Middle Of Nowhere

Performer: Hanson
Artist: B.J. Cole
Engineer: Niven Garland
Producer: The Dust Brothers; Stephen Lironi
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Hanson: Isaac Hanson (vocals, guitar, piano); Taylor Hanson (vocals, keyboards); Zac Hanson (vocals, drums). Additional personnel: Stephen Lironi (guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion, programming); B.J. Cole (pedal steel); Endre Granat, John Wittenberg, Peter Kent, Murray Adler (violin); Carole Mukogawa (viola); Larry Corbett, Steve Richards (cello); Mark Hudson (harmonica); Ron McCarley (saxophone); Doug "Flava" Trantow (trumpet); Sandy Stein, William South (keyboards); David Stone (acoustic bass); Neil Stubenhaus (bass); Abe Laboriel Jr. (bass, drums); Ged Lynch (drums, percussion); Pandit Dinish (tabla); Michael Fisher, Michito Sanchez (percussion); The Dust Brothers (programming). "MMMBop" was nominated for 1998 Grammy Awards for Record Of The Year and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Hanson was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The three teen-aged Hanson brothers continue a fine tradition of youth and bubblegumminess that has continued in one form or another since Frankie Lymon first got together with The Teenagers. Like similar groups of the past, brothers Isaac (16), Taylor (13) and Zac (11) compose and play with the help of an army of studio musicians and co-writers ranging from Brill Building legends Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil to current hit-doctors Mark Hudson and Desmond Child. Harmonies, hooks and typical teen fare (puppy love and the like) abound. "Thinking Of You" displays Osmond-like yearnings; on "A Minute Without You," eldest bro Isaac gives a vocal reading worthy of David Cassidy. This unerring pop sensibility manifests itself best on the Dust Brothers-produced debut single "MMMBop." Based on a nonsensical word, the song emulates the irresistibility of classic Jackson 5 sides and uses hip turntable scratching to update it into the perfect slice of disposable pop.

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, pp.80-82) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (6/26/97, pp.54-56) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...a turntable-scratch update of the soul rhythms that served as turn-of-the-'70s bubblegum rock's secret weapon..." Spin (7/97, pp.113-114) - 8 (out of 10) - "...Hanson songs aren't about meaning, they're about the pure pleasures of sound. This late in the century, most of us are at home with...alienation. It's happiness that's alienating, which is why Hanson comes off so wonderfully, outer-space weird..." Entertainment Weekly (5/9/97, pp.78-79) - "...They're a slacker Partridge Family, with flaxen-haired drummer Zac their very own Chris Partridge....Except for brazenly manufactured playthings like the Spice Girls, they don't make buoyant, all-ages-allowed pop like MIDDLE OF NOWHERE anymore..." - Rating: A- Q (1/98, p.112) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997." Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #50 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year." Melody Maker (6/7/97, p.48) - "...a mildly frustrating exercise in proving there's more to them than 'throwaway pop'...What's the point? We don't want anymore! That's what you do! Do it again! Thankfully Hanson have a naturally pop instinct that not even a load of longevity providing devices...can choke."

With their unavoidably catchy 1997 smash "MMMBop," family pop act Hanson kept the bubblegum torch lit for a new generation of teenyboppers and sweet-toothed pop fans. Like the disposable, sugary classics that came before it, "MMM Bop" was not to be questioned, it was to be hummed. The three brothers released several albums in the decade following that hit, all of which performed respectably on the charts and showed an increasing musical maturity. Still, while they're not one-hit-wonders in the true sense of the term, Hanson will forever be remembered for that delicious piece of pop-music candy called "MMMBop."

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