Familiar to Millions

Infobox Album |
Name = Familiar to Millions
Type = Live album
Artist = Oasis


Released = November 13 2000 (UK)
November 21 2000 / March 17 2001 (US)
Recorded = April 16 2000 & July 21 2000
Genre = Rock, Britpop
Length = 97:50
Label = Big Brother Recordings (UK)
RKIDLP005 (LP)
RKIDCD005 (CD)
Epic E2K 85267 (US)
Producer = Jon Lemon, Mark Stent, Paul Stacey
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|2.5|5 [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8q3tk6rxrkrd~T0 allmusic ((( Familiar to Millions > Overview ))) ] ]
*Pitchfork Media Rating|3.5|10 [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/20521-familiar-to-millions Familiar to Millions | Pitchfork ] ]
*"Q" Rating|3|5 [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/oasis/familiartomillions Oasis: Familiar To Millions (2000): Reviews ] ]
Last album = "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants"
(2000)
This album = "Familiar to Millions"
(2000)
Next album = "Heathen Chemistry"
(2002)

"Familiar to Millions" is a live album by Oasis from their July 21, 2000 concert at Wembley Stadium. It debuted at a respectable #5 in the UK charts with 57,000 copies sold in the first week. To date "Familiar to Millions" has sold around 310,000 copies in Britain alone (Platinum), about 70,000 units in the U.S. [Basham, David. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451755/20020111/u2.jhtml "Got Charts? Making Grammy Predictions, Counting Crowes"] . MTV.com. January 11, 2002.] [Goldner, Jonathan. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1453651/20020429/oasis.jhtml "Oasis Badger 'Thieving' Fans At Las Vegas Gig"] . MTV.com. April 29, 2002.] and has estimated world sales of two million. The album was initially released simultaneously on six formats: DVD, VHS, CD, double cassette, triple vinyl and MiniDisc.

Track listing

All tracks written by Noel Gallagher, except where noted. The disc division and track lengths below are taken from the double-CD edition of the album.

Disc one

# "Fuckin' in the Bushes" (intro tape) – 3:04
# "Go Let It Out" – 5:32
# "Who Feels Love?" – 5:59
# "Supersonic" – 4:30
# "Shakermaker" – 5:13
# "Acquiesce" – 4:18
# "Step Out" (Gallagher/Wonder/Cosby/Moy) – 4:05
# "Gas Panic!" – 8:01
# "Roll With It" – 4:43
# "Stand by Me" – 5:49

Disc two

# "Wonderwall" – 4:46
# "Cigarettes & Alcohol" – 6:52
# "Don't Look Back in Anger" – 5:27
# "Live Forever" – 5:09
# "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" (Young) – 3:45
# "Champagne Supernova" – 6:32
# "Rock 'n' Roll Star" – 7:26
# "Helter Skelter" (Lennon/McCartney) – 6:32

The 'Highlights' Version

(This version is on one CD, (rather than two, as shown above). All songs are written by Noel Gallagher.)

# "Go Let It Out"
# "Who Feels Love?"
# "Supersonic"
# "Shakermaker"
# "Acquiesce"
# "Gas Panic!"
# "Roll With It"
# "Wonderwall"
# "Cigarettes & Alcohol"
# "Don't Look Back in Anger"
# "Live Forever"
# "Champagne Supernova"
# "Rock 'n' Roll Star"

Video version (DVD/VHS)

As well as the whole show the DVD features the following:
* 45-minute documentary shot in and around Wembley by Grant Gee including backstage interviews and fans footage.
* Multicamera angles on the track "Cigarettes & Alcohol".
* Live screen films for "Go Let It Out", "Supersonic", "Live Forever" and "Rock 'n' Roll Star".
* Complete Discography (inc. international releases) with audio clips and artwork.
* Dolby 5.0 stereo sound.
* CD-ROM element, which links to an exclusive page on the Oasis website with as-yet unseen photos and Songplayer module where fans can teach themselves to play "Live Forever".
* 'Tambourine' icon: click it and it takes you to and from the documentary in real time. A first for a non-film release.
* The VHS features the whole show and a 20-minute documentary (entitled "Mad Fer It") featuring exclusive interviews with Liam and Noel Gallagher. This documentary is unique to the VHS format.

Audio version (CD/Vinyl/Cassette/MiniDisc)

* The CD features an extra bonus track, a cover of The Beatles' song "Helter Skelter", which was recorded at the Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, WI, USA on April 16, 2000.
* A highlights CD was released on October 1, 2001 to celebrate Oasis' tenth anniversary as a band. "Fuckin' In The Bushes", "Step Out", "Stand by Me", "Hey Hey, My My", and "Helter Skelter" were all omitted.
* As Liam let the audience sing the choruses of "Wonderwall" and also changed the words to other parts of the song ("By now you should have somehow... realised not to sniff glue" / "And all the lights that light the way are... doin' me fuckin' 'ead in!") at the July 21 gig, the version on the various audio formats features a different vocal track to the original one recorded at Wembley. This also applies to Noel's backing vocals. Most of these overdubbed vocals were recorded live at Oasis' gig at the Yokohama Arena, Tokyo, on March 5, 2000. Only one line: "I'm sure you heard it all before, but you never really had a doubt", is from the actual Wembley gig, as Liam failed to sing this line correctly in the Tokyo performance.
* The audio version of the album is also missing various bits of between-track banter.

Other trivia

* A promo video of the Wembley version of "Gas Panic!" was distributed to music channels. The video featured visuals from throughout the gig and was slightly edited down to 6:57.
* "Gas Panic!" and "Hey Hey, My My" promo CDs were issued in Brazil to promote Oasis' appearance at the Rock in Rio festival on January 14, 2001. The 2-track CD of Gas Panic! included the album version and an edited version of the Wembley track, which was edited down to 4:28. The 1-track CD of Hey Hey, My My included the live version from Wembley.
* The live album came about after the chaotic Wembley gig of July 22, 2000. This concert was being broadcast live to dozens of countries across the world but was hampered by an extremely drunk Liam Gallagher, whose out-of-tune singing and general ranting made it into an unappealing showcase of Oasis' live capabilities in the eyes of Sony BMG, who were worried about a large number of bootleg recordings being distributed.
* The performance of "Cigarettes & Alcohol" features part of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" as an instrumental introduction, as well as a section of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" at the end.
* Each of the six different formats (plus the 2001 highlights CD) had a different colour for its own cover art.

Personnel

*Liam Gallagher – lead vocals, tambourine
*Noel Gallagher – lead guitar, vocals
*Gem Archer – rhythm guitar
*Andy Bell – bass guitar
*Alan White – drums
*Zeb Jameson – keyboards

Charts

Billboard (North America)

Album

References