Familiar to Millions

Summary

Familiar to Millions is a live album by English rock band Oasis. It was released on 13 November 2000 by Big Brother Recordings. The album was recorded at Wembley Stadium on 21 July 2000. It debuted at No. 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 copies in the United States[5][6] and an estimated 1 million copies worldwide. The album was initially released simultaneously on six formats: DVD, VHS, double CD, double cassette, triple vinyl, and double MiniDisc, with different coloured cover art depending on format - the version of the cover art depicted in the infobox to the right of this article is the vinyl version.

Familiar to Millions
Live album by
Released13 November 2000 (2000-11-13)
Recorded16 April 2000 at Riverside Theatre, United States
21 July 2000 at Wembley Stadium, London
Genre
Length91:43
LabelBig Brother
ProducerMark Stent, Paul Stacey
Oasis chronology
Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
(2000)
Familiar to Millions
(2000)
Heathen Chemistry
(2002)
Oasis video chronology
...There and Then
(1996)
Familiar to Millions
(2000)
Definitely Maybe
(2004)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic60/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Pitchfork3.5/10[3]

Track listing edit

All songs 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 edit

  1. "Fuckin' in the Bushes" (intro tape) – 3:04
  2. "Go Let It Out" – 5:32
  3. "Who Feels Love?" – 5:59
  4. "Supersonic" – 4:30
  5. "Shakermaker" – 5:13
  6. "Acquiesce" – 4:18
  7. "Step Out" (Gallagher, Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy) – 4:05
  8. "Gas Panic!" – 8:01
  9. "Roll with It" – 4:43
  10. "Stand by Me" – 5:49

Disc two edit

  1. "Wonderwall" – 4:34
  2. "Cigarettes & Alcohol" – 6:53
  3. "Don't Look Back in Anger" – 5:09
  4. "Live Forever" – 4:52
  5. "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" (Neil Young, Jeff Blackburn) – 3:45
  6. "Champagne Supernova" – 6:31
  7. "Rock 'n' Roll Star" – 6:19
  8. "Helter Skelter" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 6:32

The 'Highlights' version edit

(This version is on one CD. All songs are written by Noel Gallagher.)

  1. "Go Let It Out" – 5:51
  2. "Who Feels Love?" – 6:00
  3. "Supersonic" – 4:30
  4. "Shakermaker" – 5:13
  5. "Acquiesce" – 4:07
  6. "Gas Panic!" – 8:02
  7. "Roll with It" – 4:44
  8. "Wonderwall" – 4:34
  9. "Cigarettes & Alcohol" – 6:53
  10. "Don't Look Back in Anger" – 5:09
  11. "Live Forever" – 4:53
  12. "Champagne Supernova" – 6:31
  13. "Rock 'n' Roll Star" – 6:24

Video version (DVD/VHS/VCD) edit

As well as the first night, the DVD features the following:

  • 45-minute documentary directed by Dick Carruthers was shot in and around Wembley by Grant Gee including backstage interviews and fans footage.
  • Multi-camera 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.
  • PCM 2.0 Stereo Sound.
  • Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround 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.

The UK 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) edit

  • 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 16 April 2000.
  • A highlights CD was released on 1 October 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 21 July 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 at Oasis' gig at the Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa, Japan on 5 March 2000. Only one line ("I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now") in the first verse is from the actual Wembley gig, as Liam failed to sing this line correctly in the Yokohama performance.
  • The audio version of the album is also missing various bits of between-track banter.

Promos edit

  • 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 14 January 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.

Artwork edit

Each of the eight different formats (plus the 2001 highlights CD) had a different colour for its own cover art. Below is a table featuring each colour for each format

Format Colour
3× LP Grey
2× CC Yellow
2× CD Red
2x MD Light green
1× VHS White
1x DVD Light blue
2x VCD White/light blue
1x CD Violet

Personnel edit

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Album
Japan (RIAJ)[20] Gold 100,000^
Mexico (AMPROFON)[21] 2× Platinum 300,000[22]
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Platinum 300,000^
Video
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] 2× Platinum 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ AllMusic Familiar to Millions review
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Oasis". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  3. ^ "Oasis: Familiar to Millions: Pitchfork Review". 24 January 2001. Archived from the original on 24 January 2001. Retrieved 2 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Familiar to Millions by Oasis Reviews and Tracks - Metacritic". Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  5. ^ Basham, David. "Got Charts? Making Grammy Predictions, Counting Crowes". MTV.com. 11 January 2002.
  6. ^ Goldner, Jonathan. "Oasis Badger 'Thieving' Fans At Las Vegas Gig". MTV.com. 29 April 2002.
  7. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Oasis – Familiar To Millions" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Lescharts.com – Oasis – Familiar To Millions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Oasis – Familiar To Millions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Oasis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Oasis – Familiar To Millions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  13. ^ "オアシス" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Oasis – Familiar To Millions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Oasis – Familiar To Millions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Oasis Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  19. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2000". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Oasis – Familiar To Millions" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 15 January 2021. Select 2000年11月 on the drop-down menu
  21. ^ "Oasis Familiar To Millions Mexican Promo award disc(272576)". Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Oasis Familiar To Millions Mexican Promo award disc(272576)".
  23. ^ "British album certifications – Oasis – Familiar To Millions". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  24. ^ "British video certifications – Oasis – Familiar To Millions". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 November 2021.

External links edit

  • Familiar to Millions at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)