Album Review: Hootie & the Blowfish - cracked rear view (25th Anniversary)

When Hootie & the Blowfish first blew up, I have to admit that I wasn't a big fan. "Hold My Hand" was the big single, and I just wasn't that impressed with the song. But when I heard "Let Her Cry", I knew that this band was something special. The music was somewhere in-between bluegrass, and rock, and I just loved it. I got the full album for my birthday from my friend Adam that year, and I was hooked from the first notes of "Hannah Jane", right through the final a-capella track of "Motherless Child". I could tell then that I was going to be a lifelong fan, and I wasn't alone in thinking that, because the album went on to be the ninth highest selling album of all time. Nearly every song on the disc was a bona fide hit. And the songs that weren't hits were all every bit as good as the tracks that were.

As the years unfolded, and the band released four more albums, all albums that I love to this day, "cracked rear view" would always hold a special place in my heart. And for good reason: those songs still stand up very well to this day. So when I heard that the band would be releasing an expanded 3-disc edition for the album's 25th Anniversary, I was pretty excited to see (and hear!) what the extras on this phenomenal album would be.

The first disc is the full album, remastered. The sound is pretty close to the original. To my ears, I don't really hear much that was improved upon. Then again, how can one improve upon perfection. There isn't a bad song on the disc. And while many listeners will be happy to hear those old radio hits again, I'm happy to see songs like "Not Even the Trees", "I'm Goin' Home", and "Goodbye" get another shot at becoming timeless classics.

The second disc is the one that I was the most excited for. For the first time, all of the fantastic B-Sides and outtakes from the sessions (the first six tracks) would be paired back up with their "cracked rear view" counterparts. Many of these songs found their way onto the "Scattered, Smothered And Covered" album, but a couple of these tracks are new to me ("All That I Believe", and "Where Were You"). One of my very favorite Hootie tracks, "Fine Line" (which is actually a cover) is worth the admission of this disc alone!

Next on disc two are the "Kootchypop" tracks. It's pretty interesting to hear the demos that would go on to get this amazing band signed. Only two of these five tracks didn't go on to be re-recorded for another album ("If You're Going My Way" and "Sorry's Not Enough"). It's kind of cool to finally be able to listen to this EP. The next four tracks were released by the band on a cassette called "Time". All four of them found their way onto "cracked rear view", but again, it's cool to hear these tracks in their embryo state. The final five tracks were once again self-released by the band, as a self-titled cassette, and these are the earlier demos, coming from 1990. It's really kind of neat to hear how these songs changed from their earlier stages, to the final released, major label products.

The third disc in the set is a live show from 1995. The entire "cracked rear view" album was performed during this amazing set, as well as many covers, and B-Sides. And even though the sound is far from perfect, I think it's a pretty damned good recording, and I'm happy to be hearing it! And best yet, you get to hear some really great performances of songs like the emotional "I'm Goin' Home" (which should have been a major hit!), "Fine Line", "The Old Man And Me" (which would be on the band's next album, "Fairweather Johnson"), "Goodbye" (my favorite track from "cracked rear view"), and a killer encore that features "The Ballad of John And Yoko" (The Beatles), "Hold My Hand", and "Love the One You're With" (Stephen Stills). This is a fantastic live set, and one that no Blowfish fan should miss.

For many listeners, I'm sure that you won't need to re-buy this set if you still have the original "cracked rear view". But for people that absolutely loved that major label debut, picking up the 25th Anniversary edition of "cracked rear view" should be a no-brainer, as in my opinion it is well worth the money that you will spend to support this amazingly talented group of musicians.