For the zero of you that give a shit, Beady Eye is going to be touring this summer and performing Oasis songs. Seeing as the band's four members have performed, and three have written, with Oasis, it makes sense. And I can only hope that when Beady Eye dusts off Oasis tunes, they stick primarily to songs written by Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, and Andy Bell. As far as I'm concerned, the Liam/Gem/Andy songs belong to Beady Eye, Noel-sung Oasis songs belong to his solo project, and the Liam sung Noel songs (which are generally the best Oasis songs, as far as I'm concerned) belong sidelined until the inevitable Oasis reunion. But here's my top ten choices for Beady Eye songs to perform.
10. Guess God Thinks I'm Abel--One of my favorite Oasis songs, period, and only this low on the list because it's not really a rock and roll, concert type song. Don't Believe the Truth is second to Definitely Maybe for me because it's the moment where all four of Oasis's latter-day songwriters were making top-notch songs. Again, other than the very last few seconds where it gets loud, it's an acoustic sort of jam. But I've seen Liam and Gem perform this together pretty well and I'd love to see it performed.
9. To Be Where There's Life--The brilliant psychedelia and vibe of this song from Oasis's final album implied that future work would be more varied and decidedly retro. It's just a good, fun song that could lead to some fun riffing between Gem and Andy.
8. Keep the Dream Alive--Andy's best Noel impression songwriting-wise, the song has a certain standard anthemic feel and opens itself up to some guitar solos. It also seems like an appropriate song regardless of venue--it can be an acoustic ballad or a hard rocker (God only knows I'd prefer the latter, but the fact that I made a list of top non-Noel Oasis songs and didn't include Songbird probably indicates my preference for the rockers).
7. Ain't Got Nothin--It's short, it has a nice quick and dirty guitar riff, and there's not a boring moment in it. Is it the best song Oasis ever did? No. But it's a song that should have been played in concerts.
6. I'm Outta Time--Certainly the best non-Noel single from Oasis, the only thing that concerns me here, more than its balladry, is that I wonder how much Noel influenced the sound of the song. But overall, not a huge issue for me. This wasn't Noel singing backing vocals (completely tangential side note: A law should be passed preventing either Noel or Liam from performing 'Columbia' without the other--for those two not to be the vocal harmonizers would be a crime)--Gem and Andy can play instruments. It's not that complex of a song. It'll work.
5. Better Man--This might be the most underrated Oasis song of them all. For people to claim this was the low point of an album which included the two whiniest, worst Oasis singles of them all ('Stop Crying Your Heart Out' and 'Little By Little') is absurd--it has a great, funky sound. It doesn't sound like any other Oasis song--it's partially why I question the notion that many reviewers had that 'Bring the Light' couldn't have been an Oasis song. It's not like this is AC/DC we're talking about here--they could experiment.
4. A Bell Will Ring--If Better Man is the most underrated Oasis song, this is #2. Maybe it's because it's Gem or maybe it's because it was around the point in most Oasis albums where the album starts to taper off, but this song, which became a minor concert staple during the Don't Believe the Truth tour, belongs on any Beady Eye tour.
3. Turn Up the Sun--This should be the first song played at any Beady Eye concert. It's a pure anthem, somewhat fluffy and not at all socially relevant, but people don't listen to these bands because they will change your life. People listen because they're fucking awesome.
2. Hung in a Bad Place--I was 13 when Heathen Chemistry came out, and several years away from discovering Oasis, but I can't even imagine how people reacted when they saw this. "Okay, Hindu Times and Force of Nature, great start to an album. Oh, great, the new rhythm guitarist wrote a song. God damn it, is this going to be like Little James sort of crap?" And then that riff kicks in and it's one of the best songs Oasis ever made. If Noel had wrote this song, it would have been a single.
1. The Meaning of Soul--It's less than two minutes long but it's pure adrenaline. It's not exactly a huge investment if you're Beady Eye to rip off this purely fun rocker. It also has some of the loudest drums on any Oasis song other than 'Shock of the Lightning' and Chris Sharrock doesn't get enough attention. So, come on Beady Eye, make this happen.
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