---Michael Drewes
------Released 1 November 2019 Capitol Records Nashville
After a 14-year hiatus, Hootie & The Blowfish are back with their 6th album, Imperfect Circle, released on November 1st. If you grew up in or around the 1990s, you know Hootie & the Blowfish (H&TB)—especially if you followed pop culture. Even if you only casually follow music; even if you were too young to really understand how popular they were at the time. They were inescapable. Lead singer, Darius Rucker, appeared as a cameo in one episode of the TV series Friends, he sang the national anthem at the World Series in 1995, and he was invited to sing at Frank Sinatra’s 80th birthday party.
Their debut album Cracked Rear View, released in 1994, sold nearly 15 million copies, and has been certified platinum a staggering 21 times by the RIAA. In many ways, they perfected the mainstream American Alt. Rock/Country sound or at least they did for that brief period in the 90s. Despite their incredible success, it proved unsustainable; and by the mid 2000s, Hootie & the Blowfish went their separate ways.
Darius Rucker, their lead singer, went on to have a great career as a country singer. Since Hootie & the Blowfish stopped touring, Rucker released 5 studio albums. All except one of them has peaked at #1 on the US Country Billboard charts. The only album that didn’t, “When Was the Last Time”, peaked at #2. And all of his albums hit top 10 on the US Billboard 200 list. Your personal feelings about country music aside, what I’m trying to say is that in an extremely competitive music scene, Rucker has succeeded time and time again. Also, since the name of the band was Hootie & the Blowfish, not Darius Rucker & the Blowfish, some people may not be aware of his roots in the music industry.
Surprisingly, Bob Dylan had a hand in the success of both H&TB and Darius Rucker’s solo career. “Only Want to Be With You,” one of the most popular tracks off of Cracked Rear View, quotes a few lines from Dylan’s “Idiot Wind.” These lyrics also include, “Tangled Up In Blue” (a popular Dylan song), and “ain’t Bobby so cool,” clearly referencing Bob Dylan. Also, Rucker’s most famous single is a cover of “Wagon Wheel.” The original was co-written by Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show.
Imperfect Circle sonically sounds similar to old Hootie. Rucker’s booming voice still carries most songs, but that was always H&TB’s M.O. Not all that much has changed for H&TB in 25 years. Even though H&TB might be the same, we’ve changed. Pop culture has changed and we can never go back. Despite transporting the listener back to ’94, none of the songs here are as good as the ones that came out back then. In simple terms, this new album is a nostalgia trap. But for those still listening, it’s a welcomed trip down memory lane. Because it’s 2019 and we wouldn’t be talking about Hootie & the Blowfish otherwise.
Listen to the single, "Hold On" below:
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