They may indeed have matured from being a teeny-bop sensation to a ‘tight live band’ but which you rather have? Call me a nerd, but I’d rather have scores of willy-hungry teenage girls throwing their pants at me than being celebrated for solid performances and pleasing but unmemorable compositions. But that’s just me. Hanson have had all that and more – but still they want to be taken seriously. And whilst the band’s ability to grow credible facial hair has evidently developed as fast as their propensity for crafting dull, lumbering rock ballads and chirpy country-pop their still that wiry bunch of knee highs they always were.
Recorded in Melbourne, Australia earlier this year, ‘The Best Of Hanson: Live and Electric’ contains much of the band’s most memorable moments (‘MmmBop’, ‘Where’s The Love’, ‘If Only’, ‘This Time Around’, ‘I Will Come To You’, ‘Penny & Me’) with several additional tracks performed and recorded for the first time. A limited number of copies will come with a companion DVD including previously unseen live footage from associated performance plus a nice combo of music videos, photo galleries, and trailers from the band’s forthcoming documentary film, ‘Strong Enough To Break’.
It’s a limited edition release, which is perhaps just as well, as I can only surmise that limited amounts are likely to be demanded.