Tour Memories (and occasional musings)

Are you ready? Let's start. Working When I first heard the preview clip that was posted on HNET, I wasn’t too impressed. It sounded an awful lot like Til New Year’s Night - one of Isaac’s leads on the  Finally, It’s Christmas album: a Chuck Berry-style rock’n’roll song with a ‘50s vibe and easy rhymes. Fun, but not particularly memorable. Hearing the full song, however, changed my mind. Blame the intro, with its infectious guitar riff and catchy handclaps: it’s impossible to sit still while you listen to it, even if it’s only for some subtle Isaac-style pigeon-neck moves. Or blame Carlos Sosa’s saxophone: this is one of those rare exceptions when I actually welcome a horns part. And what to say about ‘that’ guitar solo, which, according to the liner notes, was provided by none other than J.D. McPherson? Did he owe Hanson a favour for bailing on BTTI 2017? Who knows, and I would have liked to be able to say that Working featured Isaac’s best guitar solo to dat...

Somebody That Wants To Love You Who are you? When I first heard this song in “The Making of In Color” stream, I knew it reminded me of something. A famous song from the 1980s...another soft-rock anthem. Finally, it came to me: it was Berlin’s "Take My Breath Away ", only slowed down. Try and sing the verse from one song to the other’s melody and it almost fits perfectly. (Don't call your copyright lawyer though: by the time the chorus starts, STWTLY is a totally different song.) This 80s pop/rock vibe has become Hanson’s predominant style in the last 3 EPs - Loud, Play and In Color: it’s upbeat, it makes for catchy songs and the fans’ reception has been consistently positive. STWTL could almost be a companion to "Stop Me in My Tracks" from last year’s Loud EP, with its powerful guitar riffs and sing-along-able chorus, not to mention the universally pleasing Taylor vocals. Let’s delve into the lyrics now: Long before the spotlight You were part of my...

The Cover of Play - credit to HNET Do You Believe in Love a.k.a. "The One Whose Title Is Perilously Close to Another Song’s" This is a Zac song, and Zac songs always seem to attract rave reviews. I get it - he’s got the hair, the moves, he hits all the high notes. Only last year Hanson recorded a cover of the Darkness’ I Believe in a Thing Called Love for the Roots & Rock'n'Roll EP and although I’ve never been a fan of that song, I have to admit that Zac nailed the challenging vocals, gaining the approval of none other than Justin Hawkins himself. DYBIL is half Darkness, half Queen. It doesn’t accurately represent Hanson as a songwriting band but it speaks miles of their fun, devil-may-care attitude: (Hey you guys, this year we want to channel our inner glam-rock gods! Sorry if it’s not your thing!). It’s also a pretty good fun to hear live, and watching Zac drum at break-neck speed and sing at the same time is a show within the show. ...