The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish (1993 Thru 2003)

by Hootie & the Blowfish

Overview

Hootie & the Blowfish never were cut out to be superstars. They were meant to be the best band at the local bar. They were ordinary guys, and they played ordinary music, the kind that could be heard in any college town on the East Coast or Midwest during the early '90s when the local bar wasn't having grunge night. It was the ordinariness of the music on their 1994 debut, Cracked Rear View, that connected with millions of American listeners -- they sounded like everybody's favorite local band. Once they were superstars, their bubble burst fairly quickly as the 1996 follow-up sold considerably fewer than the debut, and by the end of the decade, they had settled into a reliable routine of turning out modest records and touring steadily, without many people outside of their core fans noticing. Their popularity might have declined, but as the 2004 Atlantic/Rhino compilation The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish (1993 Thru 2003) illustrates, their music changed very little over the course of the decade, nor did the quality of their music decline. The band does what it does very well -- they write straight-ahead big, mid-tempo pop songs and ballads and deliver them without pretense. Perhaps their writing isn't as sharp or hooky as the Gin Blossoms, who mined a similar territory, but there is a charm to their plain-spoken delivery, and it's best heard on this 17-track collection, which contains all the hits -- including such covers as 54-40's "I Go Blind" and Led Zeppelin's "Hey Hey What Can I Do" -- sequenced not chronologically, but as a set list, and it's more entertaining because of it. While the closing cover of "Goodbye Girl" -- the obligatory new track for a hits collection -- doesn't showcase the band at its best, the rest of the album does, and it's as good a Hootie & the Blowfish compilation as could be. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2008
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0081227992781

Tracks

1. Hold My Hand
2. Only Wanna Be with You
3. Time
4. Let Her Cry
5. Not Even the Trees
6. Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)
7. Hey Hey What Can I Do
8. Tucker's Town
9. I Go Blind
10. Sad Caper
11. Be the One
12. Use Me
13. I Will Wait
14. Innocence
15. Space
16. Only Lonely
17. Goodbye Girl

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hootie & the Blowfish   Primary Artist
Patrick Warren   Guest Artist,Chamberlin
David Crosby   Guest Artist
Jim Sonefeld   Percussion,Vocals (Background),Drums,Loops,Piano
Robert Becker   Viola
Suzie Katayama   Cello
Susan Cowsill   Vocals (Background)
Mark Bryan   Piano,Guitar,Mandolin,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Crosby & Nash   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Tim Sommer   Organ
Darius Rucker   Dobro,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion
Gary Greene   Percussion
John Nau   Piano,Organ (Hammond)
Rachel Purkin   Violin
Larry Corbett   Cello
Boyd Tinsley   Violin
Bruce Dukov   Violin
Craig Shields   Sax (Baritone)
Edwin McCain   Vocals
Dean Felber   Bass,Piano,Clavinet,Vocals (Background)
Joel Derouin   Violin
David Immerglueck   Slide Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Peter Holsapple   Organ,Mandolin,Organ (Hammond),Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Demetrius "Demi Doc" McGhee   Management
Jim Sonefeld   Composer,Group Member,Loop
Neil Osborne   Composer
Spencer Proffer   Producer,Original Recording Producer
Bob St. John   Mixing,Engineer
Kevin Williamson   Executive Producer
Don Dixon   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Original Recording Producer
Don Was   Producer,Original Recording Producer
Mark Bryan   Composer,Group Member
Mark Dearnley   Remixing
Robert Plant   Composer
Mark Williams   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Original Recording Producer
Reggie Collins   Discographical Annotation
Darius Rucker   Composer,Group Member
Dennis Keeley   Photography
Davey Crane   Executive Producer
Jolene Cherry   Executive Producer
Ethan Hill   Photography
Gregory Sill   Producer
Randy Perry   Project Assistant
Mark Anthony Williams   Producer
Bill Curbishley   Executive Producer
Marta Kauffman   Executive Producer
Julee Stover   Editorial Supervision
Daniel Hersch   Remastering
April Milek   Project Assistant
Tim Scanlin   Project Assistant
Masaki Koike   Design,Art Direction
Leigh Hall   Project Assistant
Suzanne Love   Project Assistant
Steven Chean   Project Assistant
Bob Dylan   Composer
Bill Inglot   Remastering
Bill Withers   Composer
Jimmy Page   Composer
Karen Ahmed   Compilation Producer
Emily Cagan   Project Assistant
Ed Cherney   Mixing,Engineer
David Gates   Composer
Don Gehman   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Remixing,Original Recording Producer
Dean Felber   Composer,Group Member
Francis Buckley   Engineer
David Wild   Liner Notes
Steve Woolard   Project Assistant
Doug Trantow   Mixing,Engineer
David Leonard   Mixing
John Bonham   Composer
John Paul Jones   Composer
Hugh Brown   Creative Director
Dennis Kelly   Photography
Hootie & the Blowfish   Compilation Producer
Peter Masitti   Producer,Original Recording Producer