Two of Manchester’s most famous exports, Oasis’ Liam Gallagher and The Stone Roses’ John Squire, have confirmed they are releasing a collaborative album. Though full details haven’t been announced, the duo did reveal the first single, titled “Just Another Rainbow,” will arrive on January 5th.
Though Gallagher and Squire have known each other since 1989, and previously co-wrote “Love Me and Leave Me” for Squire’s band The Seahorses, the project didn’t come into focus until after Squire joined Gallagher on stage for “Champagne Supernova” at his solo show at Knebworth Park in 2022. Soon after, Squire sent Gallagher an initial batch of songs and the duo began collaborating remotely, with Jimi Hendrix, The Sex Pistols, Faces, Bob Marley, and The Bee Gees as “reference points.”
To begin recording the project, Gallagher went to Squire’s studio in Macclesfield, where he laid down vocals for two demos per day. Then, the duo headed over to Los Angeles for three weeks of sessions with super producer Greg Kurstin and Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M., Atoms for Peace), who play bass and drums on the album, respectively.
In a video promoting the single, Gallagher calls his collaborator “without a doubt the best guitarist of his generation and in the world in my opinion,” with Squire describing the Oasis member as “one of the all time great rock and roll voices. I put him in the same class as Dylan, Lennon, Jagger, and Rotten.”
Gallagher was just as effusive in a press statement, saying:
“I think John’s 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. 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.”
In a statement of his own, Squire said “Just Another Rainbow” is about “disappointment, and the sentiment is that you never get what you really want.” He added, “To me, it’s also one of the most uplifting tracks we’ve made together, which is weird.”
Check out a snippet of the song and the single artwork below. Pre-orders for a 7-inch vinyl are ongoing.
Next year, Gallagher will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Oasis’ Definitely Maybe on a limited run in the UK and Ireland with his solo band. Get tickets here, but don’t expect a sudden reunion with Noel, who apparently “refused” the opportunity to join the tour.
“Just Another Rainbow” Artwork:
