Noel Gallagher has shared a track-by-track video talking through each and every song from his new High Flying Birds Greatest Hits, ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’. Watch it first on NME below.
The collection gathers songs from the former Oasis man’s three solo albums through to his latest trilogy of EPs – ‘Black Star Dancing‘, ‘This Is The Place‘ and ‘Blue Moon Rising‘ – as well as new singles ‘We’re On Our Way Now‘ and ‘Flying On The Ground‘. In the new video, Gallagher goes into a deep-dive into the writing of each of the tracks, and why he chose to release a ‘best of’ now.
“I’d done enough touring and didn’t want to go on tour, and after all of those EPs it seemed like the right time to go, ‘Right, that’s been 10 years’,” says Gallagher, introducing the video.
“For best ofs, the titles are always shit. This one just came to me one afternoon while sat at the kitchen table. It’s a saying, isn’t it – back the way we came. We’re looking back over a 10 year period. I actually thought it’s a great title. That’s why it’s called ‘Volume 1’ – if there’s a ‘Volume 2’ I’m not coming up with another fucking title because it’s fucking great!”
Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’, a best of album celebrating 10 years of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, is out now via Sour Mash Records.
Check out the tracklist below:
Disc 1
1. ‘Everybody’s On The Run’
2. ‘The Death Of You And Me’
3. ‘AKA … What A Life!’
4. ‘If I Had A Gun …’
5. ‘In The Heat Of The Moment’
6. ‘Riverman’
7. ‘Lock All The Doors’
8. ‘The Dying Of The Light’
9. ‘Ballad Of The Mighty I’
10. ‘We’re On Our Way Now’
Disc 2
1. Black Star Dancing’
2. Holy Mountain (Remastered)’
3. A Dream Is All I Need To Get By’
4. This Is The Place’
5. It’s A Beautiful World’
6. Blue Moon Rising’
7. Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)’
8. Flying On The Ground’
Bonus Disc
1. ‘It’s A Beautiful World (Instrumental)’
2. ‘If I Had A Gun … (Acoustic Version)’
3. ‘Black Star Dancing (Skeleton Key Remix)’
4. ‘Black Star Dancing (12” Mix Instrumental)’
5. ‘The Man Who Built The Moon (Acoustic Version)’
6. ‘International Magic (Demo)’
7. ‘Blue Moon Rising (Sons Of The Desert Remix)’
8. ‘The Dying Of The Light (Acoustic Version)’
9. ‘This Is The Place (Skeleton Key Remix)’
10. ‘This Is The Place (Instrumental)’
11. ‘Black Star Dancing (The Reflex Revision)’
12. ‘Be Careful What You Wish For (Instrumental)’
Having teased the release of more new solo music while admitting he’s hit a “purple patch” in his songwriting, Gallagher has also hinted at plans for a solo tour where he plays just Oasis songs.
This comes ahead of the upcoming documentary about Oasis’ legendary Knebworth gig, which Gallagher has described as “fucking outrageous” and has revealed will also be released as a live album.