Oasis
Familiar To Millions
On Sale Now
For $15.98

Probably one of the most notorious “love ‘em/hate ‘em” bands of the past ten years, Oasis tended to either inspire or enrage as they gradually took control of the popular music scene in the mid-1990s. Often pegged as a mere Beatles knock-off, I personally have always appreciated much of their work. 1994’s Definitely Maybe and 1995’s What’s the Story (Morning Glory)? were chockfull of refreshingly rich and tuneful guitar-drive melodies, inherently uplifting lyrics, and an irrepressible vocal snarl, all of which was frequently overshadowed by the band’s off-stage antics. However, 1997’s Be Here Now, a monumental mess of over-production, and 2000’s Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, a primarily limp attempt at a comeback, failed to live up to lofty expectations and match their predecessors. Consequently, the band’s global popularity has tumbled dramatically, which makes the release of Familiar to Millions quite perplexing.

This double live album, 18 songs total, 17 of which were recorded July 21, 2000 at England’s Wembley Stadium (“Helter Skelter,” the final track, was culled from an April 16, 2000 show in Milwaukee), is representative of the band’s much-hyped 2000 world tour. Unfortunately, it seems that Oasis really should have released a live album four years ago when the band’s skill and notoriety were at a pinnacle. At the same time, Familiar to Millions hardly functions as a greatest hits collection, considering that five songs are collected from Standing on the Shoulders… and two others are dull and messy covers. So, why put out this album now? The answer is basically because Oasis can. They really do not care about their current status in the music industry, and it goes along perfectly with the unabashed, arrogant confidence that the band has always assumed, which also ultimately led to the sharp divide between love and hate for them. This album is not called “Live at Wembley” for a reason: it boasts itself as being “Familiar to Millions.” However, familiarity does not translate into quality.

The biggest problem with this live recording is lead singer Liam Gallagher. Though his voice leaps off earlier records with an unavoidable edge of enthusiasm and power, here his voice sounds hoarse and lifeless; Liam is apparently remarkably disinterested in having 70,000 people chant his name. This lack of vigor is a sharp contrast to the musicianship and production, which is mostly tight, sharp, and energetic. As a result of this disparity, the vast majority of the songs come off flat, with Liam listlessly dragging a fairly excited band through an array of hits like “Wonderwall,” “Champagne Supernova,” and “Live Forever,” all of which are both intriguing and moving in their original studio versions; the musicianship essentially fails to overcome Liam’s boredom throughout much of Familiar to Millions.

Nonetheless, there are select moments when everything seems to come together, and nostalgia for 1995 blooms. Of course in a live context, these moments occur when Noel’s vibrant vocals take lead, as on “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Step Out,” and the chorus of “Acquiesce,” which especially captures the carefree, “live for the moment” attitude that once made Oasis so wonderful. Noel seems genuinely interested in sincerely and properly performing these songs, which are completely composed by him anyway. Liam cannot seem to manage the same. As for the covers, one of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My {Into the Black)” and the other of The Beatles’s “Helter Skelter,” Noel cannot vocally save what amounts to some annoyingly uninspired arrangements; Oasis is clearly better at using the influence of The Beatles for their own creative means than outright playing one of their songs.

Great live albums should stand on their own as alternatives to studio recordings and examples of how a band can work effectively in two mediums. In the end, there is really no reason to listen to Familiar to Millions instead of Definitely Maybe or What’s the Story (Morning Glory)?. Though they once did have something interesting and vital to contribute, it certainly appears that now Oasis’s current work will not “live forever.”

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