After weeks of near-daily teases, Oasis’ Liam Gallagher and the Stone Roses’ John Squire have finally released their first collaborative single. The Mancunian heavyweights’ “Just Another Rainbow” can be heard right here:
On first listen, the song seems to sound like, well, exactly what one would expect a joint Gallagher-Squire project to sound like, with Gallagher’s cocksure vocals and Squire’s all-enveloping guitar work (including a nicely extended solo) as sharp and familiar as ever.
The release comes after several promos that followed the initial Dec. 21 announcement, with both men posting identical short video clips to their social media pages on multiple occasions.
As the two biggest rock bands to come out of Manchester in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Oasis and the Stone Roses frequently crossed paths, and Squire memorably performed with Oasis during the band’s now-legendary Knebworth concerts in 1996. More recently, Squire joined Gallagher for his solo performance at Knebworth in 2022, helping perform Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova." This was one of his first live appearances since the reunited Stone Roses disbanded in 2017. Since then, the guitarist had largely focused on painting.
Squire joined Gallagher onstage during his performance at Knebworth in summer of 2022.
“I got a call from John saying that he was writing songs again and would I like to get involved,” Gallagher said in a promo video for the single. “I said as long as there’s lots of guitars on it, I’m in. I was planning on taking a year out after Knebworth, but when rock ‘n’ roll calls, you gotta pick up the phone.”
The two worked on music at Squire’s Macclesfield studio and later in Los Angeles, with Greg Kurstin (Adele, Geggy Tah, Foo Fighters) producing.
In a release announcing the single, both Gallagher and Squire were quick to sing one another’s praises.
“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,” said Gallagher of Squire. “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 f***ing good ones.
“The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given,” he continued. “But I think even when you take all the f***ing guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”
For Squire’s part, he said: “I don’t like to explain songs, I think that’s the privilege of the listener, it’s whatever you want it to be. To me, the most obvious take on ‘Just Another Rainbow’ is that it’s about disappointment, and the sentiment is that you never get what you really want… it’s also one of the most uplifting tracks we’ve made together.”
Gallagher has a series of solo 2024 performances planned to mark the anniversary of Oasis' 'Definitely Maybe.'
The two have promised more music to come, although release dates are as yet unknown, and any plans for live performances have yet to be announced. Meanwhile, however, Gallagher has a spate of UK and Ireland dates set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Oasis’s debut album, Definitely Maybe, later this summer.
