Late to the nostalgia circuit and concerning themselves with details of chocolate bars and home of The Beatles, the John Squire and Liam Gallagher project continues. It trundles away, clearly driven by the latter man, an Oasis founder obsessed with everything he does after the triumphs of his heyday being adjacent to John, Paul, George and Ringo. He believes the Squire collaboration, aptly titled Liam Gallagher and John Squire, in case anyone were to forget the biblical pairing, will be the best slice of work since Revolver. A high bar to set and one which grows in distance after a listen to second single, Mars to Liverpool. As likely a triumph as building a rocket out of chocolate and launching yourself at the Red Planet.
Graciously shorter than other brain-melting misery Just Another Rainbow, where the Beady Eye frontman recited ROYGBIV as though his life depended on it, Mars to Liverpool is spotty. Squire phones in another bit of rocking and ready guitar work and quickly scarpers from the spotlight – which highlights the weakest part of this track is the same as Just Another Rainbow, lyrics and vocal performance. A summery little ditty from Gallagher who opens with Jesus Christ but gets nowhere close to the biblical performances of old. There is a semblance to the tripped-out charms of Magical Mystery Tour here and though the beam of jolly light which strikes through Mars to Liverpool is right there for the taking, it is hard to swallow the lacklustre sensibilities it possesses.
Deep within is a man whose work is starting to sound like a parody of itself. Gallagher cannot square up a new tune and it is a shock to hear given the harsh style and gritty neatness of previous record C’mon You Know. Both men work better when challenging themselves, going against the grain of what made their work three decades ago so exciting. Squire works better as a melodist now than he does as a standout guitarist – his work here is exceptional for the pace it takes and the George Harrison form it clearly rips from. It is what it is, working as well as it does here it is hard to knock it too much from a production side, it is Gallagher who fails to pull his bits together. A marginal improvement over the first single though much of this comes from Gallagher not recounting the planets or his favourite chocolate bars.
And out it fades. Mars to Liverpool sounds far better than the dishwasher rinses of the first single and a lot less whiny. A lot still to prove given the perceived weight of a collaboration between The Stone Roses and Oasis. For those who expanded their tastes and horizons away from the men behind She Bangs the Drum and Wonderwall, the expectations should be at a ground-floor level. But some are still defined by the works of Squire and Gallagher, for it makes up a lack of personality – and Mars to Liverpool will be championed as quickly as can be by those still dealing with the emotional gut punch of their favourite middle-aged men prattling away in the recording studio.
