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Middle of Nowhere
Studio album by Hanson
Released	May 6, 1997 (1997-05-06)
Recorded	July – November 1996
Studio	Los Angeles, California
Genre	Pop rock teen pop
Length	53:41
Label	Mercury, PolyGram
Producer	The Dust Brothers, Stephen Lironi
Hanson chronology
MMMBop (1996) Middle of Nowhere (1997) Snowed In (1997)
Singles from Middle of Nowhere
"MMMBop" Released: April 15, 1997 "Where's the Love" Released: September 1, 1997 "I Will Come to You" Released: November 10, 1997 "Weird" Released: March 16, 1998 "Thinking of You" Released: May 4, 1998

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.

Middle of Nowhere yielded five singles: "MMMBop", "Where's the Love", "I Will Come to You", "Weird", and "Thinking of You". "MMMBop" became a major hit, reaching number one in the United States and at least eleven other countries. The album earned Hanson three Grammy Award nominations, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Christgau's Consumer Guide
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	A−
Los Angeles Times
Music Week
NME	8/10
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Smash Hits
Spin	8/10

Middle of Nowhere reached number two on the Billboard 200, being kept out of the top spot by the Spice Girls' Spice. The album also reached number one in the UK, Australia, Germany, and Taiwan.

Total sales worldwide are 10 million copies. The album sold just under 4 million in the US (4 times platinum) and over 400,000 copies in UK.

The album was well received by critics. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said of the trio: "... lack of guile is Hanson's most endearing quality."

Track listing

All songs written by Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Zachary Hanson, with additional writers noted in parentheses.

1. "Thinking of You" – 3:13
2. "MMMBop" – 4:28
3. "Weird" – 4:02 (Desmond Child)
4. "Speechless" – 4:20 (Stephen Lironi)
5. "Where's the Love" – 4:13 (Mark Hudson, Sander Selover)
6. "Yearbook" – 5:29 (Ellen Shipley)
7. "Look at You" – 4:28 (Stephen Lironi)
8. "Lucy" – 3:35 (Mark Hudson)
9. "I Will Come to You" – 4:11 (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil)
10. "A Minute Without You" – 3:55 (Mark Hudson)
11. "Madeline" – 4:13 (Clif Magness)
12. "With You in Your Dreams" – 3:56
13. "Man from Milwaukee" – 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 remix 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 in some locales including the remastered version and the digital download pressings 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
• Mike Shawcross – percussion
• 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
• Mark Hudson – harmonica
• Murray Adler – violin

Other

• Roger Love – vocal director
• Margery Greenspan – art direction
• Steve Greenberg – executive producer
• Barry Mann – vocal director
• Marina Chavez – photography
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• The Dust Brothers – programming, producer
• Mark Hudson – vocal director

Charts

Certifications

References

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78. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1997". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012.

• Hanson (band) albums
• 1997 albums
• Mercury Records albums
• Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer)
• Albums produced by the Dust Brothers
• Albums produced by Stephen Lironi