OASIS
Familiar To Millions
Familiar to Millions is a live album by British rock band Oasis. It was recorded at Wembley Stadium on 21 July 2000. It debuted at #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.and has estimated world sales of 1 million. The album was initially released simultaneously on six formats: DVD, VHS, CD, double cassette, triple vinyl and MiniDisc. (Source: wikipedia)
Well in my opinion, this is Oasis' best live album since Live By The Sea. Here is where they really are at the peak of their musical career. They've achieved what Led Zep used to achieve back in those golden rock days, that is well-executed improvisation and playing the songs better when going live.
Liam's voice was aided with "Cigarettes & Alcohol" I should say, which made it sound more differently (you'll have to listen for yourself, cause it's really different than the voice we all know), but if you look on the upside, it does makes it better. Noel's guitar sound have also evolved. Back then, the sound you'd recognized was this delayed and echoing heavy-distorted Epiphone plugged to a stack of Marshall amplifiers. But now, Noel's idea of a sound is a more stabilized and less-distorted sound added with experimental effects which are given to the audience with the help of a Gibson Les Paul plugged to a combination of amps.
And then there was the guys; Gem, Andy, and Alan. With the help of Gem, which is able to switch from leading and playing rhythm, Noel was able to express himself more which made the songs even better. Such as in "Stand By Me", Noel was able to do lot's of amazing fill-in like we've never heard him before. And as for Andy, his bass playing is great. He brings this bass-playing that added more tune into the songs. But for Alan, even though his drumming skill did make a platinum selling album, he can't really cope with songs which are played by McCarroll. Probably because of their very different drumming style. When the band was closing the gig with "Rock'n'Roll Star", I think the drums were to soft for the song, unlike how Tony does it. But he does drum impressively, llike in "Gas Panic!".
Liam's voice was aided with "Cigarettes & Alcohol" I should say, which made it sound more differently (you'll have to listen for yourself, cause it's really different than the voice we all know), but if you look on the upside, it does makes it better. Noel's guitar sound have also evolved. Back then, the sound you'd recognized was this delayed and echoing heavy-distorted Epiphone plugged to a stack of Marshall amplifiers. But now, Noel's idea of a sound is a more stabilized and less-distorted sound added with experimental effects which are given to the audience with the help of a Gibson Les Paul plugged to a combination of amps.
And then there was the guys; Gem, Andy, and Alan. With the help of Gem, which is able to switch from leading and playing rhythm, Noel was able to express himself more which made the songs even better. Such as in "Stand By Me", Noel was able to do lot's of amazing fill-in like we've never heard him before. And as for Andy, his bass playing is great. He brings this bass-playing that added more tune into the songs. But for Alan, even though his drumming skill did make a platinum selling album, he can't really cope with songs which are played by McCarroll. Probably because of their very different drumming style. When the band was closing the gig with "Rock'n'Roll Star", I think the drums were to soft for the song, unlike how Tony does it. But he does drum impressively, llike in "Gas Panic!".
Despite my opinion, as Oasis' No. 1# fan, I highly recommend you to hear and experience this breath-taking and mind-blowing live show from Britain's best band so far.
BONUS!
Trivias from "Familiar To Millions"
- 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.
- The live album came about after the chaotic Wembley gig of 22 July 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.
- In July 2009, Noel stated in an interview with BBC Newsbeat that listening back to the album, he thinks it now sounds "atrocious." He attributes this to the fact of the circumstances the band were in at the time saying "it was not a very happy time."
No comments:
Post a Comment