So then, Oasis is dead. Well, sort of. With Noel Gallagher taking about as much as he possibly could from bro Liam, he left the band. Instead of just carrying on, Liam and fellow Oasis members Andy Bell and Gem Archer decided to form Beady Eye.

Clearly with Noel’s departure, the band has decided for Beady Eye to not just be Oasis MK II. Instead, with this debut album at least, they’ve explored other sounds. Perhaps explored isn’t quite the right word, as it’s not an album of World Music say, but even with Liam’s vocals, it’s fair to say that it doesn’t feel like an Oasis album. At least every other song doesn’t.

There’s no doubt that opener ‘Four Letter Word’ certainly wouldn’t look out of place on an Oasis album. It’s a loud, brash affair, with horns and guitars whipping up a frenzy. It’s got a great sense of urgency about it, with bags of energy to boot. Liam also sounds as if he’s in Oasis mood, which is no bad thing.

It certainly changes gear with the next track ‘Millionaire’. Suddenly, Liam’s vocals sound like they’ve been piped through a conditioning machine making them lusciously soft. The problem is, it doesn’t really sound like our Liam. It sounds like a castrated Liam, which takes some getting used to. The song itself, despite some nice jangly guitars, is also on the soft side, like a watered down Tom Petty number.

‘The Roller’ is Liam doing his Beatles thing. The fact is he’ll never get it out of his system, so it’s only to be expected. It’s a pleasant little ditty. Nothing more, nothing less.

The tempo gets pushed a little harder with ‘Beatles and Stones’, which is more of a name check than a direct comparison musically with either of those bands. It’s a train of a tune that has no plans in stopping before its final destination, chugging along as it does.

It’s about this point in proceedings where Liam’s vocal start to sound, well, quite un-liam like. There’s definitely a harshness that’s been taken out, which is a shame. Still, with it’s up tempo country vibe and nice line in harmonica-ering, ‘Wind Up Dream’ is pleasantly perky.

It’s all aboard the chugging Beady Eye train again with ‘Bring the Light’, a definite album highlight. A piano drives this beast of a track, and this time, it has no intentions of stopping at all. It’s like a ride at Alton Towers that you never want to end.

It’s softly softly with ‘For Anyone’, which is just a bit too sappy. There’s definitely a tambourine or two in there, and that just won’t do at all.

Mellow. That’s ‘Kill For a Dream’. It’s a gentle ballad with a prominent guitar riff. Don’t be surprised if you see one or two lighters reach for the sky when it’s played live.

And the closest thing to an all –out rock song is ‘Standing on the Edge of Noise’. Despite its nice title, there’s a touch of Status Quo about it, which is good or bad depending on how you feel about the Quo really.

For those who suffer from insomnia never fear, as ‘Wigwam’ may well be the cure you’ve been looking for. Not only does it go on a bit with its obvious pretentions of epicness, it’s as beige as can be.

Liam has his John Lennon head on for ‘Three Ring Circus’; yes it’s Beatle-esque, but at least it’s catchy and just more than a little bit bouncy with it.

The Beatles influences carries over into ‘The Beat Goes On’, during their hippy drippy phase, making this effort all too hippy and indeed drippy. And yes it does go on. And on.

The last track is ‘The Morning Son’. Again it has more than a hint of the Fab Four about it, and is the second track to come in at the 6 minute plus mark. It’s also about 3 minutes too long.

Although it’s usually commendable to buy an album that’s over the 45-minute mark – after all, everyone likes to feel that they’re getting value for money – this debut could really have benefitted from being a lot tighter. It ambles far too often in places, making it appear on the self-indulgent side.

It’s easy to imagine die-hard Oasis fans lapping it up, as it’s about as close to being Oasis without actually being Oasis. In that sense Liam’s let the side down a bit; this was his moment to shine and put himself right out there, but sadly there’s nothing exceptional on display here. It has nothing up its sleeves and does little to surprise in any way. The most positive thing to say about it is that it’s competent.

Certainly on this form, Beady Eye feels like nothing more than a stop gap until the inevitable Oasis reunion. Things could change if Liam and the gang decide to grow a pair for the next album, by really pushing themselves. In the meantime, why not listen to some Mancunian muzak...