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List Price: $13.98 | | Label: A&M
Salesrank: 11024
Released: August 4, 1992 |
| Our Price: $18.99 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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New Miserable Experience Track Listing:
1. Lost Horizons
2. Hey Jealousy
3. Mrs. Rita
4. Until I Fall Away
5. Hold Me Down
6. Cajun Song
7. Hands Are Tied
8. Found Out About You
9. Allison Road
10. 29
11. Pieces of the Night
12. Cheatin'
New Miserable Experience Reviews:
And what an "Experience" it is 
2009-07-30 - In 1992, Tempe's Gin Blossoms released their "New Miserable Experience" to only minor immediate success, not finding their eventual infamy until almost a year later. Still, this delay in popularity didn't do anything to keep the album from being one of the best and most significant rock and pop albums of the 1990s.
"New Miserable Experience" is a masterpiece in every sense, yet is even more incredible given the circumstances surrounding the album. The band's earlier recordings failed to garner much more than local exposure, and just before the album's completion, guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, perhaps the greatest creative influence behind the record, was kicked out for his destructive alcoholism and depression. Growing increasingly desperate and dismayed to see his songs gain fame and acclaim without him, Hopkins killed himself the next year.
"New Miserable Experience" is a representative album of the `90s, an era of jangly guitars, catchy hooks, and deep lyrics, as well as a time when the mainstream media bombarded the public with tales of high school love and hometown romance. These are all reflected to varying degrees on the album. Musically, it's magnificent, with not a weak song in the batch and tightly engineered performance. It's immediately catchy music, yet simultaneously deep and satisfying on so many levels.
There's plenty of purely feel-good music here, but the lyrics have so much soul and often hit hard. There are profiles of relationships, whimsical memories, and as the title suggests, a great deal of sadness that hits hard. At its core, drunkenness plays a major role, often in Hopkins' songs. Alcohol contributes to giddiness, graying somberness, and eventually great sadness. The emotion portrayed here is extremely powerful, and it's hard to imagine a listener who can't relate to these feelings of desperation, joy, insecurity, longing, and wonder. Yet even if the lyrics weren't to one's liking, one really can't help but love the music. Robin Wilson's layered voice can be equally endearing as haunting, Bill Leen's bass and Philip Rhodes' percussion are great, and the chiming guitars are always right on point.
From the opening bars of "Lost Horizons" it's clear what a gem is in store. The opener is an immediately catchy, appealing song about drinking to improve one's mind state ("I'll drink enough of anything, just to make the world look new again / I'm drunk, drunk, drunk in the gardens and the graves"). Wilson's voice floats over the upbeat guitar chords and it's a perfect first track. This is followed by the unforgettable hit "Hey Jealousy," an absolutely delightful pop-rock song that remains a truly legendary track that's just as great today as the day it was recorded. The winding bass, steady percussion, and heartfelt, clever lyrics ("If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down") make this among the 90's best singles. "Mrs. Rita" is an example of the early Gin Blossoms formula executed brilliantly, with wide-eyed verses, jangly guitars, and a memorable hook, all culminating to produce a wonderful song.
The album continues with the phenomenal "Until I Fall Away," a truly beautiful ballad with excellent writing and playing. Still, my favorite song might be "Hold Me Down," an absolutely irresistible profile of social drunkenness laden amidst a gorgeous melody. This too finds Gin Blossoms at their purest: the somber, latently desperate lyrics in contrast to the catchy tune.
The sunny "Cajun Song" finds the Blossoms trying a classic Southern rock sound and succeeding with a crisp, charming tune that still isn't devoid of the powerful, grasping lyricism. The driving "Hands Are Tied" rocks harder than any other on the album, and it's followed by the magical "Found Out About You," the band's most successful song, and for good reason. From the amazing bass line and twinkling guitars to Wilson's haunting vocals, this song executes such an effective mood that it's a wonder to behold. Hopkins' lyrics depicting a tragic revelation in a relationship are both poignant and heartbreaking, and "Found Out About You" is just an incredible song.
Another successful single, Wilson's great "Allison Road," is another awesome song on all fronts, and "29" is an outstanding love song written by Valenzuela. The album closes with two more finely crafted songs, Hopkins' "Pieces of the Night" and "Cheatin'." The former is a thoughtful, poetic ode to life and relationships ("What did you expect to find / Aphrodite on a bar stool?") that is really pretty, and the latter a light-hearted ("You can't call it cheatin', `cause she reminds me of you") country song complete with drawly deliveries and twangy guitars.
Gin Blossoms soldiered on after "New Miserable Experience," never quite recapturing the glory but maintaining a solid output even with a decade-long gap in recording. "New Miserable Experience" remains their opus, a spectacular piece of music that should prove timeless. Whether you're feeling nostalgic, lovesick, hopeful, or anything in between, I recommend this to fans of all music because it appeals on so many levels and is doubtless perfect for the occasion.
(3.5 stars) Not a particularly great album, but those two big hits rule!!! 
2008-07-28 - Talk about a star-crossed group. The band fired lead guitarist and main songwriter Doug Hopkins before this album even came out because of his excessive alcoholism. He committed suicide shortly thereafter. While he was alive, he proved himself quite an adept writer of jangly power-pop. The group is quite derivative, often sounding like a happier version of R.E.M. But they're pretty and harmonious ("Until I Fall Away," "Mrs. Rita"). Repetition is an issue here, though - it's mostly a collection of four-minute folk-pop songs. And a couple of these songs fall flat (the five-minute "Hold Me Down," the self-explanatory "Cajun Song," the country-flavored "Cheatin'"). And despite his nice voice, Robin Wilson is kind of a bland singer. But then there are those two big hits. Oh. My. God. These two songs make all the weak points worthwhile. They are unbelievably good. I can't even speak rationally about how much I love "Hey Jealousy," but you've probably heard it several times anyway. It's one of those songs that I can listen to three, four, five times in a row and not get sick of. It's such a great song! I love that chorus! And I think anyone can relate to "The past is lost but something might be found to take its place." And I love "Found Out About You" almost as much as I love "Hey Jealousy," though not quite. Just can't get enough of the chorus ("Whispers at the bus stop... when I heard about..."), the riff is gorgeous, and the harmonies are nothing fantastic. Yay! The jangly, fun, happy "Allison Road" was also a small hit, and I like it, too. "29" is a good song, too. Nice dynamic shifts. But to be honest, I don't see any reason to get a Gin Blossoms album that isn't a greatest hits. But if you do... good for you! You have more patience for an inordinate amount of repetition than I do! You can probably find it in every cutout bin in history in the first place. And hey, it's not bad or anything!
Still Sounds Great
2008-05-24 - 16 years after this CD was released it still sounds great and after seeing the band live last week I can say that they still sound every bit as good live today as they did in studio 16 years ago. The other reviewers have covered the technical merits far better than I ever could, this album just strikes a chord for me because the time when it's songs got radio airplay was one of nothing but good memories for me. In any case, buy this CD, sit down, and give it a few good listens. It talks about so many things that everyone goes through in their life, its just sad that Doug Hopkins took his own before he could enjoy the appreciation this album received.
John
A great document of adult alternative music
2008-04-10 - The Gin Blossoms' debut album, New Miserable Experience, is one of the great albums of the early `90s. Led by three gifted songwriters in vocalist Robin Wilson and guitarists Doug Hopkins and Jesse Valenzuela, the band was one of the best and most successful bands in the adult alternative genre. The huge hits "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" are fantastic songs and have aged very well. The upbeat "Allison Road" and the ballad "Until I Fall Away" also received some airplay and you still hear them on occasion, again showing their staying power. As with any great album, the deep cuts are on the same level as the "hits" and that rings true here as evidenced by the rockers "Hold Me Down" and "Hands Are Tied" and by the reflective acoustic pop of "29" and "Pieces of the Night." Other strong tunes include the pop/rock of "Lost Horizons" and "Mrs. Rita" and a great old country tune called "Cheatin'." Sadly, Doug Hopkins, who penned the best songs here ("Hey Jealousy", "Found Out About You", "Pieces of the Night") would commit suicide shortly after the album's release and the band was never the same after that. Since every song is very good and it still sounds great today, I would recommend New Miserable Experience to anyone who loves all the great adult alternative pop that come out in the `90s.
Legendary album
2008-01-27 - Shiny yet sad, one of the 90's best albums. Presenting a strong
set of pop-grunge music to offset the gripping personal lyrics, Gin Blossoms
took off in 1992. Few albums of the 90's can match it.
