Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Noel Gallagher is back — but not as you know him.

“I played The Right Stuff to a mate of mine,” says Gallagher, mentioning one of the most out-there tracks on an already out-there album. “And he said: ‘finally’. I didn’t know what he meant at first, but then I realised. The Right Stuff is space jazz. We used to take the piss out of space jazz in Oasis. When people told us we weren’t adventurous we would say, ‘what do you want, space jazz?’ And now I’ve made a track that is real, actual, spaced-out jazz. And you know what? It’s great.”

There are also saxophones.

“We made a demo of Riverman and we knew it was amazing,” says Gallagher, on the beautiful opening song of the album. “And then I was listening to [sax-laden one-hit wonder from 1974] Pinball by Brian Protheroe and thought: Shall I? Shall I actually get a saxophone player? And what if I get him to play not one but two solos? I know I’m going to be accused of sax crimes. I’m guilty of saxual harassment. But fuck it. This is not Oasis. There’s nobody to tell me not to do it. And when you listen to that saxophone, please, don’t think about the guy from Spandau Ballet. Think about a dude from New Orleans in 1963, smacked out of his head and incredibly cool, because it’s time to reclaim the saxophone.”

Gallagher thinks Riverman might be the best song he has ever written. He’s pretty sure it’s the best-sounding song he’s ever made. And he knows it’s the best-produced song he has ever been involved with.