Post by Osmosis on Feb 4, 2022 13:59:31 GMT
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (29 May 1967)
Member of: Oasis (1991 - 2009), Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds (2010 - Present)
Vocal Range: F♯2–A5
{Vocal Summary}
Noel (also known by band members and fans as 'The Chief') joined Oasis in 1991 after hearing that his brother was in a band. He went to see them and said he would join on the condition that he writes all the songs. The band agreed and have never looked back, having penned hit after hit since. Noel is best known for writing anthems such as “Live Forever”, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and the inescapable sensation that is "Wonderwall".
As the band’s sole songwriter and lead guitarist, Noel’s singing roles were mostly reserved for backing vocals where he would provide higher harmony parts to complement brother Liam’s baritone roar. He began as an inconsistent performer live in terms of both pitch and timbre but he continued to improve year on year. 1996 saw him able to reproducibly hit an A4 live and by the year 2000 he was cruising around his upper register money notes F♯4 – A4, with ease with a more pleasant tone. Although capable, he seldom ventures higher unless by way of falsetto. With his continuing vocal development that coincided with Liam's decline, in live settings anyway, Noel started taking on more lead vocal duties, singing lead on multiple tracks per album and the lion’s share of b sides. He even hosted a string of semi-acoustic shows in 2006 with at the time lead guitarist Gem Archer which keenly displayed how far Noel had come as a singer. It is in these stripped back acoustic settings where Noel's voice shines the most.
In 2010, he would go on to form Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds with whom he has given some of his career best performances, particularly on the self-titled debut and follow up album Chasing Yesterday. It is no surprise that these albums featured sparser arrangements with less emphasis on distorted guitars when compared with Oasis for Noel's voice tended to get lost on the verses in such arrangements, owing to his lacking lower register. The release of "Who Built the Moon?" in 2017 marked a change in the bands direction, with a move towards improvisation and experimentation in the studio, rather than re-treading the same old anthemic song writing ground that made Oasis famous. Despite this shift, however, the emphasis remains squarely on choruses, usually placed after a reserved verse to further focus the spotlight on Noel's smooth belting. In time perhaps, the kind of experimentation within the music will be matched by the vocals.
Noel (also known by band members and fans as 'The Chief') joined Oasis in 1991 after hearing that his brother was in a band. He went to see them and said he would join on the condition that he writes all the songs. The band agreed and have never looked back, having penned hit after hit since. Noel is best known for writing anthems such as “Live Forever”, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and the inescapable sensation that is "Wonderwall".
As the band’s sole songwriter and lead guitarist, Noel’s singing roles were mostly reserved for backing vocals where he would provide higher harmony parts to complement brother Liam’s baritone roar. He began as an inconsistent performer live in terms of both pitch and timbre but he continued to improve year on year. 1996 saw him able to reproducibly hit an A4 live and by the year 2000 he was cruising around his upper register money notes F♯4 – A4, with ease with a more pleasant tone. Although capable, he seldom ventures higher unless by way of falsetto. With his continuing vocal development that coincided with Liam's decline, in live settings anyway, Noel started taking on more lead vocal duties, singing lead on multiple tracks per album and the lion’s share of b sides. He even hosted a string of semi-acoustic shows in 2006 with at the time lead guitarist Gem Archer which keenly displayed how far Noel had come as a singer. It is in these stripped back acoustic settings where Noel's voice shines the most.
In 2010, he would go on to form Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds with whom he has given some of his career best performances, particularly on the self-titled debut and follow up album Chasing Yesterday. It is no surprise that these albums featured sparser arrangements with less emphasis on distorted guitars when compared with Oasis for Noel's voice tended to get lost on the verses in such arrangements, owing to his lacking lower register. The release of "Who Built the Moon?" in 2017 marked a change in the bands direction, with a move towards improvisation and experimentation in the studio, rather than re-treading the same old anthemic song writing ground that made Oasis famous. Despite this shift, however, the emphasis remains squarely on choruses, usually placed after a reserved verse to further focus the spotlight on Noel's smooth belting. In time perhaps, the kind of experimentation within the music will be matched by the vocals.
Significant High Notes
A5 ("Columbia" Live Sheffield Arena 1995)
F♯5 ("Helter Skelter" Live Y100 Festival Philadelphia 2000, "I Am the Walrus" Live The International Arena Cardiff 1996, “Lord Don’t Slow Me Down”)
F5 ("Fade In-Out")
E5 (“Ain't Got Nothin'" Live 2008/9, "Cigarettes & Alcohol" The Whitfield Street Sessions 1994, "Cum on Feel the Noize”, “It’s Gettin’ Better (Man!!)" Mustique Demo, “Lord Don’t Slow Me Down”, “Some Might Say”)
D5 ("Acquiesce" Live Budokan Tokyo 1998, “Don't Stop...", "Open The Door, See What You Find", "She Must Be One of Us" Demo, "Step Out”)
C♯5 ("Champagne Supernova”, "Force of Nature", "Shoot a Hole into the Sun")
C5 (“Ain't Got Nothin'" Live Wembley Arena London 2008, "Champagne Supernova", "Freaky Teeth”, “God Help Us All”, “Free Love Freeway”, "We're On Oure Way Now", "You'll Play")
B4 (“AKA… What a Life”, "All Around the World", “Alone on the Rope”, “Ballad of the Mighty I”, “Carry Us All”, “Cast No Shadow”, “Cigarettes & Alcohol" Sawmill Studios 1994, "Columbia" Live Knebworth Park London 1st night 1996, "Dream On”, “The Good Rebel", "Got To Get You Into My Life" Live Empress Ballroom Blackpool 1995, "In the Heat of the Moment", "Keep the Dream Alive", "Let Forever Be", "Let There Be Love”, “Live Forever" Live MTV Unplugged Royal Festival Hall London 1996, "Magic Pie", "My Fantasy", "My Sister Lover" Mustique Demo, "Only Love That Matters" Live O2 Academy London 2024, "(Probably) All I the Mind", "Roll With It", “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”, "Think of a Number", "Those Swollen Hand Blues”, “Up in the Sky" Monnow Valley 1994, "Who Feels Love”)
B♭4 (“Ballad of the Mighty I”, "The Dying of the Light”, "Got To Get You Into My Life" Live Empress Ballroom Blackpool 1995, “Helter Skelter”, "Hey Now", "Holy Mountain", “I’m Only Sleeping" Live Channel 4 John Lennon Night 2000, "(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine", Keep What Ya Got", "Mind Games", "My Generation" Live Finsbury Park London 3rd Night 2002, “Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is”, "Roll with It", “Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks”, “Teotihuacan", “There She Blows!", "Wonderwall" Live The Dreams We Have As Children, “You Know We Can’t Go Back”)
A4 (“Acquiesce”, “AKA… Broken Arrow”, "All Around the World", “Alone On the Rope”, “Bag It Up”, “Be Careful What You Wish For”, “Be Here Now" Mustique Demo, "Columbia" Live Knebworth Park London 1st night 1996, “Cum on Feel the Noize”, “Digsy's Dinner" Live Sheffield Arena England 1995, "Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Don't Stop...", "Falling Down”, “The Fame”, “Freaky Teeth”, “Free Love Freeway”, “(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady”, “God Help Us All”, “Going Nowhere”, “Hello" Live MTV Unplugged Royal Festival Hall London 1996, “Helter Skelter”, "The Hindu Times" Demo, “I Am the Walrus" Live Earls Court London 2nd Night 1995, “I Hope, I Think, I Know” Mustique Demo, “Idler’s Dream”, "If I Had a Gun...", “The Importance of Being Idle”, “It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)", "Just for You", "Keep on Reaching”, "Let There Be Love”, “Little by Little”, “Lock All the Doors”, "Lord Don't Slow Me Down", “Magic Pie”, “The Masterplan”, “My Big Mouth” Mustique Demo, “My Generation”, "One to Grow On", “One Way Road”, "Rockin' Chair" Demo, “Setting Sun (Live Radio Broadcast)”, “Shoot a Hole into the Sun", "Slide Away" Live 1996 - 2009, “Some Might Say” Demo, “Stand by Me" Live Nulle Part Ailleurs France 1997, "Stay Young", “To Be Where There’s Life”, “The Turning”, “Untitled (Demo)”, “Waiting for the Rapture”, “Wandering Star”, "Where's My Family Gone?")
G♯4 (“A Simple Game of Genius”, “AKA… Broken Arrow”, “AKA… What a Life!”, “All Around the World” Mustique Demo, "Cigarettes & Alcohol" Live The Point Dublin 1997, “Dead to the World", “The Death of You and Me”, "Easy Now", "Flashbax”, “Full On”, "Holy Mountain", “(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine”, "If I Had a Gun..." Live 1Live in Germany 2011, “I'm Not Giving Up Tonight", "In the Heat of the Moment”, “It’s a Beautiful World”, “It’s Better People”, "Leave My Guitar Alone", “Let Forever Be", "Listen Up" Live The Dreams We Have as Children, “Lyla", “Riverman”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, "Roll It Over" Demo, “She’s Electric” Live Barrowlands Glasgow 2001, “Slide Away”,, “We’re Gonna Get There In the End”, “You Know We Can't Go Back”)
G4 ("Acquiesce" Live TOTP 2002/(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, “All Good Things", "All You Need Is Love" Live Channel 4 John Lennon Night 2000, “Angel Child (Demo)”, "Ain't Got Nothin'" Live 2008/9, “Bag It Up”, “Ballad of the Mighty I”, “Black & White Sunshine”, “Blue Moon Rising”, “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday”, “Born on a Different Cloud", "Carry Us All”, “Cast No Shadow”, “Champagne Supernova" Live Zenith Paris 2015,“Dead in the Water”, “Do the Damage”, “Don’t Go Away” Mustique Demo, “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Dream On”, “The Dying of the Light”, “Everybody’s on the Run”, “The Fame”, “Flying on the Ground”, “Free Love Freeway”, “(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady”, "The Girl In The Dirty Shirt" Mustique Demo, “God Help Us All”, "The Good Rebel”, “Hello" Live MTV Unplugged Royal Festival Hall London 1996, “Helter Skelter”, "Here’s a Candle (for Your Birthday Cake)", “Heroes", "Hey Hey, My My”, "The Hindu Times" Demo, “Holy Mountain”, “(I Got) the Fever”, “I Hope, I Think, I Know” Mustique Demo, “Idler’s Dream”, “If Love Is the Law”, “The Importance of Being Idle”, "I Am the Walrus" Live The Orbit Room Michigan 1995, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Live The O2 London 2015, “It’s a Beautiful World”, “(It’s Good) To Be Free" Live Sitting Here in Silence, “Keep on Reaching”, “Let There Be Love”, "Let's All Make Believe" Demo, "Live Forever" Live MTV Unplugged Royal Festival Hall London 1996, “Love Is a Rich Man", "Magic Pie”, “Married with Children" Live The Dreams We Have as Children, “The Masterplan”, "The Mighty Quinn”, “Morning Glory" Live MTV Unplugged Royal Festival Hall London 1996, “My Big Mouth" Mustique Demo, "My Fantasy", "My Generation”, "My Sister Lover" Mustique Demo, “On the Game", "Open The Door, See What You Find", "(Probably) All In the Mind”, “Rattling Rose”, “Revolution Song”, “The Right Stuff", "Riverman”, "Rockin' Chair" Demo, "Roll with It", “Round Are Way”, “Sad Song" Live by the Sea 1995, "She Is Love”, “She Must Be One of Us" Demo, "She Taught Me to Fly", "Shout It Out Loud”, “Slide Away”, “Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks”, “Some Might Say”, “Stand by Me”, “Stay Young”, “Stop the Clocks”, “(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach”, “Sunday Morning Call" Live Nulle Part Ailleurs France 2000, "Supersonic" Live International Magic Live at the O2 2012, “Thank You for the Good Times”, “There She Blows!", "Those Swollen Hand Blues”, “Times On Our Hands", "Tomorrow Never Knows" Live 1997, "Traffic" TRUST Royal Albert Halll London 2003, "Up in the Sky (Acoustic)”, “The Turning”, “Waiting for the Rapture”, “Wandering Star”, “We Got the Power" Live Lollapalooza Paris 2018, "Whatever" Various Live Versions, "Where Did It All Go Wrong?”, “Who Feels Love”, “Wonderwall" Live The Dreams We Have as Children, "Won't Get Fooled Again" Live Royal Albert Hall London 2000, "(You've Got) The Heart of a Star", “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”)
F♯4 (“I Believe In All”, “A Simple Game of Genius”, “AKA… Broken Arrow”, “AKA… What a Life!”, “All Around the World” Mustique Demo, “All You Need Is Love" Live Channel 4 John Lennon Night 2000, “Alone on the Rope”, “Bag It Up”, “Be Here Now”, “Cast No Shadow”, “Champagne Supernova" Live Zenith Paris 2015, “Cigarettes & Alcohol" The Point Dublin 1997, "Come on Outside”, “Council Skies", “The Death of You and Me”, "Digsy's Dinner" Live Royal Albert Hall London 2010, "Don't Stop...", "D’You Know What I Mean?”, “Fade Away The Dreams We Have as Children”, “Falling Down”, “The Fame”, “Flashbax”, "Force of Nature", “Freaky Teeth”, “Full On”, “Going Nowhere”, “Half the World Away” Live Sitting Here In Silence, “Help! (Live in L.A.)”, “Heroes”, “Hey Now (Demo)”, “The Hindu Times”, “Hung in a Bad Place" Live 2002, "I Hope, I Think, I Know” Mustique Demo, "I'd Pick You Everytime", “If I Had a Gun…”, “I'm Not Giving Up Tonight", "In the Heat of the Moment”, “It’s Better People”, “It’s Gettin’ Better (Man!!)” Mustique Demo, “Just Getting Older”, "Just One Kiss", “Let the Lord Shine a Light on Me”, “Like Crying" With Noel Gallagher Live From the London Palladium, "Listen Up" Live The Dreams We Have as Children, “Little by Little”, “Lord Don’t Slow Me Down”, “Lyla”, “Married With Children" Demo, “Merry Christmas Everybody”, “Mucky Fingers”, “One Way Road”, “Polaris", "Pretty Boy", "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is”, “Revolution Song”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, "Roll It Over (Demo)", “Round Are Way" MTV Unplugged Royal Festival Hall London 1996, “Sad Song”, “Setting Sun (Live Radio Broadcast)”, “Shadow of the Sun" TRUST Royal Albert Halll London 2003, "She’s Electric (Demo)", “The Shock of the Lightning”, “Soldier On", "Some Might Say”, “Stand by Me” Mustique Demo, “Stay Young” Mustique Demo, “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”, “Strawberry Fields Forever" Live Cabaret Sauvage Paris 2006, “Street Fighting Man” Studio/Demo, “Take Me Away”, “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" Live the Dreams We Have as Children”, “This is the Place”, “To Be Someone" Live Versions "Turn Up the Sun”, "Underneath the Sky", “Untitled (Demo)”, “Valentine’s Day”, “Wandering Star”, “We’re Gonna Get There in the End”, “Whatever”, “Who Put the Weight of the World on My Shoulders”, "Who the Fuck are Man United?" Live GMEX Manchester 1997)
Significant Low Notes
E3 (“Alone on the Rope”, “Black Star Dancing”, "Champagne Supernova" SACD Mix 2003, "Cigarette's & Alcohol" Live The Point Dublin 1997, “Digsy's Dinner" Live Royal Albart Hall London 2010, "Do the Damage", "Dream On", "D’You Know What I Mean?” Mustique Demo, “Eleanor Rigby" Live Late Night with Conan O’ Brien Soundcheck 2002, “Force of Nature”, “Half the World Away”, "Here’s a Candle (for Your Birthday Cake)", “If I Had a Gun...", "I’m Only Sleeping" Live Channel 4 John Lennon Night 2000, “It’s Better People”, “It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)" Mustique Demo, (It’s Good) To Be Free" Live Sitting Here in Silence, “Leave My Guitar Alone”, “Listen Up" The Dreams We Have as Children, “Oh Lord" Demo, "Sail On”, “Shadow of the Sun" TRUST Royal Albert Halll London 2003, “She’s Electric”, “Shout It Out Loud”, “Songbird" Live Taff Germany 2003, "Some Might Say" Live MTV Unplugged Royal Festival Hall London 1996, “Strawberry Fields Forever" Live Cabaret Sauvage Paris 2006, “Sunday Morning Call", "This Guy’s in Love with You" Live London Festival Hall 1996, “To Be Someone”, "Underneath the Sky" Live Radio NRJ France 1997, "What's Been Happenin'", "What's It Got to Do with You", “Where Did It All Go Wrong?”, “Wonderwall" Live Brixton Academy London 1995, "(You’ve Got) The Heart of a Star”)
E♭3 (“Ballad of the Mighty I”, "But What If...", “The Right Stuff”, "Riverman")
D3 (“(As Long as They’ve Got) Cigarettes in Hell”, "Bittersweet Symphony" Live Kokusai Centre Fukuoka 2002, “Black Star Dancing”, “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday”, "Carry Us All", "D'yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?", "Hey You", "I'd Pick You Everytime", "Little by Little", "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Demo, "Married With Children" Live Sitting Here in Silence, "Magic Pie", “Not Over Yet", "Revolution Song”, "Supersonic" Live Radio Cidade 2001, "Take Me Away”, “Talk Tonight", “Think of a Number", "Those Swollen Hand Blues”, "To Be Someone", "The Turning”, "Untitled (Demo)", "What's It Got to Do with You", "Whatever" Live 1990s)
C♯3 (“D'You Know What I Mean?" Mustique Demo, "Force of Nature", "I'm Not Giving Up Tonight", "It's Better People", "Let Forever Be", "Sail On”)
C3 (“A Dream Is All I Need to Get By”, “Half the World Away”, "Hey You", "Idler's Dream", “In a Little While" Demo, "Rattling Rose”, "The Right Stuff”, “Setting Sun", “This Guy’s In Love with You" Live London Festival Hall 1996, "Underneath the Sky" Live Radio NRJ France 1997)
B2 (“Just One Kiss", "Revolution Song”, "Where Did It All Go Wrong?", "Who Feels Love")
B♭2 (“I'm Not Giving Up Tonight", "The Right Stuff”)
A2 (“(As Long as They’ve Got) Cigarettes in Hell”, "Half the World Away" Live Sitting Here In Silence, "Revolution Song")
G2 ("Those Swollen Hand Blues")
F♯2 (“Take Me Away”)
{Questionable Notes}
G♯5 ("Leave My Guitar Alone" [1a])
F♯5 ("Rock 'n' Roll Star" Sheffield Arena England [1a])
E5 ("I Hope, I Think, I Know" [1a], "It's Better People" [1a], “My Big Mouth” Mustique Demo [1a], "Roll With It" Loch Lomond 1996 [1a])
E♭5 ("Put Yer Money Where Your Mouth Is" Demo [1a])
B4 ("Force of Nature" [1b])
B♭4 ("It's Getting Better (Man!!)" Knebworth Park London Second Night 1996 [2a])
D3 ("Soldier Boys & Jesus Freaks" [1c])
A2 ("In a Little While" [1c])
G2 (“Fade-In Out" Mustique Demo [1d], "This Guy's In Love With You" [1c], "To Be Someone” [1c])
E2 ("Leave My Guitar Alone" [1c])
.............................................................
[1] Questionable Quality
a. Short woo
b. Short trill
c. Lacking sustain
d. Spoken phrase lacking tone
[2] Questionable Intent
a. Overshot note
Questionable notes are any notes with a questionable significance. In short, this spoiler acknowledges notes that I am aware exist, but do not want to contribute to the singer's range. These involve (but are not limited to) weak vocal fry, uncontrolled slides, very short notes, notes hit at an ambiguous pitch and notes where it is unclear who is singing.
…………………………………………………..G♯5 ("Leave My Guitar Alone" [1a])
F♯5 ("Rock 'n' Roll Star" Sheffield Arena England [1a])
E5 ("I Hope, I Think, I Know" [1a], "It's Better People" [1a], “My Big Mouth” Mustique Demo [1a], "Roll With It" Loch Lomond 1996 [1a])
E♭5 ("Put Yer Money Where Your Mouth Is" Demo [1a])
B4 ("Force of Nature" [1b])
B♭4 ("It's Getting Better (Man!!)" Knebworth Park London Second Night 1996 [2a])
D3 ("Soldier Boys & Jesus Freaks" [1c])
A2 ("In a Little While" [1c])
G2 (“Fade-In Out" Mustique Demo [1d], "This Guy's In Love With You" [1c], "To Be Someone” [1c])
E2 ("Leave My Guitar Alone" [1c])
.............................................................
[1] Questionable Quality
a. Short woo
b. Short trill
c. Lacking sustain
d. Spoken phrase lacking tone
[2] Questionable Intent
a. Overshot note
Questionable notes are any notes with a questionable significance. In short, this spoiler acknowledges notes that I am aware exist, but do not want to contribute to the singer's range. These involve (but are not limited to) weak vocal fry, uncontrolled slides, very short notes, notes hit at an ambiguous pitch and notes where it is unclear who is singing.
*Boldface marks notable passages and examples of the singer's capabilities.
*Blue marks notes sung in a soft falsetto.
*Green marks harshly distorted passages.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlines mark notes in backing vocals or otherwise obscured.
{Best Vocal Performances}
- Helter Skelter
- Don't Look Back In Anger
- Revolution Song
- If I Had a Gun
- The Masterplan
- In the Heat of the Moment
- Acquiesce
- (As Long as They've Got) Cigarettes In Hell
- Force of Nature
- The Importance of Being Idle
{Album Ranges}
Oasis
Definitely Maybe (1994): A3 – G♯4 [Exclusively Backing Vocals]
(What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (1995): E3 – A4 – C#5 - E5
Be Here Now (1997): D3 – A4 – B4 - E5 - F5
Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000): B2 – G4 – B4
Heathen Chemistry (2002): C♯3 – A4 - B4 - C#5
Don’t Believe the Truth (2005): G3 – G4 – B4
Dig Out Your Soul (2008): D3 – A4
Noel Gallagher's High-Flying Birds
Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds (2011): F3 – A4 – B4
Chasing Yesterday (2015): B♭2 – G#4 - B♭4 – B4
Who Built the Moon? (2017): F3 – A4
Black Star Dancing (2019): C♯3 – G4
This Is the Place (2019): C3 – F♯4
Blue Moon Rising (2020): F3 – G4 – A4
Council Skies (2023): B♭2 - G#4 - D5
Oasis
Definitely Maybe (1994): A3 – G♯4 [Exclusively Backing Vocals]
(What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (1995): E3 – A4 – C#5 - E5
Be Here Now (1997): D3 – A4 – B4 - E5 - F5
Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000): B2 – G4 – B4
Heathen Chemistry (2002): C♯3 – A4 - B4 - C#5
Don’t Believe the Truth (2005): G3 – G4 – B4
Dig Out Your Soul (2008): D3 – A4
Noel Gallagher's High-Flying Birds
Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds (2011): F3 – A4 – B4
Chasing Yesterday (2015): B♭2 – G#4 - B♭4 – B4
Who Built the Moon? (2017): F3 – A4
Black Star Dancing (2019): C♯3 – G4
This Is the Place (2019): C3 – F♯4
Blue Moon Rising (2020): F3 – G4 – A4
Council Skies (2023): B♭2 - G#4 - D5
