Liam Gallagher and John Squire have shared their long-awaited debut collaborative single ‘Just Another Rainbow’ – check it out below.
Officially announced last month after months of teasing – with Gallagher hailing their upcoming record as “the best record since [The Beatles’] ‘Revolver’” – the first taster of the project from the former Oasis frontman and Stone Roses guitarist arrives today (January 5) in the form of the psychedelic lead single ‘Just Another Rainbow’.
Opening with a trademark floral but crunching Squires riff before Gallagher growls “I might have known this would be just another rainbow“, the track soon blooms into a ’60s-indebted psych track complete with a wailing and star-gazing guitar solo.
NME‘s review of ‘Just Another Rainbow’ noted that the song’s “willingness to stretch out and groove is at odds with the pop-driven ‘C’Mon You Know’ [Gallagher’s 2022 solo album]” – as well as noting “hints of Cream in Squire’s performance and structures” and “even something of The Rolling Stones in the way Liam drawls: “just another rainbow, hanging over me / just another rainbow, dropping on my tree”.”
‘Just Another Rainbow’ comes ahead of what the duo promise as “more new music to follow as the year unfolds”. The single is available to pre-order on 7” vinyl here.
A video is on the way, but the duo have this week shared the below teaser trailer.
“To me the most obvious take on ‘Just Another Rainbow’ is that it’s about disappointment, and the sentiment is that you never get what you really want,” said Squire in a statement. “But I don’t like to explain songs, I think that’s the privilege of the listener, it’s whatever you want it to be. To me, it’s also one of the most uplifting tracks we’ve made together, which is weird.”
While ‘Just Another Rainbow’ is the first taster of the long-mooted joint album, a press release from the Manchester indie legends has confirmed that “there will be much more new music to come – and there could well be shows, too”. Speaking of their collaboration, Gallagher hailed Squire as “a top songwriter”.
“Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist, but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “There’s not enough of his music out there, whether it’s with the Roses or himself. It’s good to see him back writing songs and fucking good ones.
“The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given. But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”
The first show that Gallagher ever attended was Stone Roses at the International 2 in Manchester when he was 16-years-old, with the pair meeting four years later Oasis and the Roses were both recording at Monmouth in Wales on what would become ‘Definitely Maybe’ and ‘The Second Coming’. Gallagher and Squire remained friends, later working together to write ‘Love Me and Leave Me’ the latter’s band The Seahorses, who also toured as guests to Oasis.
After the guitarist joined Gallagher onstage at Knebworth in 2022 to play on ‘Champagne Supernova’ – just as he did with Oasis in 1996 – Squire then sent over three songs which Gallagher dubbed “all mega” before they began writing in earnest and working remotely while citing Jimi Hendrix, Sex Pistols, The Faces, Bob Marley and The Bee Gees as influences.
The project then grew as Gallagher attended Squire’s studio in Macclesfield, before completing sessions in Los Angeles for three weeks of sessions with producer Greg Kurstin [Adele, Foo Fighters, Sia]. Kurstin also played bass on the record, while drums were provided by Beck, R.E.M. and Atoms For Peace drummer Joey Waronker.
While admitting that he’s “not involved in any way whatsoever”, former Oasis guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs – who still plays live with Gallagher – recently revealed that he’s he’s heard the collaborative album in full.
“I’m not going to tell you anything. I’m going to keep you all in suspense,” he said. “I’m not gonna say it’s this, that or whatever, but I’ve heard it from start to finish, and I’ll keep you all going, ‘Go on, tell us, tell us, tell us’.”
Bonehead continued to explain that it wasn’t “for [him] to say” anything more about the record. “I shall leave it to the man himself,” he said, adding: “It’s very good.”
Gallagher spoke of his long-held love for Stone Roses in his Firsts interview with NME, which you can watch above.
Asked about the first artists he ever fell in love with, Gallagher replied: “Our kid [Noel] was into The Smiths, but they were a little too early for me and a little too student-y, kind of – but the Roses were a bit more laddy. Not as laddy as us, but it felt a bit more right.”
He continued: “The first record I ever bought was The Stone Roses debut album. I know this is all sounding very cool and people won’t believe me, but it is – I’m just cool.”
Gallagher went on to explain how the first band t-shirt and CD he ever owned were by Stone Roses as he was “obsessed with them” after they were also his first gig. “It blew my mind,” he said of that show at Manchester International 2 in 1988, “and that was when I wanted to join a band.”
Liam Gallagher and John Squire Credit: Tom Oxley
Last month, Gallagher led fans into the announcement by hailing his collaborator as “without a doubt the best guitarist of his generation and in the world in my opinion” before Squire returned the favour by calling him “one of the all time great rock and roll voices. I put him in the same class as Dylan, Lennon, Jagger and Rotten.”
Squire has been working as a celebrated visual artist away from his work with Stone Roses, who split once again after their final gig in Glasgow in 2017. The Stone Roses initially reformed in 2011, after their first split in 1996. In 2016, they release two singles with ‘All For One‘ and ‘Beautiful Thing‘.
Gallagher will be hitting the road in 2024 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Oasis’ seminal debut ‘Definitely Maybe‘.
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