Hootie & The Blowfish Cracked Rear View CD

Hootie & The Blowfish won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and "Let Her Cry" won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

Hootie & The Blowfish are a powerhouse regional band exploding upon the charts with a musical point of view born of the "New South" stylings originally pioneered musically (and socially) by the Allman Brothers. Comprised of four University of South Carolina graduates, Hootie & The Blowfish began as a classic rock/R.E.M. cover band, but polished an original sound through persistent East Coast tours, and developed a fanatical regional following with their 1993 indy release KOOCHYPOP.

Hootie & The Blowfish draw upon a wide range of themes and styles on CRACKED REAR VIEW. "Drowning" is a fervent tale of forbidden romance, colored by the pressures of ignorance and racism. "Time" begins with a simple folkish dignity and Byrds-like guitar harmonies, before revving up to full poetic ambivalence ("Time, you ain't no friend of mine...Time, why do you punish me"). The opening cuts "Hannah Jane," "Hold My Hand" and "Let Her Cry" are hook-happy AOR fare; poignant, tender love songs with an edgy, lyric undercurrent of loneliness and longing, driven forward by Darius Rucker's soulful, preaching vocals. With CRACKED REAR VIEW, Hootie & The Blowfish have distilled their unique brand of Southern rock & soul into a driving pop sound, marked by an insistent rhythm groove, shimmering, soaring guitar work, and sweet country/R&B-styled vocal harmonies.

Hootie & The Blowfish exploded upon the charts with their first major-label release CRACKED REAR VIEW. Comprised of four University of South Carolina graduates, Hootie & The Blowfish began as a classic rock/R.E.M. cover band, but polished an original sound through persistent East Coast tours, and developed a fanatical regional following with their 1993 indie release KOOCHYPOP.

Hootie & The Blowfish draw upon a wide range of themes and styles on CRACKED REAR VIEW. "Drowning" is a fervent tale of forbidden romance, colored by the pressures of ignorance and racism. "Time" begins with a simple folkish dignity and Byrds-like guitar harmonies, before revving up to full poetic speed ("Time, you ain't no friend of mine...Time, why do you punish me"). "Hannah Jane," "Hold My Hand," and "Let Her Cry" are hook-happy, poignant, tender love songs with an edgy, lyric undercurrent of loneliness and longing, driven forward by Darius Rucker's soulful, preaching vocals. With CRACKED REAR VIEW, Hootie & The Blowfish have distilled their unique brand of Southern rock & soul into a driving pop sound, marked by an insistent groove, shimmering, soaring guitar work, and sweet country/R&B-styled vocal harmonies.

Recorded at N.R.G. Recording Services, North Hollywood, California.

Hootie & The Blowfish: Mark Bryan (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, piano, percussion); Darius Rucker (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion); Dean Felber (vocals, piano, Clavinet, bass); Jim "Soni" Sonefeld (vocals, piano, drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Lili Haydn (violin); John Nau (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); David Crosby (background vocals).

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, pp.60-61) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (10/20/94, p.148) - 3.5 Stars - Good - "...fat, folk-derived, group written guitar rock; their absolute lack of irony is as refreshing as the sing-along hooks..."