Big Brother/Columbia are releasing a new retrospective from Oasis next Tuesday (June 15th) in three separate configurations. Here are the details the label sent over:TIME FLIES. . . 1994 2009 pays homage to the band and to their fans as no other anthology has ever done and serves to introduce Oasis to the next younger generation of fans who are becoming aware of their enormous influence. Three separate configurations will be available at retail outlets starting June 15th through Big Brother/Columbia. The three packages are summarized as follows:
North American standard 2-CD version: the core of all three sets (with two song variations), that is, 26 of the 27 single A-sides released in the UK, plus (on this N.A. edition only) the #1 U.S. Modern Rock radio hit "Champagne Supernova";
Deluxe Limited Edition 4-disc version (UK import, clam-shell box set): the 2-CD package above (minus "Champagne Supernova" but including "Sunday Morning Call" as a "hidden" bonus track), a DVD compilation of all 38 UK and U.S. promotional video clips, and a CD of the last-ever recorded Oasis live show (at the iTunes Festival at The Roundhouse in London, July 2009);
Deluxe Limited Edition 5-LP version on 180-gram vinyl (UK import box set): the 26 single tunes (with "Sunday Morning Call") spread over 10 LP sides.
In April 2010, fans were asked via the website http://www.oasisinet.com/ to write in 20 words or less what Oasis and their songs mean to them. Virtually overnight, thousands of entries were received from all over the world funny, spirited, emotional, passionate. Over 100 of those entries have been chosen for inclusion (and will be individually credited) as commentaries throughout the 2-CD set, along with track-by-track commentaries from Noel and Liam Gallagher.
These commentaries will be the basis of the 16-page, full-color booklet accomp¬any¬ing the North American standard 2-CD version and the deluxe limited edition 4-disc version of TIME FLIES. . . 1994 2009. For the DVD which is the first career-spanning video compilation ever assembled on Oasis Noel and Liam also provide track-by-track audio commentaries.
Two song variations between the UK imports and the 2-CD North American standard edition are important to note. "Champagne Super¬nova" was not issued as a single in the UK, but it was a major radio hit in the U.S. (reaching #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in April 1996, the follow-up to the #1 "Wonderwall" in 1995). Therefore, the 7-minute album version of "Champagne Super¬nova" is included on the North American version. This version does not appear on the UK 4-disc or vinyl packages instead, those packages both include "Sunday Morning Call" (#4 UK hit in 2000) as the closing bonus track.
Next is the UK hit of 1994, "Whatever," the fifth single ever released by Oasis. "Whatever" was issued after the singles from the debut album Definitely Maybe had run their course. "Whatever" reached #3, their highest-charting single at the time, and spent a total of 50 weeks on the chart in various issues over the next two years. It sold 500,000 copies in 7-inch and CD-single configurations, and became the first of 18 consecutive Top 5 UK hits by Oasis through to 2005. But the song was not included on the next album ((What's the Story) Morning Glory?) and has never been heard on any Oasis album package and never been made available digitally until now.
Fans will be pleased to know that TIME FLIES. . . 1994 2009 surpasses and supersedes both previous Oasis compilations. The new release containing all the band's hit songs is a very different proposition than Stop The Clocks, the band's personal 'best of' collection released in 2006. The latter focused on B-sides and lesser-known tracks, and featured only 10 of the classic Oasis single A-sides. The previous compilation, 1998's interim 14-song set The Masterplan, consisted entirely of non-album single B-sides.
