Middle of Nowhere (album)
| Middle of Nowhere | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Hanson | ||||
| Released | May 6, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | July–November 1996 in Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, teen pop | |||
| Length | 53:41 | |||
| Label | Mercury, Polygram | |||
| Producer | The Dust Brothers, Stephen Lironi | |||
| Hanson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Middle of Nowhere | ||||
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Middle of Nowhere is the debut studio album by American pop rock group Hanson, and the first to be released on a major label, which was Polygram Records and Mercury Records. Released in 1997, it features slicker studio production compared to their previous indie efforts Boomerang and MMMBop. The band members were between the ages of 11 and 16 when it was released. "Yearbook", one of the album's more dramatic songs, was not performed live until the recording of Middle of Nowhere Acoustic on May 5, 2007.
The album was received extremely well by critics. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said of the trio: "... lack of guile is Hanson's most endearing quality."[1]
Middle of Nowhere yielded five singles: "MMMBop", "Where's the Love", "I Will Come to You", "Weird", and "Thinking of You".
Worldwide sales
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[1] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
| Robert Christgau |  [4] |
Total sales worldwide are 10 million copies. The album sold just under 4 million in the US (4 times platinum) and sold 100,000 copies in UK being certified Gold.
Track listing
All songs written by Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Zachary Hanson; additional writers in parentheses.
- "Thinking of You" – 3:13
- "MMMBop" – 4:28
- "Weird" – 4:02 (Desmond Child)
- "Speechless" – 4:20 (Stephen Lironi)
- "Where's the Love" – 4:13 (Mark Hudson, Sander Salover)
- "Yearbook" – 5:29 (Ellen Shipley)
- "Look at You" – 4:28 (Stephen Lironi)
- "Lucy" – 3:35 (Mark Hudson)
- "I Will Come to You" – 4:11 (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil)
- "A Minute Without You" – 3:55 (Mark Hudson)
- "Madeline" – 4:13 (Cliff Magness)
- "With You in Your Dreams" – 3:56
- "Man from Milwaukee" [CD-only hidden 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 a live version of "MMMBop" serves as song 13. "Man from Milwaukee" was omitted from all cassettes and vinyl pressings of Middle of Nowhere. Some later reissues of the album omitted the tracks of silence and make "Man from Milwaukee" a true track 13.
Personnel
- Hanson
- Zachary Hanson – drums, vocals
- Taylor Hanson – keyboards, piano, vocals
- Isaac Hanson – guitar, vocals
- 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
- Roger Love – vocal director
- Margery Greenspan – art direction
- Steve Greenberg (record producer) – executive producer
- Barry Mann – vocal director
- Marina Chavez – photography
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- The Dust Brothers – programming, producer
- Mark Hudson – vocal director
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[15] | 5× Platinum | 350,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[16] | Gold | 25,000x |
| Belgium (BEA)[17] | 2× Platinum | 100,000* |
| Brazil (ABPD)[18] | Platinum | 250,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[19] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[20] | Gold | 31,809[20] |
| France (SNEP)[21] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[22] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[23] | Gold | 10,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[24] | Platinum | 238,760^ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[25] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[26] | Gold | 50,000* |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[28] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[29] | Platinum | 50,000x |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[30] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[31] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[32] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
|
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 David Browne (1997-05-09). "Middle of Nowhere Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
- ↑ "Allmusic review".
- ↑ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on March 16, 2009.
- ↑ Consumer Guide
- ↑ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.ca. 1997-05-31. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
- ↑ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.ca. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.ca. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
- ↑ http://zene.slagerlistak.hu/archivum/kereso-eloado-cim-szerint
- ↑ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1997a.htm. Retrieved 2014-01-23. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.ca. 1997-06-28. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.ca. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/19990218164049/http://ifpi.org.tw/chart/1997/intl26.htm
- ↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 1997". ARIA. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
- ↑ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Enter Hanson in the field Interpret. Enter Middle of Nowhere in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
- ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 1998". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 The first web page presents the sales figures, the second presents the certification limits:
- "Hanson" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- "Kultalevyjen myöntämisrajat" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ↑ "French album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Hanson; 'Midle of Nowhere')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1997". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ↑ "Certificaciones – Hanson" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "Polish album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere" (in Polish). Polish Producers of Audio and Video (ZPAV). Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ↑ "Sólo Éxitos 1959-2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1996-1999". Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano.
- ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Hanson; 'Middle of Nowhere')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ↑ "British album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Enter Middle of Nowhere in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American album certifications – Hanson – Middle of Nowhere". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 25 July 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1997". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
| 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 10–23, 1997 |
Succeeded by In Deep by Tina Arena |
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