Published on Oct 2, 1998
A cynic couldn’t help but hate this album.
Consider: three gorgeously-scrubbed white kids, ages 12 to 17,
all blond, all brothers, with a sound that’s frequently so Jackson
Five you half expect to find “A-B-C, 1-2-3” on the track list. A
long list of managers, legal consultants and executive producers,
help from some seasoned pro songwriters (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil,
Mark Hudson), big-time promotional backing from a major label,
media saturation, frothing-at-the-mouth teenage fanclubs…
I mean, this album just about HAS TO suck, right?
Wrong. Not only does
Middle Of Nowhere most sincerely NOT suck, it’s a pretty
impressive accomplishment. One of the big reasons is the seriously
hip Phil-Spector-meets-Will-Smith production by Stephen Lironi
(Moby Grape), and on two tracks, The Dust Brothers (Beck’s
acclaimed
Odelay album). They add layers of depth and complexity to
the music while simultaneously making sure the Hansons are allowed
to be themselves, rather than a whitewashed corporate product.
And — surprise — what the Hansons turn out to be is three very
young, vulnerable, intensely energetic and precociously talented
musicians. Fourteen-year-old Taylor Hanson’s vocal delivery is full
of the kind of hyper-kinetic enthusiasm that made Michael Jackson
into a superstar before puberty. The joy coming from behind the
mike on this album is palpable and — unless you’re hopelessly
jaded — fairly awesome to behold. This is music made by people
utterly unashamed of enjoying what they’re doing.
This is truest on the way-beyond-infectious pop gem “MMMbop,”
whose hip-hop edge (courtesy of the aforementioned Dust Brothers)
cements the Hansons’ musical connection to that predecessor quintet
of singing brothers. Still, maybe the most impressive aspect of the
song is the lyric, written solo by the three brothers. It’s a
simple yet surprisingly sophisticated take on mortality and
learning what’s really important in life (“hold on to the ones who
really care / In the end they’ll be the only ones there”). A lot of
full-grown adult songwriters couldn’t pull off the combination of
knockout- power-pop music and subtly thoughtful lyrics; coming from
the Hansons it sounds perfectly natural.
The Hansons rock out to similarly pleasing effect on “Thinking
Of You” and “Where’s The Love,” both full of punchy grooves and
soaring harmonies that are pure ear candy. The fact that Taylor and
older brother Isaac alternate (and sometimes share) lead vocals
help widen the band’s musical range, with 17-year-old Isaac’s more
mature voice showing a strong resemblance to veteran
rock-and-balladeer Bryan Adams on tunes like “A Minute Without
You,” and especially “I Will Come To You.”
The boys also dip into some funk on “Speechless,” pulling it off
better than you might think, and offer predictably sweet but
well-crafted ballads in “Weird” and “With You In Your Dreams,” the
latter dedicated to their deceased grandmother.
It’s not exactly Springsteen, but for a trio of wholesome,
suburban teenagers, it’s a pretty auspicious debut, much more
sophisticated musically and lyrically than any of the pre-fab,
disposable teen idols that went before. If you can put aside your
cynicism — and c’mon, be honest, maybe a little envy, too — for a
few minutes, you ought to be pleasantly surprised by this album.
And if, like me, at some point you suddenly catch yourself singing
along with your ten-year-old at the top of your lungs, you’ve
basically got two choices: cut yourself off and return to your
former life as a cynical, repressed, fatalistic grown-up, or let it
rip.
I know what your therapist would say.