Twenty summers ago, it wafted through the early summer air like pollen: a wordless chorus with an absurdly chipper melody, sung by three brothers with shoulder-length blonde hair. Hanson’s “MMMBop,” an international chart-topper, didn’t lead to wave after wave of commercial success for the Tulsa, Oklahoma trio, the group–now together for a quarter century–continues to turn out solid pop-rock tunes for their devoted fans. And this fall, a double-disc greatest hits compilation brings to the casual listener their best work, major label and otherwise.
Middle Of Everywhere – The Greatest Hits features 26 tracks from the band’s six main studio albums across two discs. Already prolific songwriters and musicians before they were signed to Mercury Records in the 1990s, Isaac (vocals/guitar), Taylor (lead vocals/keyboards) and Zac (vocals/drums) Hanson’s major-label debut Middle Of Nowhere(1997) was boosted to minor pop-rock masterpiece status thanks to production by The Dust Brothers and additional compositions from master rock songsmiths like Desmond Child, Mark Hudson and Ellen Shipley. (It would, in fact, be misguided to brand Hanson as a one-hit wonder, as multiple singles, including “Where’s The Love,” “I Will Come To You” and “This Time Around,” all reached various Top 40 charts around the world.)
Leaving the major label industry behind after 2000’s This Time Around and a personnel shuffle that found them moved to Island after Universal Music Group shuttered Mercury, the trio continued to record and tour independently, issuing four albums on their 3CG (3 Car Garage) label between 2004 and 2013. They’ve also popped up in some unexpected places; in 2009, Taylor Hanson led Tinted Windows, a short-lived supergroup with James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Adam Schlessinger (Fountains of Wayne) and Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick).
Led off by the new track “I Was Born,” Middle Of Everywhere looks to be a fine tribute to a band that never stopped doing good things, even if those things were on a smaller scale. Look for it September 8, and find the full track list below.
Middle Of Everywhere: The Greatest Hits (3CG Records, 2017)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada / Amazon U.K.
Disc 1
- I Was Born
- MMMBop
- Where’s The Love
- I Will Come To You
- Weird
- A Minute Without You
- This Time Around
- If Only
- Save Me
- A Song To Sing (Live)
- Penny & Me
- Lost Without Each Other
- Underneath
- Strong Enough To Break
- Broken Angel
Disc 2
- Great Divide
- Been There Before
- Georgia
- Go
- Watch Over Me
- Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’
- Give a Little
- Juliet
- Get The Girl Back
- Fired Up
- Already Home
Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 1-6 from Middle Of Nowhere (Mercury, 1997)
Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 7-10 from This Time Around (Island, 2000)
Disc 1, Tracks 11-15 from Underneath (3CG Records, 2004)
Disc 2, Tracks 1-5 from The Walk (3CG Records, 2007)
Disc 2, Tracks 6-7 from Shout It Out (3CG Records, 2010)
Disc 2, Tracks 8-11 from Anthem (3CG Records, 2013)