I find it interesting that several other less than glowing reviews mention that the writer is a long-time fan of Hanson. Well, I was never really a fan, although I certainly recognized their talent as well as the fact that even as kids they were a cut above your average “boy-band” if only for the fact that they played their own instruments (quite well) and wrote their own songs. Nonetheless, I am more of a fan of Indie-rock and bands like Radiohead, Spoon etc. A couple of years after the release of Hanson’s last album, “Underneath”, I became more interested in the group when I found about their middle finger to the music industry independent release of “Underneath” and their subsequent lectures and surprise gigs at colleges around the country. When I finally heard “Underneath”, I was impressed with the maturity of the songs and the rapid pace of the Hanson brothers growth as writers and musicians. Speaking as someone who was not particularly a fan of this band, I must say that “The Walk” shows growth leaps and bounds beyond “Underneath”.

Right from the opening track, the funky and muscular “Great Divide”, these guys are out to prove once and for all that they are no longer your sister’s Hanson. With an eye on a bigger picture, “Great Divide” gives us lines such as “When every eye is on the fortune - It can only breed contempt - I find hope in what eyes don’t see - I find hope in your hate for me”. So much for MMMBop. In fact, themes of life, death, loss and regret crop up in most of the songs. The gospel-tinged, People Get Ready influenced “Been There Before”, presents a slice-of-life look at a small southern town and the role music plays in the lives of the many generations of it’s residents. The wistful “Georgia”, driven by a superlative arpeggioed piano riff and an upbeat yet heart-wrenching melody, the kind of which Brian Wilson is famous for, could possibly be the best song the brothers have ever written and is almost definitely Taylor Hanson’s finest vocal moment to date. Another winning Taylor Hanson vocal crops up in the country-tinged “One More”, which also features excellent, tasteful brushed drumming by Zac Hanson and a fine Edge-like guitar solo by Isaac Hanson. The epic “Your Illusion” may be, at first, a bit too dark with it’s opening line of “You say you want to kill yourself”, however, the winning melody, more excellent guitar work by Isaac and superlative vocal work by Taylor, as well as an amazing harmony drenched, minor key tag at the end, more than makes up for that first awkward line.

The most noteworthy aspect of “The Walk” is the emergence of Zac Hanson as a songwriter and vocalist to be reckoned with. In fact, his songs (4 on the U.S. & European release and 6 on the Japanese release) consistently drift the furthest away from the Hanson sound and offer the most surprises on the CD both musically and lyrically starting with the ridiculously catchy, electric piano driven slice of 70’s pop “Running Man”. Zac immediately follows that up with the heart wrenching breakup song “Go”. Displaying mature beyond his 21 years lyrics, he offers lines such as “I heard your moving van - But I didn’t take a stand - You can’t leave with them - You can’t live without them” and makes you wonder if he’s referring to the protagonist’s children, material possessions or both. Either way, it’s an impressive lyric for someone his age who’s never been through a divorce and doesn’t even have children. Zac completes the trifecta with the next song - the acoustic guitar driven “Fire On The Mountain”- furiously spitting out lines such as- `If we don’t seek the knowledge to be greater men -When the rain starts falling we’re gonna drown before we get our feet wet- Live, learn, life, love, die, dust, gone’ - that leave no doubt he means business. Zac’s funky “Tearing It Down”, featuring some great Taylor Hanson clavinet playing, probably could have done without the silly “ni, ni, ni” vocal break, but it’s still a catchy, fun tune.

The only real mis-step could be Isaac Hanson’s lead vocal vehicle “Watch Over Me”. This is a song that will probably please longtime Hanson fans as it is the one song that most closely resembles the classic Hanson style of years past, however, in the midst of all the other more complex songs on “The Walk”, it seems strangely out of place. Clocking in at almost five minutes, “Watch Over Me” is also way too long for such a simple song. Luckily, Isaac makes up for the latter with his all-time finest vocal moment in his gritty duet with Taylor on the driving, energetic “Something Going `Round”.

Another quibble is the fact that the Oasis-like “In A Way” as well as the catchy, conga and piano driven “I Am”, two of Zac’s best songs, are relegated to bonus track status on the Japanese release and will not appear on any other versions of “The Walk”. It’s possible that the brothers didn’t want to overload the album with Zac songs, but when they are as good as the songs he’s written for this album, what does it matter? A good idea might have been to include “In A Way” and “I Am” in place of “Watch Over Me” and perhaps “Blue Sky”, which contains the most clichéd lyric on the album.

Otherwise, “The Walk” displays remarkable growth both musically and lyrically and shows the Hanson brothers becoming more confident in their musicianship as well. Hopefully this album can overcome the prejudices of non-Hanson fans who insist on pigeonholing Hanson as simply the kids who did “MMBop”as well as overcoming the prejudices of longtime Hanson fans who don’t like the idea that the band’s sound is evolving into something new. If Hanson can persevere through all of this, “The Walk” will find the wide audience it deserves and will achieve recognition as one of the fine albums released in 2007.