After igniting the writing process with the heavy duty soul-rock of ‘Bold’, As You Were was recorded in two locations. Greg Kurstin performed all of the instruments on the four songs that he produced (‘Wall Of Glass’, ‘Paper Crown’, ‘Come Back To Me’ and the psychedelic whoosh of ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way’), while Dan Grech-Marguerat produced the remainder of the album at Snap! Studios in London. The result is exactly what you would have hoped a Liam Gallagher solo album would sound like: the passion for the classic 60s/70s influence that he’s always had has been updated for the here and now.
One of the most striking aspects of As You Were is that all the songs have a purpose. There’s no flab, nothing to cut. They all feel directed at something or someone, setting the record straight or getting his side of the story over, be that the swinging, Bo Diddley-like ‘Greedy Soul’, which incinerates someone who’s the “ungrateful dead” or the mega-ballad ‘For What It’s Worth’ which Liam wrote with Simon Aldred of Cherry Ghost and serves up the album’s biggest chorus.