitude and distinctive twang of Liam at the front of them. Equally, Liam’s own solo career featured some decent performances, but the songwriting certainly left a lot to be desired.
Still, Liam Gallagher has had a few select moments of songwriting brilliance over the years, even during the days when his brother’s songwriting reigned supreme. For Oasis’ much-maligned 2002 record Heathen Chemistry, for instance, the parka-wearing frontman earned his first songwriting credit with the aptly-named ‘Songbird’ – a track which even his brotherly rival could not deny the brilliance of.
Being the first Oasis LP with Gem Archer and Andy Bell in the group, Heathen Chemistry marked a transformative time for the band, and one which perhaps hasn’t aged quite as well as their earlier efforts.
Nevertheless, ‘Songbird’ remained a crowning achievement of the album, as Noel Gallagher told Radio X in 2018: “It’s noteworthy for ‘Songbird’, because it was Liam’s first, maybe one and only great song, and it got us going in another direction.”
Reportedly written by Gallagher during a particularly serene moment, underneath the shade of a tree in France, ‘Songbird’ features a gentle vulnerability that is at odds with the brash, confrontational public image of the frontman, and was apparently written for his then-partner Nicole Appleton of All Saints fame.
Although the frontman did continue to contribute the odd songwriting effort here and then from ‘Songbird’ until the band’s eventual demise, it is hard to disagree with his brother’s view that was his “only great song” for the group.
Certainly, it offered a side to the performer that has rarely been seen since, and although it is hardly a ‘Live Forever’ or ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ classic, it remains a firm fan favourite when it comes to Oasis’ later recordings.
