Familiar to Millions

Go Let It Out
by: peter naldrett - uk correspondent

Landmark rock albums are not often recognised when they are released, they mature with time and are only fully appreciated a few years down the line. This is anything but the case with the new Oasis double live CD, which has shook off the ghosts of the band’s last two woeful studio albums and brought back to life the legend of our greatest current rock outfit.

This is a majestic recording of the Oasis gig at Wembley Stadium during the summer, an amazing show of strength in front of 70,000 people. It incorporates everything that Oasis have become famous for: brilliant rock anthems, adoring fans and a hefty amount of swearing thrown in between songs.

To a large degree this is a live greatest hits album, the band hammering out top hits such as "Go Let It Out," "Roll With It," "Stand By Me" and "Wonderwall." But the difference is that the live performances offer a whole new way of looking at the tracks we are familiar with on the first four Oasis albums.

There’s a tremendously "rocking" version of "Cigarettes And Alcohol," a "Don’t Look Back In Anger" that’s top heavy with audience participation and an encore that is carried along by a cracking "Champagne Supernova." Although favourites like "Some Might Say" are nowhere to be found, this is Oasis like we have not heard since What’s The Story (Morning Glory)? was released in the mid 90s.

It’s refreshing, it’s new and it’s proving that Noel and Liam Gallagher still have a lot to offer. It’s everything that a live album should be. The fact is that the world tour they embarked on in the year 2000 saw them play to a staggering 1.2 million people in 23 countries, and that is a figure of legendary proportions.

Anybody who has an interest in rock history should go out and get a copy of Familiar To Millions, because they will not be disappointed with this blueprint for all rock ‘n’ roll tours.

* Although the Gallagher brothers are Manchester City fans, you may be interested in knowing that a Manchester United album has now been released. Beyond the Promised Land is a compilation that goes with the MUFC movie soon due for release, and includes Buzzcocks, Basement Jaxx and The Stone Roses.