Published on Mar 28, 1997
Prior to the release of their second album, the members of
Hootie & The Blowfish found themselves facing this question:
“How do we top ourselves?”
After all, they have one of the best-selling debut albums in
history.
Cracked Rear View spawned no less than four hit singles and
sold over 13 million copies, and earned the former bar band two
Grammy Awards, including one for Best New Artist. (Some consider
this award the kiss of death – who remembers Men At Work? Marc
Cohn?)
Now that their second album,
Fairweather Johnson has been out for some time, the members
of the band may be asking themselves: “Where did we go wrong?”
It’s not that it’s a bad effort – in fact, had it not been for
Cracked Rear View, it may have done quite well. The problem
is quite simple, and is the same problem that has plagued many
winners of the Best New Artist Grammy: stagnation. The material on
Fairweather Johnson sounds like they could be leftovers from
the
Cracked sessions. Simply put, there is no originality on
this one
You could hear it from the debut single, “Old Man And Me”.
Darius Rucker and crew were just coming off a hit with “Time,” one
of the best songs off of
Cracked. Instead of following it up with a similar-sounding
song, they pick one with a more electric tone to it (though I will
admit I like the addition of piano on this one). The song did not
stand out like many of Hootie’s better songs, and was quickly
forgotten.
Of the other two singles released to this point, only “Sad
Caper” stands out, and is an intriguing little song. The other
single, “Tucker’s Town,” is a poor choice for a single, as well as
a song that is just not that good.
As for the rest of the album, the remaining cuts tend to blend
together in an unrecognizable haze. Did you just listen to “Be The
One” or “Fool?” “When I’m Lonely” or “So Strange?” Probably the
only song that does stand out is “She Crawls Away,” which could
probably be released as a single with moderate success.
Fairweather Johnson is not an easy listen; it took me three
attempts to get through the entire disc in one sitting. It’s not a
good album, it’s not a bad album… it’s just an album. And this
makes all the difference between a 13 million smash hit and a 2
million disappointment. (In their defense, the members of Hootie
& The Blowfish admitted they didn’t expect this release to sell
as many as
Cracked. At least they recognized the wall they were coming
up against.)
If Hootie & The Blowfish are to thrive in the ruthless music
industry, they will need to re-think their musical approach a
little bit and see if they can adapt to the tastes of their
audience. To misquote the late Jerry Garcia, listening to
Fairweather Johnson is a bit like eating licorice – you
either hate it or you love it very much. Hootie & The Blowfish
haven’t made me rethink my eating habits… yet.