New Miserable Experience (Deluxe Edition) Hyattsville MD

New Miserable Experience (Deluxe Edition)

Gin Blossoms

A & M Records, 2002

http://www.ginblossoms.net

REVIEW BY: Jason Warburg

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 10/24/2002

I don't know about you, but my experience has been thatquote-unquote "special editions" generally aren't that special, and"deluxe" is often a euphemism for "overpriced." The good news is,there's always room for exceptions, and that's exactly what thisalbum is, because at the moment I'm writing these words, New Miserable Experience (Deluxe Edition) feels like thebest $26 I've spent this year.

Most special editions involve three components: remastering theoriginal album tapes -- maybe even well enough to tell adifference; adding a handful of rare and/or unreleased songs --just enough to force the true fan to buy the album a second time;and repackaging the album -- usually not very imaginatively. Plus,in many cases the historical significance of the album isexaggerated by the label and/or the band in a further effort toboost sales.

The NME Deluxe Edition outdoes expectations by a substantialmargin on all counts.

First off, it does so by re-releasing a set of songs with actualhistorical value. The rock world was still in the midst of a grungehangover in 1992, the market flooded with Nirvana clones andwannabes, the only "alternatives" on the charts being rap andsugary pop. Straight-ahead rock was as rare then as a botox-freeactress is at the Oscars today. Enter the Gin Blossoms, ahard-working, hard-living club band out of Tempe, Arizona armedwith nothing but a barrage of memorable, guitar-driven,four-minute, utterly sincere rock and roll songs.