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MMMBop

* All songs are original Hanson music

Day Has Come

This song starts out with an ominous music that actually sounds like someone is banging on a trash can or something. Their are strings (or string-like sounds, could be a keyboard) in the background. The beginning sounds very 70's but that changes as the song goes on. Isaac sings lead and I can definately tell the improvement in his voice since Boomerang. The song is more pop than R&B, which was the point of the album, to move them in that direction. It's upbeat and has a good guitar rift in the middle of the song. I do wish the lyrics weren't so repetative, though. But it's a good start to the album and leads well into the slower "I'll Be Thinking of You" which comes next. B+

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I'll Be Thinking of You

Other than the change in title and the change in Tay's voice, this song is basically the same. The beginning is a simple piano intro rather than the more elaborate one they put on the MoN version. Tay sounds, well, very young but still has a lot of feeling and emotion in his voice. I could even make a case that he sings with more feeling in this version than he does in the new one. This version doesn't rely as much on background sounds as does the newer one and so his voice has to carry most of the strength. He sings it very smoothly. I am truly amazed at how much Zac and Tay sound alike. Unless Zac doesn't sing the part he sings on MoN, but Tay does instead. But why would that be the case. Either way, this version sounds great. A

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Two Tears

Okay, I like this song. It's not the song I would pick to play if I could only play one, but the melody definately grows on you. Isaac sings lead on this one. The harmony between Tay and Ike is great. My favorite part is refrain and the more I listen to it, the more I like it. The background music includes an organ which is a nice touch. They still have the problem of repeating lyrics, but that could be for effect, I don't know. A-

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Stories

This is another song that I like, but wouldn't pick if I had to pick one. Tay sings lead but there is a lot of Ike and Zac harmonizing with him. The song is about...um...stories? I guess it's about how everyone has a story to tell. I think. I can't understand all the lyrics and I don't have the lyrics so some of the words get muffled. Articulate, guys, please! I like the accapella at the end and the harmonica was a nice touch. The song is upbeat and has the MoN alternative pop feel to it. B (Articulation hurt the score)

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River

If there was a remotely religious song on this album, this would be it. It has a very gospel feel to it and the message could be taken in a religious way. They beginning lyrics don't coincide with this (it's about loving a girl), but as the song goes along, it just seems like a gospel song (mostly the refrain). It goes: "I guess we'll never know, exactly where this rivers gonna flow, and I guess we'll never understand until we reach that promised land." Sounds like they wrote this after coming back from church. Of course the verses are about a girl and a guy not knowing where their relationship is going to go, but it still sounds gospel to me. I like it though. It sounds like you can just get up and clap along to it and sway. It's a feel-good song. They all sing lead, basically, together. Hey, maybe it's that organ in the background that's making me feel that way. Probably. A-

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Surely As The Sun

Isaac sings lead on this ballad. The song starts with a nice piano intro, which is really long. The lyrics aren't the most original. The basic concept is that a guy loves a girl and his love will keep growing and growing and will remain "as surely as the sun rises". One set of lyrics amused me. I tried to picture Ike singing them. They go "...sometimes I wonder what you see in me. 'Cause I'm only a man, flawed in so many ways you see." Hmmm, little Ike is a man? How old was he? Fourteen probably, 15 at most. I don't know, it just amused me. The harmonies don't really come through as well in this song. Isaac basically overpowers the vocals. He does a pretty good job vocally. It's not the best I've heard him sing, but he's got some feeling to it. The melodies are a bit mute (meaning there wasn't a lot of variation or interesting things happening in the melody). But it's a good attempt at a ballad. B-

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Something New

Now before anyone rants or raves about how I only give critical reviews to Isaac's songs, here is something you have to read. This is a song sung by Taylor. It starts out with a few samples from Donald Duck (I think they are samples unless someone actually did the duck's voice). When I hear this song I think "Look At You". It's got the same fast tempo beat. "Look at You" is not my favorite song. Another sample (or immitation) is (I believe) of that Indian guy on the Simpson's (I can't remember the name). Now, with all these cute characters floating around the song, how could I not like it. It's very possible. The lyrics "Everyone wants something new" or variations of that are repeated over and over and over and over and over again. The ENTIRE song. I can't stand that. I like to listen to a song, the lyrics and everything. Plus, what does that mean? At the end he says "Everyone wants something...and I want you." So, that's the whole point of the song? I think Donald Duck in the middle of the song says "Stop". At least that's what it sounded like, and I tend to have to agree with him. How long did it take them to come up with this song. Five minutes? Even the melody is entirely too repetative. I know I'm being harsh, but that's only because I know they were and are capable of so much better. D (The only reason this didn't get an F is because is does wake you up, which I guess is a good thing.)

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MMMBop

Okay, I don't know if it's because I've heard the new version of this song so much, or whether I like the way they sing it live, but I enjoy this version better than the one on MoN. What I mean about them singing it live is that this version is a lot closer to the way they sing it live than is the new version. That's probably because they don't have the record scratchy thing or the all the extras that come with a major label recording. I actually like the way the song starts out slow and gets faster and faster as the song goes along (until it gets up to the normal pace). When I heard this version I became even more impressed with the guys. Even though it says on MoN that they are the only ones who wrote the song I figured somebody must have touched it up or had them sing it differently or something. But no. This version is almost exactly like the one that became a number 1 hit. That amazes me. At that age they wrote a number one hit without the help of anybody at all. Of course, it took them 2 years to write, but hey, who cares. Hey, if any of you have the song (which I'm sure a lot of you do now), have you noticed that somebody in the studio says something right before the song starts? It doesn't sound like that was supposed to happen. Maybe it's just my copy, I don't know. And finally, I like the way it slows down at the end again. Overall, I STILL AND ALWAYS WILL LOVE MMMBOP. This version rocks. A+

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Soldier

In the beginning is some acting from who? Is it Avery or Jessica, both, or neither? I have a feeling it's Avery because it sounds too young to be Jessica, although to me it sounds like 2 different voices. If anyone has a clue, I would like to know. She asks the guys "Can I hear the story about the one legged soldier." And for some reason her voice overlaps with another (or the same) voice saying "Um, can you tell me about the one legged soldier, please. One more time." Then that one says something like "I'll your nose off." At least that's what it sounds like to me. Then the guys start the story of the one-legged soldier which was the favorite toy of this boy. He stood on the mantelpeice with a ballerina doll. The soldier and the ballerina fell in love. But then the boy put the soldier on the window and it fell. Some boys from the neighborhood pick it up and decide to put the soldier in a boat and sail him down a river because they thought that a one-legged soldier was of no use. Anyway, the homemade boat sank to the bottom of the river, was eaten by a fish. The fish was caught by a fisherman and sold to the parents of the boy whose toy it was in the first place. At this point (after the refrain about how the soldier was lonely) you hear the girl's voice again asking "what about the ballerina". The boy set the soldier on the mantelpeice again by the ballerina. They got up to dance with each other and for some reason the ballerina fell off the mantelpeice into the fire. Then the soldier (obviously feeling suicidal) jumps after her to save her (hmmm, missing leg or missing brain). Anyway, their bases melt together. They are now together forever and no longer lonely. (Phew!) This story reminds me of this cartoon I saw when I was younger. There was a toy soldier who got lost and was put inside a homemade boat and he floated into the drainage ditches and pipes and had this adventure. If I'm not mistaken, that soldier was in love with another toy as well. Maybe, just maybe, they saw this particular cartoon (or read the book, 'cause I think it really is a book). Think so? Overall, the song is cute and the drums and whistle go along with the "soldier" theme. B+

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Pictures

This song starts out sounding a lot like a blues song (the guitar rift in the intro mostly). They song is more R&B than pop. I have no idea what the song is about. I believe it's something to do with love? He sees her pictures everywhere and is haunted by it (or something). I think. It's a pretty short song and upbeat, but, I don't know. It seems...confusing. First of all, for the longest time I thought that the lyrics were "...pictures on the wall, the ceiling and the floor, I'm in the mailroom and I cannot find the door." These are not the lyrics. He's actually in the mantelroom. They have a facination with mantels, huh. (See "Soldier"). I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because I'm writing this at 12:23 in the morning that I'm so confused. Isaac sings it well, though. B

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Incredible

Here's a Tay song. I've noticed that Isaac sings more on this album and Tay sings more on Boomerang. Poor Zac. I guess he was busy with his drums. This song is definately R&B. I don't see how you could call it pop at all (they said this was a rock n' roll album, but it isn't really). This slows the pace down a lot. I like this song. It's got a smooth and catchy tune. Now, tell me. Can anyone tell the difference between Tay and Zac on this album. Now I said it's a Tay song, and I'm pretty sure it is, because of the classic Tay "inflections" and moans. It just seems surprising that they didn't give Zac even one song. Maybe his voice wasn't mature enough or trained enough at that time. You can hear a high pitched voice in the background vocals which must be him. But they never even let him sing background alone. Tay is always singing with him. If any of you have the original cd, I would like to know exactly how much Zac sings. First off, you might have a better quality recording than I do, so you might be able to hear more. Oh, back to the song. Good song. Like the beat and I like the way Tay sings it. A

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With You In Your Dreams

Here we go again. I like this better than the new one. Why? I actually think that Tay sings it better. Some may disagree with me. It actually might be because I haven't heard this version enough and once I get used to it I'll realize that the new one is better. For now, though, I love the way Taylor sings this song. The lyrics are bit different. Instead of saying "...if I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye..." he says "...if I'm gone when you wake up, please don't sigh...". That change I do believe was necessary in the new version. It does sound more complete with "goodbye". You can definately hear Zac in the background "Oh's". He's so little! You actually can't hear Isaac in this song. It's a very high pitched octave, so I don't know if he could get up there. He's probably just really quiet. The end adds one more "I'll be with you in your dreams" before the final line that's in both versions. I don't know why they took it out. I think it's fine. I definately understand why they chose this as one of the songs for MoN. A+

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Sometimes

Sha na na na na na na. Yup, one of the lyrics in this song. Um, I don't have much to say about this song. Again Isaac talks about how he's a man (see "Surely As The Sun"). I like this song. It's got a great beat and Isaac sings it with enough rock n' roll flair to make it a good listen. He doesn't make the "sha na na"'s corny at all (which could have happened). But I guess any group that can make "mmmbop" a household word can sing as many "sha na na"'s and "du bop"'s as they please. A-

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Baby You're So Fine

This is as close to techno as I think Hanson will ever get. Taylor sings lead and really puts some ooomph into the song. Did I just use the word "ooomph"? Occasionally, you can hear Isaac pop up with one of those megaphone-sounding things and he spouts out phrases like "baby you're so fine" and...um..."cleanup on aisle three". Don't ask me why, but I think that's what he says. This is a song you can dance to. Man, am I done with the review? It took me 3 hours to do this and to finish up 4 songs from Boomerang. Phew! B+

Overall: A-