Hootie & the Blowfish - "Cracked Rear View"

I received this album as a Christmas present one year and for a while I was really into Hootie & the Blowfish.  Not to say I no longer enjoy their music but I am just not so fanatic anymore.

"Cracked Rear View," their debut album, released in 1994 quickly became the most likely and unlikely megahit to be released in the 1990s, selling 12 million copies and catapulting the band to superstardom.

The four band members met at the University of South Carolina in 1989 and became a popular local college band performing covers of R.E.M. Eventually writing their own music, much of which appeared on this album.

The reason I call them the most unlikely superstars is that they were a completely unknown band aside from the college towns and their music was seemingly out of touch with the time; in the early 90s every thing was engulfed in the Grunge hard rock of Seattle.

On the other hand they were the right band at the right place at the right time. Kurt Cobain had killed himself shortly before this album was released. The overexposure of Grunge music had killed the market (much like the 80s Hair bands or the Boygroups of the 2000s). Also the depressing and dark content of much of the Grunge style was getting a little much for many listeners and they wanted a simple happy refresher from all this darkness. Not to mention Bill Clinton had been elected the year earlier and was turning out to be a really awesome President, especially compared to his two predecessors.

So here comes "Cracked Rear View" in the Summer of 1994 a simple straight ahead folk-rock roots pop album filled with damn catchy hooks and melodies with some heavy MTV video and radio rotation. The music is sharp and Darius Rucker's powerful vocals help the music to no end. The songs are certainly not innovative but Hootie knows exactly how to frame and execute them. The songs all basically follow a generic pattern but the chorus' are all memorable and sing-a-long. The good time vibes of many of the songs as well as the every man qualities of the more serious songs like "Let Her Cry," "Time," and "Drowning" provide a wonderful feel that American music listeners were looking for in 1994.

Like Huey Lewis & The News, Hootie & the Blowfish are a bar band that is not really interested in being the most important band since The Beatles. They want to have a good time, make some good music, and throw back a few cold ones at the end of the day. For a time all of America wanted to join them. Like I said earlier I was one of those, I still enjoy their music and there are some days when "Cracked rear View" is all I need to feel better (particularly when I'm driving).  Every now and then I Only Wanna Be with Hootie & the Blowfish.