Noel Gallagher has announced a new greatest hits album, ‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’, featuring two brand new tracks.
To mark a decade of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, the career-spanning collection is being released on June 11.
It includes the track ‘We’re On Our Way Now’, which is out now, and is a nod to his former band Oasis’ ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ era.
Name-dropping the Britpop group’s track ‘Cast No Shadow’ from the seminal 1995 LP, Noel sings: “I hear the morning sun, doesn’t cast no shadow. You chose to drift away, but look at you now.”
The second new tune is ‘Flying On The Ground’.
The 18-track collection also includes songs from High Flying Birds three chart-topping albums, 2011’s self-titled, 2015’s ‘Chasing Yesterday’ and 2017’s ‘Who Built The Moon?’.
Noel said of his Best Of album: “10 years of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds?? Blimey! … Just think of all the things I COULD have done in that time!!
“The title just came to me one afternoon, at the kitchen table.
“It’s a saying isn’t it: ‘back the way we came’. I actually thought it was a great title. Which is why it’s got vol 1. Because if there’s another one, I’m not coming up with another title!”
The 53-year-old musician has revealed that he recorded four tracks for the album, but they were the ones that “came out best”.
Speaking to Dave Berry on Absolute Radio, he said: “Because I’ve got my own record label and all that I didn’t want anyone that works for me sitting around doing nothing.
“So I realised it was the 10 year anniversary coming up this year and was like, ‘What about a Best Of?’ And we kicked the idea around for a bit and I had a few tunes that I had never finished off for various projects in those 10 years. I think I had four and I went to a studio and recorded them, socially-distanced of course, and the two that made it onto the album are the two that came out best.”
‘Back The Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021)’ tracklisting:
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)