After thrilling Shanghai fans yesterday, the Hanson Brothers will arrive in the Chinese capital to play an acoustic concert at the Beizhan Theatre on Sunday. They will move to Hong Kong's Hard Rock Cafe on Tuesday.
Hanson are performing the 2004 Asia and Australia leg of a tour named after their latest album Underneath, which was released in September.
The band will perform most songs from the album with a few favorites mixed in from Middle of Nowhere and This Time Around.
The Hanson Brothers -- Isaac on guitar, Taylor on keyboards and Zac on drums -- formed some 13 years ago and first broke onto world stages as teenyboppers in 1997.
The fresh-faced youths of then are now a mature 24, 21 and 19-year old trio with a definitely more adult sound.
Hanson released their first independent record in 1994-95, then coming out of the Middle of Nowhere to storm the pop music world with the eight-million worldwide-selling CD album of the same name, led by the international smash single "MMMBop" in 1997.
The song led to three 1998 Grammy nominations for the band, including Record of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.
Middle of Nowhere soared to No 2 on the Billboard top 200 and carried with it two other top 10 singles. Rolling Stone named Middle of Nowhere one of its Essential Albums of the 1990s.
By 2000, Hanson again took another direction, defying expectations with their second album This Time Around. This one was supposed to be more self-contained, showing off their song writing prowess and musicianship and the fact that they produce their own records, though they did welcome collaborators such as Jonny Lang and John Popper into the studio. The introspective album turned out to be another harbinger, this time of a new breed of singer-songwriter.
Two years ago, when the band reached a creative crossroads with their own label, the group decided to split with their old record company. Hanson decided to produce Underneath themselves to maintain their creative vision, shaking off their teeny-bopper past and teaming up with some impressive rock musicians for the new album.
"It all starts for us sitting around with acoustic guitars or pianos," says Taylor, 21, the group's keyboardist. The new album is partly a glimpse back to those days when the three grew up singing along to classic rock'n'roll, R&B and soul albums. The new album sticks closely to those roots, as all Hanson's albums have.
"We were writing songs with a definite flavor," says Taylor. We wanted that to survive to the final mix."
"Our goal was that every part that was played had a clear purpose in order to make this album more dynamic," adds Zac. "This leaves the music feeling complete without overwhelming the listener."
"Underneath" represents the band's most accomplished work yet, mixing their love of lush melodies with a production that leaves the rough edges in, but is still larger than life when called for.
The haunting title track, co-written with the Thorns' Matthew Sweet, features yearning falsetto and subliminal strings underlining the aching plaint "Is there a resolution for this pain that I'm in?" Penny and Me has a pure spirit and a rhythmic umph that captures the essence of blue jeans and rock'n'roll.
With all Hanson has accomplished, it is hard to remember they are still in their early twenties. They are still young and still icons for a many young people in the world.
(China Daily December 3, 2004)
