HANSON ROCKS FOR ALL AGES

by Rick Mitchell

Pop music trends come and go, but bubble-gum always sticks to your shoe.

Witness the recent emergence of such top-selling acts as Hanson, the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys, who've brought a measure of pre-teen innocence back to popular music even as explicit rock and rap acts must work ever harder to get a reaction in this shock-proof age.

But anyone who dismisses Hanson simply on the basis of youth is missing out on the fun. If bubblegum is considered the domain of one-hit-wonders such as the Archies and the 1910 Fruitgum Company, then Hanson doesn't really belong to the genre.

At its best, the group's music merits comparisons to such sibling acts as the Beach Boys and the Jackson 5, both of which were making classic pop records before all of the members were old enough to drive.

Hanson opened its show Sunday night at the Woodlands Pavilion with a pumping version of the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'". Steve Winwood, the group's lead singer, was all of 16 or 17 at the time of the recording, but nobody ever called "Gimme Some Lovin'" bubblegum.

Point made. It doesn't matter how old you are: If you're good, you're good, even if you can barely hear yourself think about the screams of 9,000 young female fans.

Taylor Hanson is very good -- a potentially major talent with or without his brothers. Taylor, 15, plays keyboards and sings lead on most of the group's hits. Isaac Hanson, 17, plays guitar and sings harmony, while Zac Hanson, 12, handles the drums.

For most of the set, the brothers were augmented by three older musicians on bass, keyboards and guitar. But, as they proved on an unplugged segment, it's not as if they're not capable of going it alone. This is a real rock 'n' roll band, not some cute lip-sync contest winner.

Most of the 90-minute set was taken from Hanson's 1997 debut album, "Middle of Nowhere," and this year's "3 Car Garage," which consists of the group's self-produced early recordings.

Not all of the songs are as catchy as the hits "MMMBop" and "Where's The Love." With their jubilant pop-soul harmonies, these songs convey a sheer joy in the act of music-making sadly lacking in much contemporary pop, rock and rap.

By constract, the group's attempts at harder rock sounded a bit forced, though Isaac is a capable guitarist and Zac is a pretty good garage-rock drummer for a person of any age. The acoustic "With You In My Dreams" veered uncomfortably close to Hootie-ville.

Hanson is at its best when Taylor can flex his blue-eyed soul vocal chops. "I Will Come To You" recalled Michael Jackson -- not the young Michael of "ABC" and "I Want You Back," but the gospel-soul shouter of "Man in the Mirror."

In addition to the originals, Hanson pulled out some choice covers indicating and impressive grasp of pop music history for a group whose oldest member was born in 1980.

These included Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," Barrett Strong's (by way of the Beatles) "Money," the Olympics' (by way of the Young Rascals) "Good Lovin'" and, for a set closer, Eddie Cochran's (by way of the Who) "Summertime Blues."

Hanson has a long way to go before it truly can be said to belong in the same league with its inspirations. The group's next release will be alive album, reflecting record label pressure to milk the cash-cow now before risking another batch of all-new original material.

But they've already come a long way for three kids from Tulsa.

Admiral Twin, a band from Hanson's hometown, opened Sunday's show with a tight set of power-pop originals from its album, "Unlucky."

The album currently is available only via the Internet. But judging by all the screaming going on in front of the stage, you'd have thought Admiral Twin was as well-known as Hanson, if not the Beatles. Maybe the group should change the name of its album to "Lucky."