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Hearing an acoustic, solo Noel Gallagher perform his band's magnum opus, Wonderwall, it was hard not to wish he'd sung it in the first place. Of course, it was his brother Liam - the surly one - who belted the Cool Britannia anthem out in his usual unmeasured style on the the 1995 Oasis release (What's The Story) Morning Glory?. (It was great, of course. Liam Gallagher has never been one of England's most technically proficient vocalists, but he is one of the most compelling.)

In the hands of its writer Noel - the curmudgeonly one - the song might not have had the energetic angst of the record, but it had light, shade and nuance and it was apparent the song actually meant something to its composer.

The feeling was typical of Noel Gallagher's performance during an intimate gig in Melbourne recorded for MTV's Live At The Chapel series on Monday night. The gig was held before Gallagher's sold-out show at Enmore Theatre in Newtown on Wednesday night.

Accompanied by Oasis guitarist Gem Archer and percussionist Terry Kirkbridge, Gallagher performed a handful of Oasis hits as well as a whole lot of B sides with which only fans, or those in possession of the recently released Oasis best of, Stop The Clocks, might be familiar.

Introducing the Kinks-esque 2005 British hit The Importance Of Being Idle, Gallagher called it the "last great song I wrote" with a wistfulness that provided a deliciously voyeuristic insight into the psyche of the loudmouth as artiste.

No such intro for Talk Tonight, the gorgeous B side of the hit Some Might Say. But Gallagher's delicate (yes, delicate) performance of a song containing the lyrics "I wanna talk tonight ... 'bout how you saved my life" left a lingering sense of his vulnerability and not just a whiff of boyish charm.

Gallagher hadn't gone completely soft though. A few choice digs at his favourite sources of derision, brother Liam and Robbie Williams, kept his motormouth rep well intact. His taped performance, Noel Gallagher At Vodafone Live At The Chapel, will screen on MTV December 26.

Source: Sun Herald

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