For What It's Worth (Liam Gallagher song) explained

For What It's Worth
Cover:File:Liam Gallagher - For What Its Worth - Cover.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Liam Gallagher
Album:As You Were
Label:Warner
Producer:Dan Grech-Marguerat
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Prev Year:2017
For What It's Worth
Year:2017
Next Title:Greedy Soul
Next Year:2017

"For What It's Worth" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Liam Gallagher from his debut solo album As You Were. The song, a pop rock apology ballad, was written by Gallagher alongside Simon Aldred. Gallagher described the song's lyrics as an "apology to whoever", as opposed to dedicating the apology to anyone in specific. It was released on August 9, 2017 as the third single from As You Were, alongside an accompanying lyric video. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised the maturity of its lyrics and its catchiness.

Background and release

After the break-up of Beady Eye, Liam Gallagher decided to return to recording music following a period of time off.[1] He wrote "For What It's Worth" alongside Simon Aldred of the band Cherry Ghost, wanting a "regretful but not desperate" apology song.[2] [3] On August 9, 2017, Gallagher posted an a cappella snippet of the song to his Twitter account, following an August 7 tweet where he suggested a new song would be released soon.[4] [5] The next day, "For What It's Worth" was released for digital download and streaming as the third single off As You Were, following "Wall of Glass" and "Chinatown". An accompanying lyric video for the song was simultaneously released.[6] [7]

Composition and lyrics

"For What It's Worth" is a "mid-tempo" pop rock and Britpop ballad.[8] [9] Composed in C major,[10] the song's instrumentation consists primarily of acoustic guitar alongside piano, strings and a "steady backbeat", with an electric guitar riff cutting through the track at regular intervals.[11] [12] Various music critics compared the sound of "For What It's Worth" to songs by Oasis, particularly "Don't Look Back in Anger"; Gallagher himself even referred to it as the "most Oasis-y song on the album".

Lyrically, Gallagher has described "For What It's Worth" as an "apology to whoever", acknowledging that he's "pissed a lot of people off" but saying he's "not gonna write a song for each and every one of them".[13] Nonetheless, Anna Gaca of Spin surmised that the lyric "Let's not pretend you were ever searching for saints" referred to Gallagher's ex-wife Nicole Appleton, a member of the girl group All Saints,[14] and Dave Simpson of The Guardian noted that the song is "reputedly" an apology towards her in specific.

Critical reception

"For What It's Worth" received positive reviews from music critics, with Chris Deville of Stereogum remarking that Gallagher's performance "reminds us that he's still one of our great living rock 'n' roll singers". Singer-songwriter Robbie Williams called it his favorite song of 2017, saying that "it's universal and speaks straight to the heart".[15] Similarly, Jill Lawless of the Associated Press praised the song for showing "hints of a new maturity" for Gallagher.[16] Various critics have also compared the song favorably to those released by his brother and former bandmate Noel Gallagher, with Richard Smirke of Billboard saying that the song "came close to equalling Noel's finest efforts".[17] [18] Leonie Cooper of NME conceded that the song, while not clever, didn't need to be in lieu of being catchy.

Live performances

On August 14, 2017, Gallagher performed "For What It's Worth" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in his US television debut as a solo artist.[19] A week later, on August 24, 2017, he released a live recording of the song from Air Studios to his YouTube channel, containing his usual live band combined with a "tasteful" string section.[20] [21] On October 6, 2017, Gallagher performed "For What It's Worth" as part of his appearance on The Graham Norton Show.[22] He later included the song in the setlist of various 2017–2018 tours in support of As You Were.[23] [24] [25] On June 29, 2019, Gallagher performed the song as part of his setlist during the 2019 Glastonbury Festival.[26]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from iTunes.[27]

Release history

Release history for "For What It's Worth"!Region!Date!Format(s)!Label!
VariousAugust 10, 2017Warner
United StatesAugust 21, 2017Modern rock radio[28]
ItalySeptember 8, 2017Radio airplay[29]

Sources

  1. Web site: Runtagh . Jordan . October 25, 2017 . Liam Gallagher Talks Debut Solo Album 'As You Were' . August 19, 2024 . People.
  2. Web site: Lanham . Tom . October 5, 2017 . Liam Gallagher Chats about As You Were and His Hope for a Reunion with Brother Noel . August 19, 2024 . Paste.
  3. Web site: Lovell . Lucy . August 10, 2017 . Fans react to Liam Gallagher's new track For What It's Worth - including a former Oasis bandmate . August 19, 2024 . Manchester Evening News.
  4. Web site: Gaca . Anna . August 9, 2017 . Liam Gallagher Teases New Song “For What It’s Worth” . August 19, 2024 . Spin.
  5. Web site: Britton . Luke . August 9, 2017 . Liam Gallagher teases new song ‘For What It’s Worth’ with a cappella version . August 19, 2024 . NME.
  6. Web site: Cirisano . Tatiana . August 10, 2017 . Listen To Liam Gallagher’s ‘Oasis-y’ New Single ‘For What It’s Worth’ . August 19, 2024 . Billboard.
  7. Web site: Britton . Luke . August 10, 2017 . Watch Liam Gallagher’s lyric video for new single ‘For What It’s Worth’ . August 19, 2024 . NME.
  8. Web site: Deville . Chris . August 10, 2017 . Liam Gallagher – “For What It’s Worth” . August 20, 2024 . Stereogum.
  9. Web site: Kohn . Daniel . October 5, 2017 . Liam Gallagher: As You Were . August 19, 2024 . Paste.
  10. Web site: Guan . Frank . August 10, 2017 . Liam Gallagher Sounds Great, and Surprisingly Apologetic on ‘For What It’s Worth’ . August 20, 2024 . Vulture.
  11. Web site: Blisten . Jon . August 10, 2017 . Hear Liam Gallagher’s ‘Most Oasis-y Song’ on New LP ‘For What It’s Worth’ . August 20, 2024 . Rolling Stone.
  12. Web site: Murphy . Sarah . August 9, 2017 . "For What It's Worth" . August 20, 2024 . Exclaim!.
  13. Web site: O'Neill . Lauren . August 10, 2017 . Liam Gallagher Actually Apologizes on New Song “For What It’s Worth” . August 20, 2024 . Vice.
  14. Web site: Gaca . Anna . August 10, 2017 . Liam Gallagher – “For What It’s Worth” . August 20, 2024 . Spin.
  15. Web site: Bassett . Jordan . December 12, 2017 . Robbie Williams on mental health, new biography ‘Reveal’ and why he wants to perform with Liam . August 20, 2024 . NME.
  16. Web site: Lawless . Jill . October 6, 2017 . Review: Liam Gallagher struts his stuff on ‘As You Were’ . August 20, 2024 . Associated Press.
  17. Web site: Petridis . Alexis . October 5, 2017 . Liam Gallagher: As You Were review – motormouth meets the Beatles, again . August 20, 2024 . The Guardian.
  18. Web site: Smirke . Richard . July 25, 2018 . Why Noel Gallagher Is Right to Ignore Brother Liam’s Attempts to Re-Form Oasis (For Now) . August 20, 2024 . Billboard.
  19. Web site: Trendell . Andrew . August 15, 2017 . Watch Liam Gallagher make his solo US TV debut on ‘The Late Show’ with Stephen Colbert . August 19, 2024 . NME.
  20. Web site: Cook-Wilson . Winston . August 24, 2017 . Video: Liam Gallagher – “For What It’s Worth” . August 19, 2024 . Spin.
  21. Web site: Murphy . Sarah . August 23, 2017 . "For What It's Worth" (live video) . August 19, 2024 . Exclaim!.
  22. Web site: Sandwell . Ian . September 21, 2017 . Graham Norton Show to welcome Kate Winslet, Idris Elba, Liam Gallagher and Chris Rock . August 20, 2024 . Digital Spy.
  23. Web site: November 28, 2017 . Liam Gallagher @ Terminal 5 (pics, setlist, video) . August 19, 2024 . BrooklynVegan.
  24. Web site: Trendell . Andrew . December 4, 2017 . Liam Gallagher kicks off December UK tour in Leeds . August 19, 2024 . NME.
  25. Web site: May 17, 2018 . Liam Gallagher & Richard Ashcroft played Central Park SummerStage kickoff (pics) . August 19, 2024 . BrooklynVegan.
  26. Web site: Lavin . Will . June 29, 2019 . Liam Gallagher dedicates ‘Champagne Supernova’ to Keith Flint during blistering Glastonbury set . August 19, 2024 . NME.
  27. Web site: "For What It's Worth — Song by Liam Gallagher — Apple Music" . August 19, 2024.
  28. Web site: August 21, 2017 . Hot New Releases . August 20, 2024 . Hits.
  29. Web site: Mompellio . Gabriel . Liam Gallagher – For What It's Worth (Radio Date: 08/09/2017) . August 20, 2024 . Italy: Airplay Control . it . Press release.

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