Council Skies

by Noel Gallagher, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Overview

Gone is producer David Holmes, the DJ who encouraged Noel Gallagher to explore his trippier side on 2017's Who Built the Moon? His replacement is Paul Stacey, an engineer who has been by Noel's side since Oasis' Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, a change that guarantees that Council Skies sounds slightly like a retreat to the earliest days of the High Flying Birds, where Gallagher prized tasteful renditions of his sturdy tunes. That shift in musical direction is slightly deceptive. Underneath its handsome veneer, Council Skies demonstrates that Gallagher learned some tricks during his time wandering in the psychedelic wilderness, figuring out how to add enough color and texture to his arrangements so they don't seem cautious or stuffy. It's a subtle difference but an important one, letting the songs on Council Skies breathe without drifting into the distance. The change is evident from the start, when the strummed acoustic guitars at the core of "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight" get decorated with a delicate piano that provides a bed for strings and vocals that come in by the chorus; it's within the realm Gallagher etched out with the first High Flying Birds album yet softer and richer, absent of the silvery monochrome that characterized the debut. While much of Council Skies does find Gallagher mining a midtempo vein, he's clever enough to offer enough variety in execution to give the record momentum. "Dead to the World" has a cinematic lushness, while "Easy Now" skillfully brings the celestial ballads of Pink Floyd down to earth. All these expert iterations on his signature stately pop tune help the departures stand out: with its skittering drum machine, "Pretty Boy" isn't a million miles away from the Cure, "Open the Door, See What You Find" pulsates to a candied psychedelic swirl, "Council Skies" carries a sense of urgency in its swinging rhythm, and "Love Is a Rich Man" is a buoyant Motown stomp driven by a gigantic guitar twang. The way these splashes of color and invention intertwine with the carefully sculpted ballads results in a testament to Gallagher's enduring craft that's unusually satisfying. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/02/2023
Label:	Sour Mash
UPC:	5052945063027

Tracks

1. I'm Not Giving Up Tonight
2. Pretty Boy
3. Dead to the World
4. Open the Door, See What You Find
5. Trying to Find a World That's Been and Gone, Pt. 1
6. Easy Now
7. Council Skies
8. There She Blows!
9. Love Is a Rich Man
10. Think of a Number
11. We're Gonna Get There in the End

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds   Primary Artist
Noel Gallagher   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals,Mellotron,Percussion,Guitar (Bass),Bass (Electric),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar (Electroacoustic)
Gem Archer   Guitar (Electric),Mouth Organ,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone)
Joe Auckland   Trumpet
Jody Linscott   Percussion
Steve Hamilton   Saxophone
Phil Woods   French Horn
Chris Sharrock   Drums
Mark Frost   Trombone (Bass)
Louise Marshall   Vocals (Background)
Peter Eckford   Percussion
Gary Hammond   Percussion
Jason Faulkner   Guitar (Bass)
The Wired Strings   Strings
Charlotte Marionneau   Percussion
Peter North   Trombone
Russell Pritchard   Guitar (Bass)
Emre Ramazanoglu   Drums
Robert Smith   Piano,Guitar
Graeme Blevins   Saxophone
Mikey Rowe   Keyboards
Alistair White   Trombone
Derryck Nasib   French Horn
Philip Woods   French Horn
Ben Edwards   Trumpet
Emma Brammer   Vocals (Background)
Lucita Jules   Vocals (Background)
Ruth O'Reilly   French Horn
Amy Ashworth   Vocals (Background)
Tom Walsh   Trumpet
Tom Dunnett   Trombone
Jessica Greenfield   Vocals (Background)
Callum Marinho   Piano,Keyboards,Mellotron,Percussion,Drum Machine,Glockenspiel
Johnny Copland   Bass
Daniel Higham   Trombone
Franciso Gomez   French Horn
Clement St. Leonard   Keyboards,Percussion,Glockenspiel,Sound Effects,Tubular Bells
Paul Stacey   Piano,Mellotron,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric)
Piney Gir   Vocals (Background)
Andrea Grant   Vocals (Background)
Keefus Ciancia   Keyboards
Geraint Watkins   Accordion
Johnny Marr   Guitar (Electric)
Jason Cooper   Drums
Pet Shop Boys   Vocals
Jeremy Stacey   Drums,Percussion

Technical Credits

Noel Gallagher   Artwork,Concept,Composer,Producer
Paul Corkett   Drum Engineering
Tommy Danvers   Assistant
Kevin Cummins   Artwork
Rosie Danvers   String Arrangements
Bunny Lake   Remix Assistant
Emre Ramazanoglu   Mixing
Robert Smith   Remixing
Alistair White   Brass Arrangement
Earl Johnson   Composer
Matt Cotton   Mastering
David Holmes   Remixing,Programming,Additional Production
Nicolas Laugier   Remixing,Additional Production
Beau Blaise   Engineer
Callum Marinho   Mixing,Engineer
Paul Stacey   Producer
Bob Dylan   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Pet Shop Boys   Remixing,Programming,Remix Producer
Pete Gleadall   Mixing