With the return of Liam Gallagher to the forefront of rock, it was intriguing news to learn he was teaming up with one of his musical heroes, John Squire, who had himself had recently experienced quite the musical renaissance with the reunited Stone Roses.

Squire is an impeccable guitarist, quite possibly the best of his generation, who’s delicate stylings define the band’s first record. His heavier style (present on the Stone Roses’ Second Coming and his subsequent group The Seahorses, whilst a departure from what made him popular,) is well-respected amongst guitar players. The Seahorses were regarded as something of a disappointment, their mix of Leppelin-style guitar crossed with indie songwriting sensibilities lacking a lot of the magic Squire displayed previously.

Gallagher, (the infamous and iconic former frontman of Oasis,) similarly had limited success with his band, the tattered remains of his former group which became Beady Eye. So, his triumphant outing as a solo artist could not have come at a better moment. With two titans of British rock combining forces, we were all pretty excited. The results however, are disappointing. Ever wondered what it would sound like if Liam Gallagher had sung for the Seahorses? No, me neither.

What we got was surprisingly generic rock ’n ’roll, with little to distinguish it from the more forgettable cuts off Gallagher’s recent solo records. ‘Raise Your Hands ‘ kicks off the record, and apart from some great chunky guitar riffage from Squire, it all falls a little flat. The production, from Greg Kurstin, is also lacklustre. The compression and saturation is so intense on the mastering that the track sounds like the speaker is breaking up, a tired producer trick that plagues a lot of modern rock records. The song is great, but could have benefitted from subteler production.

Second track ‘Mars To Liverpool’ is an improvement, with a lovely melody topped off with a great chorus, the guitar work evocative of the best of 90s British rock playing (think Bernard Butler of Suede). However, it’s so typical of the album that it doesn’t really stand out, even though it generated some happy buzz when it was released as the first single. The lyrics and melody ideas are clearly also mostly Squire’s doing, recalling much of his solo style on 2004’s Marshall’s House.

‘One Day At A Time’ recalls some classic Stone Roses B-sides like ‘Standing Here’ with its upbeat rock vibe, but it also features a Led Zeppelin.-style acoustic part ala ‘Over The Hills and Far Away’ that feels quite out of place with the rest of the song. ‘I’m A Wheel’ is a basic blues rock slog, the same sort of BB King imitation you can hear played at any pub in England on a Wednesday night.

‘Just Another Rainbow’ starts promisingly, even if the riff is a little too close to ‘Up In The Sky’ by Oasis, with Liam channeling his inner Ian Brown. Unfortunately the song doesn’t really go anywhere, with a slightly aimless chorus. Lovely lush guitars aside, this could have been great but ends up just ok. ‘Love You Forever’ features some fantastic Hendrix-style solo work, but Gallagher’s vocal is just so soaked in reverb it all turns to mush. A song that could have been saved with good production, but Greg Kurstin seems clueless as to how to mix the project. Maybe they should have brought John Leckie in …

‘I’m So Bored’ sounds great, but the lyrics are a little juvenile and Gallagher’s vocal again suffers from severe over-compression. ‘Mother Nature’s Song’ starts strong, with a Roses-esque guitar part, and has a lovely soaring chorus (“The melodies are beautiful, the chords sublime …”) and is the only song that really transports you somewhere else, in the way only Squire’s musicianship can. The production actually has some nuance here, allowing the instruments and Gallagher’s voice to breathe instead of being just a wall of noise.

This collaboration had so much promise, but mostly unadventurous songs combined with inadequate production does both artists a disservice. It’s bitterly disappointing that a coming together of two living legends (who both currently find themselves not preoccupied with their main projects) didn’t live up to its potential. We can only hope that they vtry again, and actually take some risks.

Liam Gallagher and John Squire- ‘Liam Gallagher John Squire’

Bob Vylan - ‘Humble As The Sun’