Noel Gallagher's refusal to wear a face mask has hardly been edifying, and his claims of “there's too many liberties being taken away from us”, is verging on tin foil hat territory.
Thankfully, as this 30 track ‘best of’ reminds us, when he keeps his mouth shut and concentrates on songwriting, he delivers the goods.
What is also apparent from Back The Way We Came is how, throughout the first decade of his solo career, Gallagher snr has shown more daring, versatility, and imagination in his songwriting than he often did with Oasis - and I say that as an unapologetic fan of the band.
As opposed to Oasis’ growling guitar trad-rock, there is the choral based grandeur of ‘Everybody’s On The Run’, the Kinksian music hall of ‘The Death Of You and Me’, the brooding, brilliant ‘In The Heat Of The Moment’, with its arresting percussive clicks; and such unexpected turns as the atmospheric dance-rock of ‘The Ballad Of The Mighty I, and especially the modern electro-pop of ‘Black Star Dancing’.
Gallagher is also a very postmodern songwriter, his tasteful steals and knowing references always fun to trainspot, such as the George Harrison, Pink Floyd, and Nick Drake cues in ‘Riverman’, while the exuberant ‘Holy Mountain’ audaciously channels Bryan Ferry, David Bowie, and Ricky Martin in one fell swoop.
Back The Way We Came is released on Friday June 11.
