It’s a grower and it gets better with each listen and can be played without skipping songs which I guess makes it a winner. In a recent media interview, Noel Gallagher stated that he wished the David Bowie-like (similar chords to Ashes to Ashes) closer Think of a Number had been the first track and the opener the last instead, but the current selection is spot on. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The mournful Dead to the World - presumably reflecting his marriage breakup - is one of the standouts and is like a dreamy, ethereal relative to 1994's classic Half the World Away.

Produced by Noel with long-time collaborator Paul ‘Strangeboy’ Stacey, the album also features performances from Johnny Marr on three tracks, including recent single Pretty Boy. His most varied and accomplished solo record to date, Noel’s fourth solo studio album is a record framed by confidence, risk-taking, surefooted creative freedom, and great emotional depth. From the evocative album title to the cover art, to the lyrics themselves, Council Skies sees Noel Gallagher reclaiming his past and paying homage to his Mancunian roots. Includes a limited edition bonus 7” single featuring an album version of the previously released demo ‘We’re Gonna Get There In The End’ and an acoustic version on the single ‘Pretty Boy.The album includes the new singles ‘Pretty Boy’ and ‘Easy Now’ plus an album version of the previously released demo ‘We’re Gonna Get There In The End’ as a bonus track. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our site, provide personalised content and advertising, analyse our traffic, and ensure you see more of what you love. Added bonus is that Mind Games which is a Lennon cover is very well done and We’re Going To Get There In The End which was previously just a demo is here on the Deluxe and thankfully Noel hasn’t messed with the track too much from the demo with just a bit of brass here and there and some echo on his vocals and extra backing vocals, but otherwise it’s much the same formula if you liked that demo track. The 2019-20 EPs carried on in this path and were largely brilliant too so after almost 6 years without a full album (though there were 9 tracks on those EPs and two on 2021's Best Of which sort of counts as a record) what direction has Noel Gallagher taken now? After the sensational success of the first two Oasis records, perhaps there was too much pressure on Noel to keep creating globe gobbling anthems and now in HFB it is better as he can just concentrate on writing great songs instead.

I'm Not Giving Up Tonight is a good start while the optimistic, sprightly Open the Door, See What You Find - about finding your place in the world - warranted its place as the fifth single. Although slightly more experimentation would be pleasing next time, this is a truly really strong set of tunes - tracks 2-7 are especially magical - and the most complete album of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds discography. Speaking of those two tracks the Deluxe version of the album is worth having just for the remixes of those two. In the same recent media interview, it rings true really when he states that despite the artwork the title track is the only one that really refers to his earlier life in Manchester interestingly, but the greater variety of theme is welcome. It is the most Oasis-like of the whole record, will surely please gig-goers who prefer the old material and bridges Noel Gallagher's most famous band with the High Flying Birds’ first album.The singles from this album didn’t do much for me as they were gradually trickled out one by one, but as an album in it’s full they all work much better somehow. Easy Now is another highlight with some atmospheric keyboards/effects combined with some quite anthemic guitar work that somewhat resembles 2002's Little by Little. In fact the most interesting track on his new album is the title track, which has an unusual Style Council/Soul feel to it (Gallagher has always been a bit of a Weller fanboy).