mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
|
middle of nowhere live from albertane
Middle of Nowhere Released: 1997 Rating: 4/10 Track listing: 1. Thinking of You/ 2. MmmBop/ 3. Weird/ 4. Speechless/ 5. Where’s The Love/ 6. Yearbook/ 7. Look At You/ 8. Lucy/ 9. I Will Come To You/ 10. A Minute Without You/ 11. Madeline/ 12. With You In My Dreams
I guess you all know this band. Most people dismiss them because of their low age and their success with the youngest of teenage girls. Well, I guess that’s a reason as good as any other. Maybe not. But even so, even judgements based entirely on the musical experience should be enough to can this album. At least on first sight.
The vocals sounds quite thin, and after every line there are some moaning. There are many doubts why any so-called intellectual music fan should even listen to this album. To start off, so what if they’re just a boy band and are too young to deliver trustworthy feelings. Jackson 5, anyone? So what if the production isn’t is very interesting, it’s pop. Pop based on simple, memorable and catch melodies. That’s all that matters. Something to hum along with. You have to take Middle of Nowhere for what it actually is. It’s about fun, not revolutionizing the history of music. Go listen to Yes or something if you’re in that kind of mood. No, the songwriting isn’t that fantastic. Although you will be able to find some golden moments. Most of them are catchy and filled with at least some hooks. I count two really good songs here, 3-4 decent ones and a couple of fillers. No real embarrassment. The absolutely best song here is one of the singles, "Where’s The Love", which has good harmony vocals, good melody and is a great pop song. Really. "Speechless" might not be that good as a song, but it has something about it. I think the word I’m looking for is attitude. Yeah, that’s it. Attitude. Believe it or not. Some of the songs leans a bit more to modern R’n’B and honestly, that isn’t really the Hanson brothers game. They do better with ballads such as Weird. A song with lyrics that actual are good and not about holding hands in the sandbox in the schoolyard. The massive hit was "MmmBop". I actually watched an interview with the boys where they explained what the title means. It’s suppose to be a moment passing by really fast, something less than a second. Well, the chorus is “In a MmmBop you’re gone”. Sadly for the group it seemed quite biographical. They released some other albums after In The Middle of Nowhere, but they all passed us by pretty un-noticed. Anyway, a decent pop album overall, with more low points than highlights, even though "Where’s The Love" should be regarded as a 90’s classic.
Live From Albertane I actually own this live album. Do you want to know why? Yeah, so do I. So do I...
|