Middle of Nowhere is the debut studio album of the American rock band Hanson . (Before him, the group released two indie or even demo albums in small editions - and , which were financed by the father of the guys, but this one is considered their debut.)
| Middle of nowhere | |||||||
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| hanson studio album | |||||||
| Date of issue | May 6, 1997 | ||||||
| Recorded by | July — November 1996, Los Angeles (California) | ||||||
| Genre | pop rock tin pop | ||||||
| Duration | 53:41 | ||||||
| Producer | The Dust Brothers , Stephen Lironi | ||||||
| Label | Mercury , Polygram | ||||||
| Hanson Timeline | |||||||
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| Reviews | |
|---|---|
| Critics' ratings | |
| A source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [one] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− [2] |
| Rolling stone | [3] |
| Robert Cristgau |  [four] |
Released in May 1997 via Mercury Records and Polygram . At that time, the brothers - members of the group were from 11 to 16 years old (Isaac Hanson 16, Taylor 13, and Zach 11).
With the majority of the songs on the album, the brothers were helped by experienced songwriters (such as Desmond Child and Barry Mann ), but there are a few written by them themselves, including the number one hit in the USA, “ MMMBop ” [5] .
The album was exceptionally well received by critics. Entertainment Weekly's David Brown said of the trio in an article dated May 9, 1997: “The lack of cunning [their] is the most good quality” [2] .
Five singles were eventually released from the album: “ MMMBop ” (lead single, released in April), “ Where's the Love ”, “ I Will Come to You ”, “ Weird ” and “ Thinking of You ”.
The total sales of the album worldwide are 10 million copies, of which 4 million were sold in the United States (that is, the album in this country became four times platinum) and 400 thousand in the UK.
Critics Opinion
Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlevine, in a review on AllMusic, calls the Hanson band on this album “a post-alternative version of Jackson 5 ”. He notes on this work “sparkling harmonies, sunny melodies, rolling hip-hop beats and dense, multi-layer production work.” He continues:
| Hanson is really boiling, bubbling with energy from beginning to end of this surprisingly groovy and melodic debut. When listening to the lead single “ MMMBop ” or the same groovy “ Where's the Love ”, it's hard not to feel the joy of making music. Although 9 of the 14 songs were written by boys together with professional authors, and the producers also put their own distinctive stamp, the identities that appear are Hansons themselves - young, teeming with vitality and decisively joyful. Some of the songs may be a little long, and there are a couple of borrowed melodies and silly poems, but Middle of Nowhere is a real pleasure [1] . |
Song List
All songs, unless otherwise indicated, are written by Isaac Hanson, and Zachary Hanson.
- Thinking of You - 3:13
- “ MMMBop ” - 4:28
- " Weird " - 4:02 ( Desmond Child )
- Speechless - 4:20 (Stephen Lironi)
- “ Where's the Love ” - 4:13 ( Mark Hudson , Sander Salover)
- Yearbook - 5:29 ( Ellen Shipley )
- “Look at You” - 4:28 (Stephen Lironi)
- Lucy 3:35 ( Mark Hudson )
- “ I Will Come to You ” - 4:11 ( Barry Mann , Cynthia Weil )
- “A Minute Without You” - 3:55 ( Mark Hudson )
- “Madeline” - 4:13 ( Clif Magness )
- "With You in Your Dreams" - 3:56
- “Man from Milwaukee” [CD only, hidden track ] - 3:38
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Middle of Nowhere on the AllMusic website
- ↑ 1 2 David Browne. Middle of Nowhere Review | Music Reviews and News . EW.com (May 9, 1997). Date of appeal September 19, 2011.
- ↑ Rolling Stone review (inaccessible link) . Archived March 16, 2009.
- ↑ Robert Christgau: CG: Hanson .
- ↑ MMMbop by Hanson Songfacts . Songfacts. Date of treatment May 19, 2017.