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Millions Now Living Will Never Die

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Millions Now Living Will Never Die
A blue and grey cover depicting a school of fish.
Studio album by
Tortoise
ReleasedJanuary 30, 1996 (1996-01-30)
RecordedJune–September 1995
Studio
  • Idful Music Corporation (Chicago, Illinois)
  • Soma Electronic Music Studios (Chicago, Illinois)
Genre
Length42:56
LabelThrill Jockey
Tortoise chronology
Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters
(1995) 		Millions Now Living Will Never Die
(1996) 		TNT
(1998)
Singles from Millions Now Living Will Never Die
  1. "Djed"
    Released: 1996 (1996)
  2. "The Taut and Tame"
    Released: 1996 (1996)

Millions Now Living Will Never Die is the second studio album by American post-rock band Tortoise. The album was released on January 30, 1996 by Thrill Jockey.

The album's title is a reference to a phrase used in the Jehovah's Witness faith in the 1920s.[2][3] It is, for instance, the title of an essay by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who was the second president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.[4] By March 1998, the album had sold over 50,000 copies, with 80% as CDs and the remainder as LPs.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Alternative Press5/5[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
NME8/10[9]
Orlando Sentinel[10]
Record Collector[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Spin7/10[13]
Uncut9/10[14]
The Village VoiceB−[15]

Millions Now Living Will Never Die was released to positive critical reviews, and it has since been renowned as a groundbreaking album for the post-rock genre.[16] Outersound wrote that not long after the album's release, the group was "hailed as godfathers of the American 'post-rock' movement".[16] The Wire named it the record of the year in its annual critics' poll[17] and NME named it the 35th best album of 1996.[18]

In 2006 and 2008, Millions Now Living Will Never Die was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back concert series. The album also appears in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tortoise (Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire and David Pajo), except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Djed" 20:57
2."Glass Museum" 5:27
3."A Survey" 2:52
4."The Taut and Tame"
5:01
5."Dear Grandma and Grandpa" 2:49
6."Along the Banks of Rivers" 5:50
Total length:42:56
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
7."Gamera"11:55
8."Goriri"6:39
9."Restless Waters"3:41
Total length:65:11
2001 reissue Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
10."A Grape Dope"4:12
Total length:69:23

Personnel

Credits for Millions Now Living Will Never Die adapted from album liner notes.[20]

Tortoise

Production

  • John McEntire – mixing, recording
  • Roger Seibel – mastering

Artwork and design

  • Dan Osborn – layout assistance, "computer magic"
  • Tortoise – sleeve design

Samples

The song "Dear Grandma and Grandpa" contains a sample of German band Dom's song "Silence", from their 1972 album Edge of Time.

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 115

References

  1. ^ Stylus Staff (March 22, 2004). "Top 101–200 Favourite Albums Ever". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023. All that this record represents has basically fallen from grace rather awkwardly, and the few truly great albums of the whole Chicago Instrumental Post Rock Jazz Fusion scene...
  2. ^ Shields, Michael (February 1, 2016). "Twenty Years Later: Tortoise's Millions Now Living Will Never Die". Across The Margin.
  3. ^ Millions Now Living Will Never Die
  4. ^ Millions Now Living Will Never Die
  5. ^ Morris, Chris (March 7, 1998). "Thrill Jockey's Tortoise Finds Experimentation Instrumental". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 10. p. 14. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  6. ^ Bush, John. "Millions Now Living Will Never Die – Tortoise". AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  7. ^ "Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die". Alternative Press (94): 91. May 1996.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Tortoise". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
  9. ^ "Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die". NME: 42. January 27, 1996.
  10. ^ Gettelman, Parry (April 19, 1996). "Tortoise". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  11. ^ Pearlman, Mischa (July 2012). "Tortoise – Millions Now Living Will Never Die". Record Collector (403). Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  12. ^ Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Tortoise". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 819–20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. ^ Salamon, Jeff (March 1996). "Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die". Spin. 11 (12): 112–13. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  14. ^ "Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die". Uncut (183). August 2012.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 21, 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  16. ^ a b jf (1998). "Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die". Outersound. Archived from the original on March 17, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  17. ^ "96 Rewind: Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 155. London. January 1997. p. 37 – via Exact Editions.
  18. ^ "Albums And Tracks Of The Year: 1996". NME. October 10, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  19. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  20. ^ Millions Now Living Will Never Die (liner notes). Tortoise. Thrill Jockey. 1996. THRILL 025.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ "Chart Log UK: DJ T – Tzant". Zobbel.de. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
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