Hold my hand (Hootie & the Blowish) (LP 2772 - 2778)

Hootie & the Blowfish   Cracked Rear View (CD, Atlantic Records, 1994) *****  

Hootie & the Blowfish   Cracked Rear View - 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (3CD/ DVD, Atlantic Records, 1994) ***** 

Hootie & the Blowfish  Fairweather Johnson (CD, Atlantic Records, 1996) ***  

Hootie & the Blowfish   Musical Chairs (CD, Atlantic Records, 1998) ****  

Hootie & the Blowfish   Hootie & the Blowfish (CD, Atlantic Records, 2003) ***

Hootie & the Blowfish   The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish 1993 thru 2003 (CD, Atlantic Records, 1998) ***** 

Hootie & the Blowfish   Imperfect Circle (Vinyl, Capitol Nashville Records, 2019) **** 

Genre: pop/rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records for Cracked Rear View/Hootie & the Blowfish/ Best of; secondhand shops - Fairweather Johnson, Musical Chairs; JB Hi Fi for Cracked Rear View 25th anniversary/ Imperfect Circle.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Only Wanna Be With You (Cracked Rear View)

Gear costume: Only Lonely , What's Going On Here  (Musical Chairs)

Active compensatory factors: My obsession with Hootie & the Blowfish crept up on me.

As with many people, the love affair began with their debut record - Cracked Rear View which I bought second hand from a sale bin at Real Groovy when it was opposite the Classic Cinema on Queen St. It was a fateful purchase, because I fell in love with it and listened to it constantly.

Of course, those videos on high rotation helped, and the lift from Dylan's Idiot Wind in Only Wanna Be With You endeared me to the band even more.

Apart from Darius Rucker's superb vocals, it's the quality of the songs and the sympathetic arrangements that make Cracked Rear View such a great debut. 

It became a monster - number one in American and NZ, and sold by the truckload.

Speaking of monsters - the 25th anniversary deluxe edition has the album, a disc of B sides and outtakes, a disc of a live concert from 1995 and a DVD of the 5.1 surround mixes and bonus tracks, plus - the videos!

Phew. The bloated edition is totally justified in this case, and a fitting way to celebrate the ongoing success of this landmark album.

Their second effort, Fairweather Johnson, was also a big hit - a number 1 album in America, and another big seller, but not as successful as the debut. 

Tough to follow that mega successful album, but they create a more mellow, relaxed sound and it sounds pretty good, and was clearly a slight change in direction following Cracked Rear View. Darius Rucker still sounds superb, but the songs, on the whole, are not as memorable.

The third studio effort was Musical Chairs, released in 1998. I almost didn't bother with it, but I'm so glad I did. It's a return to the kind of finely crafted, layered songs that made Cracked Rear View such a success.

Only Lonely is a highlight - a successful ballad that incorporates sweeping strings in an appropriate way. Darius sings it brilliantly.

The other plus factors on Musical Chairs are the appearances of Peter Holsapple and Susan Cowsill. I am a huge Cowsills fan and Susan's presence is an important one as a harmony expert. Holsapple comes with an REM history and that's also appropriate - Hootie often sounds like a rocking REM, and they cover Driver 8 as a bonus track brilliantly (a slowed down version).

Fourth studio album - Hootie & the Blowfish, has a telling title. Bands often use a self-titled album as a way of signaling a reboot. Sure enough, the introduction of Don Was added some extra sonic touches and looks. But still, this is recognisably Hootie & the Blowfish. Again though, the songs are not as strong compared to Musical Chairs and Cracked Rear View.

Interestingly, one only track makes the Best of collection which is a useful way to sum up their progress up to 2003. Most tracks come from the first two albums, plus a number of covers.

Imperfect Circle, their sixth studio album, continues the story. Darius' voice is still a quality instrument, taking on a more country flavour these days, and the songs are strong, particularly on side 1. 

Where do they all belong? Looking For Lucky was their fifth studio effort and I don't yet have a copy. Nor have I found their covers album (Scattered, Smothered, and Covered) or Live in Charleston...yet.