Middle of Nowhere (Hanson album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Middle Of Nowhere
Studio album by Hanson
Released Canada May 5, 1997
United States May 6, 1997
United Kingdom May 8, 1997
Germany June 9, 1997
Recorded 1995-1996
Genre pop rock, teen pop
Length 53:41
Label Mercury / Universal
Producer The Dust Brothers, Stephen Lironi
Professional reviews
Hanson chronology
MMMBop
(1996)
Middle of Nowhere
(1997)
Snowed In
(1997)

Middle of Nowhere is the third album by American pop rock group Hanson, and the first to be released on a major label. Released in 1997, it features slicker studio production compared to their previous indie efforts Boomerang and MMMBop. "Yearbook", one of the album's more dramatic songs, had never been performed live until the recording of Middle of Nowhere Acoustic on May 5, 2007.

The album was received extremely well by critics. Most reviewers praised Hanson as a welcome alternative to the apathetic Post-Grunge bands that were dominating the radiowaves at the time. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said of the trio:

"... lack of guile is Hanson's most endearing quality. "[1].

Middle of Nowhere yielded 5 hits: "MMMBop", "Where's the Love", "I Will Come to You", "Weird", and "Thinking of You".

Contents

[edit] Worldwide sales

Total sales worldwide are 10 million copies. The album sold just under 4 million in the US (4 times platinum) and sold 600,000 copies in UK (2 times platinum).

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, and Zachary Hanson. Additional writers (as credited in CD insert) noted in parenthesis.

  1. "Thinking of You" – 3:13
  2. "MMMBop" – 4:28
  3. "Weird" – 4:02 (Desmond Child)
  4. "Speechless" – 4:20 (Stephen Lironi)
  5. "Where's the Love" – 4:13 (Mark Hudson, Sander Salover)
  6. "Yearbook" – 5:29 (Ellen Shipley)
  7. "Look at You" – 4:28 (Stephen Lironi)
  8. "Lucy" – 3:35 (Mark Hudson)
  9. "I Will Come to You" – 4:11 (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil)
  10. "A Minute Without You" – 3:55 (Mark Hudson)
  11. "Madeline" – 4:13 (Cliff Magness)
  12. "With You in Your Dreams" – 3:56
  13. "Man from Milwaukee" [Bonus Track] – 3:38

Note: "Man from Milwaukee" is actually Track #21, as there are eight tracks of silence after "With You In Your Dreams." In Japan the song is track 14 because it has MMMBop live track as song 13. "Man from Milwaukee" was omitted from all cassettes and vinyl pressings of Middle of Nowhere.

[edit] Personnel

Hanson

  • Zachary Hanson - Drums, Backing vocals, Co-Lead vocals on "Where's the love?", Lead vocals on "Lucy"
  • Taylor Hanson - Keyboards, Lead vocals
  • Isaac Hanson - Guitar, Backing vocals, Co-Lead vocals on "Where's the love?" and "I Will Come To You", Lead vocals on "A Minute Without You"

Session musicians

  • Stephen Lironi - Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Programming, Producer, Keyboards
  • Peter Kent - Violin
  • Michael Fischer - Percussion
  • Carole Mukogawa - Viola
  • John Wittenberg - Violin
  • Michito Sanchez - Percussion
  • Larry Corbett - Cello
  • Steve Richards - Cello
  • Ged Lynch - Drums, Percussion
  • Nick Vincent - Drums
  • Endre Granat - Violin
  • Abe Laboriel Jr. - Drums
  • David Campbell - Conductor, String Arrangements
  • Abraham Laboriel - Bass
  • Neil Stubenhaus - Bass
  • B.J. Cole - Pedal Steel
  • Sandy Stein - Keyboards
  • Stevie Wonder - Harmonica
  • Murray Adler - Violin

Other

[edit] Charts

This table indicates the highest position the album reached on each country's album charts.

Chart (1997) Position
Australia 1
Austria 2
Belgium (Flanders chart) 2
Belgium (Wallonia chart) 15
Finland 4
France 15
Germany 1
Holand 7
Japan 10
Netherlands 5
New Zealand 4
Norway 7
Sweden 4
Switzerland 2
UK 1
USA 2
Preceded by
Wu-Tang Forever by Wu-Tang Clan
UK number one album
June 21, 1997 – June 27, 1997
Succeeded by
OK Computer by Radiohead
Preceded by
The Fat of the Land by The Prodigy
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
August 10 - August 23, 1997
Succeeded by
In Deep by Tina Arena