New Miserable Experience

New Miserable Experience is the second studio album by rock band Gin Blossoms, released on August 4, 1992. The album was released to little fanfare and relatively lackluster reviews. However, nearly a year after its release the lead single "Hey Jealousy" entered the top 40[4]. With "Found Out About You" following a few months later, the album eventually reached multi-platinum status.[5]

New Miserable Experience
Studio album by
Gin Blossoms
ReleasedAugust 4, 1992
RecordedFebruary - March 1992
StudioArdent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee
GenreAlternative rock,[1] jangle pop[2][3]
Length45:02
LabelA&M
ProducerGin Blossoms
John Hampton
Gin Blossoms chronology
Up and Crumbling
(1991)		 New Miserable Experience
(1992)		 Shut Up And Smoke
(1994)
Alternate cover
Re-release cover
Singles from New Miserable Experience
  1. "Lost Horizons"
    Released: 1992
  2. "Mrs. Rita"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Hey Jealousy"
    Released: June 1993
  4. "Until I Fall Away"
    Released: August 1993
  5. "Found Out About You"
    Released: November 1993
  6. "Allison Road"
    Released: 1994

The band's guitarist, Doug Hopkins, was fired near the conclusion of the recording sessions for the album, ostensibly for his persistent alcohol problems. His replacement, Scott Johnson, is listed as a member of the band in the liner notes, but did not play on the album. Just as the album was becoming a success at the end of 1993, Hopkins died by suicide.

New Miserable Experience's initial release had completely different packaging. The album's original cover artwork depicted the Arizona desert. Songs on the album, such as "Mrs. Rita", a song about a local psychic from the Gin Blossoms' hometown of Tempe, Arizona, were also written with references to the area, people and events surrounding the band at the time. The majority of the songs rely on a melody-driven pop style while the final track, "Cheatin'", leans into country music. The album was re-released in late summer 1993, in conjunction with A&M's newfound support of the album. To celebrate the album's tenth anniversary, a deluxe edition containing an extra disc of demos, outtakes and live performances was released by the label in 2002.

Track listing
  1. "Lost Horizons" (Doug Hopkins) – 3:20
  2. "Hey Jealousy" (Hopkins) – 3:56
  3. "Mrs. Rita" (Jesse Valenzuela, Jim Swafford) – 4:25
  4. "Until I Fall Away" (Robin Wilson, Valenzuela) – 3:51
  5. "Hold Me Down" (Hopkins, Wilson) – 4:50
  6. "Cajun Song" (Valenzuela) – 2:56
  7. "Hands Are Tied" (Valenzuela) – 3:17
  8. "Found Out About You" (Hopkins) – 3:53
  9. "Allison Road" (Wilson) – 3:18
  10. "29" (Valenzuela) – 4:18
  11. "Pieces of the Night" (Hopkins) – 4:33
  12. "Cheatin'" (Valenzuela, Hopkins) – 3:25

Track listing for the bonus disc included with the 2002 deluxe edition:

  1. "Something Wrong" (Valenzuela) - 2:40
  2. "Slave Dealer's Daughter" (Hopkins, Bill Leen) - 2:32
  3. "Fireworks" (Hopkins) - 3:05
  4. "Keli Richards" (Hopkins, Leen) - 3:04
  5. "Just South of Nowhere" (Valenzuela) - 3:26
  6. "Angels Tonight" (Hopkins) - 3:33
  7. "Blue Eyes Bleeding" (Hopkins) - 2:30
  8. "Soul Deep" (Wayne Carson Thompson) - 3:05
  9. "Heart Away" (Wilson) - 2:21
  10. "Cold River Dick" (Wilson, Valenzuela, Leen, Phillip Rhodes, Scott Johnson) - 1:16
  11. "Christine Irene" (Wilson, Valenzuela) - 2:42
  12. "Number One" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Neil Innes) - 2:35
  13. "Idiot Summer" (Wilson) - 4:13
  14. "Back of a Car" (Alex Chilton, Andy Hummel) - 2:43
  15. "Allison Road '94 (remix)" (Wilson) - 3:22
  16. "Hold Me Down (live)" (Hopkins, Wilson) - 4:55
  17. "Hey Jealousy (live)" (Hopkins) - 3:57
  18. "Mrs. Rita (live)" (Swafford, Valenzuela) - 4:20
  19. "29 (live)" (Valenzuela) - 4:07
  20. "Movin' On Up (live)" (Jeff Barry, Ja'net Dubois) - 2:57
  21. "Folsom Prison Blues (live)" (Johnny Cash) - 3:08
  22. "Pieces of the Night (with piano ending)" (Hopkins) - 4:20
  • Tracks 1-3: from Dusted (1989)
  • Tracks 4-6: from Up and Crumbling (1991)
  • Track 7: outtake from New Miserable Experience
  • Tracks 8-11: from Shut Up and Smoke (1994); "Soul Deep" also appears on the soundtrack album from the movie Speed
  • Track 12: outtake from Shut Up and Smoke
  • Track 13: from Music from the Motion Picture Wayne's World 2 (1993)
  • Track 14: previously unreleased; intended for a Big Star tribute album
  • Tracks 15, 22: alternate versions of songs from New Miserable Experience
  • Tracks 16-21: recorded live on May 13, 1993 at Solana Beach, CA

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Chicago Tribune[7]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
The Village VoiceC+[10]

Rolling Stone praised the album, saying it "sounds both fresh and highly personal."[8] AllMusic called the album "a tight and lean collection of brilliant, edgy pop music."[6]

Chart performance

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1993 Heatseekers 1
The Billboard 200 30

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1993 "Hey Jealousy" Mainstream Rock Tracks 4
The Billboard Hot 100 25
Top 40 Mainstream 20
"Found Out About You" Mainstream Rock Tracks 5
Modern Rock Tracks 1
The Billboard Hot 100 25
Top 40 Mainstream 6
"Mrs. Rita" Mainstream Rock Tracks 36
1994 "Until I Fall Away" Adult Contemporary 23
Mainstream Rock Tracks 40
Modern Rock Tracks 13
Top 40 Mainstream 13
"Allison Road" Mainstream Rock Tracks 20
Modern Rock Tracks 39
1995 "Found Out About You" Adult Top 40 38

Personnel

Gin Blossoms

Additional Personnel

Production
  • Producers: Gin Blossoms, John Hampton
  • Engineer: John Hampton
  • Assistant Engineer: James "Left Of" Senter
  • Mixing: John Hampton
  • Mastering: George Marino
  • Art direction: Barrie Goshko
  • Design: Barrie Goshko
  • Photography: Jay Blakesberg, Robin Wilson
  • Crew: Jim Coleman, Scott Guess, Mike Chappell
  • Recorded at: Ardent Studios (Memphis, TN), except: "Allison Road" and "Mrs. Rita", recorded at: AB Recorders (Phoenix, AZ) By: Andy Barret

Original 1992 release:

  • Art direction and design: Rowan Moore
  • Photography: Dennis Keeley
  • Radiator: Kelly Ray
gollark: A sample.
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gollark: Viewing Comrade: I'M AN INDIVIDUAL NOT A PASTAComrade Cave is so much better than the old boring regular cave.
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gollark: What would be great is names limited only to per-scroll uniqueness.

References
  1. Beach, Connor (June 7, 2018). "Gin Blossoms Come Full Circle With Latest Record". Long-Islander News. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  2. Meuth, Gary (April 27, 2017). "The Gin Blossoms define sound of jangle pop". Salina Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  3. Masley, Ed (September 1, 2018). "Gin Blossoms' Robin Wilson on why 'Mixed Reality' is their best since 'Miserable' was new". AZCentral.com. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  4. Hudak, Joseph (March 29, 2017). "Gin Blossoms' 'New Miserable Experience': The Dark History of a Nineties Classic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  5. Masley, Ed (September 1, 2018). "Gin Blossoms' Robin Wilson on why 'Mixed Reality' is their best since 'Miserable' was new". AZCentral.com. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  6. Anderson, Rick. "New Miserable Experience - Gin Blossoms". AllMusic.
  7. Herrmann, Brenda (August 20, 1992). "Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience". Chicago Tribune.
  8. "Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience : Music Reviews (Unfinished review)". Rolling Stone: 146. December 23, 1993. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  9. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 332. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone gin blossoms album guide.
  10. Christgau, Robert (November 29, 1994). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
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