Noel Gallagher’s favourite Led Zeppelin song
Noel Gallagher can be described as many things, but a bad songwriter isn’t one of them. Regardless of your opinion on Oasis, there is something built into all of us as human beings that means when some of their classic tunes come on, we’re incapable of doing anything other than dancing and singing along. This is a feeling still built into us today, as the band continue to have a hold over music lovers worldwide.
The secret behind Noel Gallagher’s success as a songwriter is his creative approach towards music as a whole. It seems that regardless of the tone he is going for, whether that’s aggressive, something you can party and drink to or something sombre, his unique appreciation of sound makes it so that he can perfectly cater his songs to whatever mood he pleases.
To have such a wide appreciation of music, you must be open-minded about what you listen to. Gallagher famously likes most genres out there and is happy to listen to a wide range of tunes. In fact, he once went on record saying that the only genre he detests is jazz music, given that it doesn’t seem to have much structure to it.
“If you’ve never been to a jazz club, this is what happens at a jazz club,” said Gallagher. “A jazz club is like four guys on stage enjoying themselves more than the 50 people in the audience. That’s what it is. They’re all playing a different song, all at the same time, in different tempos, in different keys, and they call it jazz. It’s fucking nonsense.”
Oasis have never been secretive about who their favourite band are, as both Liam and Noel have repeatedly praised The Beatles as being their biggest inspirations and one of the main reasons that they got into music in the first place. Noel Gallagher tried to explain their influence as songwriters once, highlighting how, while what they did isn’t exclusive to The Beatles, they’ve simply done a lot more with their careers.
“Ray Davies, [Mick] Jagger and [Keith] Richards, and all the ones that we love, we’ve all written culturally significant songs in youth culture anthems,” he said. “But the thing, if people say, ‘So what is it about the Beatles?’ It’s just they’ve done it more. Their songs are more culturally significant, and they did more of them, and they’re just, yeah, they’re a level above. And McCartney and [John] Lennon are in it… After that you’re kind of like, everybody’s probably on a par after that, I would say.”
People may be surprised to hear that Noel Gallagher is also a big fan of Led Zeppelin. While it’s not unusual for people to be fans of Zeppelin, there is a disconnect between the heavy and chaotic nature of the ‘60s rockers compared to the more anthemic Mancunians. Yet, when Gallagher was asked to list his favourite songs of all time, one of Led Zeppelin’s most famous offerings made the cut.
‘Rock And Roll’ was a track from Led Zeppelin IV released in 1971. The whole track is built on a 12-bar blues progression and is one of their most popular tracks. Gallagher didn’t offer any comment on the track, but did include it on his list of favourite songs ever. Oasis have also used the 12-bar blues in some of their previous songs, so it makes sense that Gallagher would like to listen to it played at such a high standard.
