Soul Love (Beady Eye song)

"Soul Love" is a song by English rock band Beady Eye from their second studio album, BE (2013). Written by Liam Gallagher and produced by David Sitek with Beady Eye, it was released on 25 November 2013 as a double A-side single with "Iz Rite".^[1][2]

In a track-by-track interview published before the release of BE, Liam Gallagher said that "Soul Love" "started as a Songbird-y thing", before he changed it "the night before we recorded it".^[3] In a later interview with The Quietus, Gallagher cited the track as one of the songs that convinced the band that Sitek's approach was working, saying that when the producer began reshaping "Soul Love", the band told him to "carry on doing what you're doing".^[4]

The finished recording was widely described as one of the more textured and restrained songs on BE. The Guardian referred to its "conventional acoustic strum" but argued that a "discordant countermelody" lifted it unexpectedly,^[5] while The Observer said the song highlighted Sitek's "attention to detail".^[6] The Quietus, however, was less enthusiastic, writing that the song's "ominous groove" drifted into a "late Beatles/Lennon direction".^[7]

"Soul Love" first appeared on BE, where it was sequenced as the album's second track.^[8] On 8 November 2013, NME reported that Beady Eye would release "Iz Rite" / "Soul Love" as the next single from the album on 25 November.^[9] Digital editions of the two-track single were dated 22 November 2013 on Apple Music in some territories.^[10]

1. "Soul Love" – 5:10^[11]
2. "Iz Rite" – 3:26^[12]

The music video for "Soul Love" was unveiled on 18 November 2013.^[13] NME described it as a Charlie Lightening-directed promotional clip,^[14] and Lightening's production company and IMDb both credit him as director.^[15][16]

Critical response to "Soul Love" was mixed. The Guardian praised the way its countermelody unsettled what it called an otherwise conventional acoustic arrangement,^[17] and The Observer cited the song as an example of Sitek's detailed production improving the band's sound.^[18] The Quietus was more critical, arguing that its atmosphere eventually gave way to over-familiar Beatles and Lennon echoes.^[19]

Other reviews were similarly divided. Paste criticised the song's lyrics and pacing,^[20] while Spectrum Culture later listed "Soul Love" among the songs on BE that made the album's formula work better than expected.^[21]

On the Official Physical Singles Chart, "Soul Love" peaked at number 5 and spent nine weeks on the chart.^[22]