Millions Now Living Will Never Die

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.

Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Studio album by Tortoise
Released	January 30, 1996 (1996-01-30)
Recorded	June–September 1995
Studio	Idful (Chicago) Soma (Chicago)
Genre	Post-rock jazz fusion[1]
Length	42:56
Label	Thrill Jockey
Tortoise chronology
Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters (1995) Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996) TNT (1998)
Singles from Millions Now Living Will Never Die
"Djed" Released: 1996 (1996) "The Taut and Tame" Released: 1996 (1996)

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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Alternative Press	5/5[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
NME	8/10[9]
Orlando Sentinel	[10]
Record Collector	[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]
Spin	7/10[13]
Uncut	9/10[14]
The Village Voice	B−[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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Djed"		20:57
2.	"Glass Museum"		5:27
3.	"A Survey"		2:52
4.	"The Taut and Tame"	Tortoise Bundy K. Brown	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.	Title	Length
7.	"Gamera"	11:55
8.	"Goriri"	6:39
9.	"Restless Waters"	3:41
Total length:		65:11

2001 reissue Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
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

• Dan Bitney
• John Herndon
• Douglas McCombs
• John McEntire
• David Pajo

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