New Miserable Experience

New Miserable Experience
Studio album by Gin Blossoms
Released	August 4, 1992
Recorded	February–March 1992
Studio	Ardent Studios (Memphis, Tennessee)
Genre	Alternative rock jangle pop power pop
Length	45:02
Label	A&M
Producer	Gin Blossoms John Hampton
Gin Blossoms chronology
Up and Crumbling (1991) New Miserable Experience (1992) Congratulations I'm Sorry (1996)
Alternate cover
Re-release cover

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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
Total length:			45:02

To celebrate the album's tenth anniversary in 2002, a deluxe edition containing an extra disc of demos, outtakes, and live performances was released by the label. ^[16] The Rarities Album was released separately in Abbreviated form in 2010 as Rarities , missing the three cuts from Dusted .

Reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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: previously unreleased; outtake from New Miserable Experience (1992)
• Tracks 8–11: from Shut Up and Smoke, and "Soul Deep" also appears on the soundtrack album from the movie Speed (1994)
• Track 12: previously unreleased; outtake from Shut Up and Smoke (1994)
• Track 13: from Music from the Motion Picture Wayne's World 2 (1993)
• Track 14: previously unreleased; intended for a Big Star tribute album which was eventually released a few years later as Big Star, Small World (1994)
• Track 15: alternate version of the same song from New Miserable Experience, and also appears on the re-released "Allison Road" single (1994)
• Tracks 16–21: recorded live on May 13, 1993 at Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California, originally released on "Found Out About You" (1993)
• Track 22: previously unreleased; alternate version of the same song from New Miserable Experience (1992)

Personnel

Gin Blossoms

• Robin Wilson – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• Doug Hopkins – guitars (Credited for performance and writing, uncredited as an active bandmember)
• Jesse Valenzuela – guitars, mandolin, background vocals, lead vocals on "Cheatin'"
• Bill Leen – bass guitar
• Phillip Rhodes – percussion, drums

Additional personnel

• Robert Becker – piano on "Until I Fall Away" and "Pieces of the Night"
• C. J. Chenier – accordion on "Cajun Song"
• Robby Turner – pedal steel guitar on "Cheatin'" and "Cajun Song"

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, Tennessee), except: "Allison Road" and "Mrs. Rita", recorded at: AB Recorders (Phoenix, Arizona) by Andy Barret

Original 1992 release:

• Art direction and design: Rowan Moore
• Photography: Dennis Keeley
• Radiator: Kelly Ray

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for New Miserable Experience

Chart (1992–1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [17]	63
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [18]	43
UK Albums (OCC) [19]	53
US Billboard 200 [20]	30
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [21]	1

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for New Miserable Experience

Chart (1994)	Position
US Billboard 200 [22]	54

Certifications

Certifications for New Miserable Experience

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [23]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA) [24]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Hudak, Joseph (March 29, 2017). "Gin Blossoms' 'New Miserable Experience': The Dark History of a Nineties Classic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
2. 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.
3. Ryan, Jim. "Robin Wilson On New Gin Blossoms Album Mixed Reality, Celebrating New Miserable Experience On Tour". Forbes. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
4. Beach, Connor (June 7, 2018). "Gin Blossoms Come Full Circle With Latest Record". Long-Islander News. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
5. Hudak, Joseph (March 29, 2017). "Gin Blossoms' 'New Miserable Experience': The Dark History of a Nineties Classic". Rolling Stone . Retrieved December 27, 2021. While Hopkins' presence is all over New Miserable Experience – he wrote several cornerstone tracks, including autobiographical opener "Lost Horizons," the Byrds-like "Pieces of the Night" and the Modern Rock Number One "Found Out About You" – Wilson and Valenzuela provided their own songs that further cemented the album as a Nineties alt-rock favorite.
6. Meuth, Gary (April 27, 2017). "The Gin Blossoms define sound of jangle pop". Salina Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
7. Young, Jon (January–February 2003). "Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience (Deluxe Edition)". Blender . Vol. 2, no. 1. New York. p. 110. Archived from the original on February 20, 2004. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
8. Anderson, Rick. "New Miserable Experience – Gin Blossoms". AllMusic . Retrieved May 19, 2024.
9. Herrmann, Brenda (August 20, 1992). "Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience (dad/A&M)". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
10. Rosenbluth, Jean (August 15, 1992). "Gin Blossoms, 'New Miserable Experience,' A&M". Los Angeles Times .
11. Jones, Alan (May 7, 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums - Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week . p. 17. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
12. Rytlewski, Evan (March 3, 2024). "Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved March 3, 2024.
13. Gross, Joe (2004). "Gin Blossoms". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p.  332. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
14. Christgau, Robert (November 29, 1994). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
15. Evans, Paul (December 23, 1993 – January 6, 1994). "Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience". Rolling Stone . No. 672–673. New York. p. 146. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
16. Schabe, Patrick (November 7, 2002). "Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience (Deluxe Edition)". PopMatters. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
17. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 114.
18. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2420". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
19. "Gin Blossoms | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
20. "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
21. "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
22. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
23. "Canadian album certifications – Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience". Music Canada . Retrieved November 7, 2021.
24. "American album certifications – Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved November 7, 2021.