Isaac Hanson, the elder statesman of the three-brother pop group Hanson, admits that he's already achieved two of the major goals he set out to accomplish during the young trio's three-month-old "This Time Around" tour.

Blues guitarist Jonny Lang stopped by and played three songs with Hanson in New York, while Blues Traveler's John Popper stepped on stage with the brothers in Los Angeles. Both musicians appear on the band's latest album "This Time Around."

"That was kind of a goal of ours that over the course of the tour: we would have Jonny Lang and John Popper play, and both of them have now."

So what is he looking forward to now?

"Oh, I don't know. I think those are just about all you can hope for. Anything in addition is just the icing on the cake. I think those guys have talked about coming on again at some point. That would be great, too."

Despite those meager hopes, Hanson is continuing its trek in support of "This Time Around," the recently released follow-up to the band's 1997 smash "Middle of Nowhere." While "Middle of Nowhere" was heavy on sugar-sweet pop (read: MMMBop," "Weird"), "This Time Around" is injected with blues and rock--an evolution that Isaac said came naturally.

"What it really comes down to is we've always been an early R&B and rock and roll-influenced band," he said. "I think the rock/blues side of our influences kind of show a little bit more on this record. But I think there's a lot of modern elements in the record [as well]. It's still very pop, but it's got some stronger rock leanings."

The new sound hasn't resulted in a stronger Hanson fan base, however. Despite an impressive early showing on MTV's "Total Request Live"--a show that became a household name just as "Middle of Nowhere's" popularity began to wane--the trio is playing 2,000- to 3,000-seat theaters on its current tour. Hanson's last tour packed summer sheds and arenas.

Isaac hedged when asked if he thought the new album alienated fans.

"We feel like and felt like we had the songs that would appeal to the fans," he said. "That was really our main goal: Do we have the songs? Let's go for it. The songs really determine where you go. A song is as much the production as the production is. Sometimes things make twists and turns, but that evolution can only go so far sometimes.

"The idea is to continue to take people by surprise and do something different, but hopefully maintain a strong initial fan-base and just kind of grow on that."

The new album has convinced many skeptics that the brothers Hanson are talented musicians in their own right, however. Though the brothers played all of the instruments on ""Middle of Nowhere" and also wrote the music and lyrics, those facts were largely overlooked by the general public. Not only did they repeat those feats on "This Time Around," they self-produced the album as well.

"The first time you make a record, people are a little skeptical--in our case, anyway. Because we're young guys, they're going, 'Young guys. They really play? They really write? They're really involved? That's hard to believe,'" Isaac said.

"Then when you make a second record, and you are as much, if not more involved, they kind of go, 'Oh wow. They really are doing it.' I think what is more important for us is just the music in general, and continuing to make music that people enjoy, and getting to do it on a large scale."

That includes the shows on the current tour. According to drummer Zac Hanson, the shows have sometimes stretched as long as 2 1/2 hours.

"We're definitely having a lot of fun on stage. Last night, our show was 1 1/2 hours. The night before it was 2 1/2 hours. There are restrictions on certain shows where they say, 'We've got a curfew and we can't pass this or we'll get in deep crap' and stuff like that. So you have to change the show slightly.

"But that's actually been one of the fun things about this tour--having more music. Having both albums to pull off of. We've changed the show [at] every single venue."