As the now-infamous saying goes, "Everybody loves the Hootie." Or do they?
Regardless of one's true feelings on Hootie and the Blowfish, sales of their debut 1994 album "Cracked Rear View" are approaching 14 million copies.
Almost every conceivable radio format continues to play their songs. Surely, a quick survey of an average Dartmouth student's CD collection would reveal a generous supply of Hootie and the Blowfish discs.
Yet, despite a year of head-spinning, breakthrough success, these Carolinians are not about to rest. "Fairweather Johnson," the band's second major label release, made its way into stores yesterday.
Ironically, while complaining about their overblown success on "Fairweather" 's title track, the band is right back at it in every way possible.
Along with a new record arrives an MTV Unplugged performance, summer tour plans and even an official web site at http://www.hootie.com.
The band members have developed a nice recipe for success. Throw together some Eagles or Stones Riffs. Add a dash of R.E.M.'s influence and you've got Hootie and the Blowfish -- time tested pop rock music.
Outside of lead singer Darius Rucker's unique vocal style, the Hootie sound is rooted in time spent doing cover tunes. Evidence abounds on "Fairweather Johnson," which is neither fresh or original.
This new Hootie music evokes mainly the feeling that it has been done before.
The track "Let it Breathe," for instance, is a cleverly crafted rip-off of the Stones' "Beast of Burden."
Hootie's "So Strange" brings to mind the Black Crows' classic rock tributes "Seeing Things" and "Bad Luck Blue Eyes." Shades of the band Candlebox can be heard as "Silly Little Pop Song" begins.
Where other contemporary bands, such as the Black Crows and Candlebox, succeed in refreshing a classic sound, Hootie has failed to acknowledge and rework its influences.
The lyrical content on "Fairweather," when fully discernible, rarely strays from another pop music standard -- crooning about love.
"Earth Stopped Cold at Dawn," "So Strange" and "Tucker's Town" are a bit more interesting, examining Rucker's views on racism.
"Old Man and Me" may be the highlight of the CD. A leftover from Hootie's 1991 independent release "Kootchypop," it is also the first video and radio release from the new album.
The song examines a relationship that Bruce Springsteen considered in his 1984 hit "Born in the U.S.A." by recounting a Vietnam veteran's struggle with the stigma attached to him upon returning home.
Rucker sings, "Sailing on Uncle Sam's boat ... I could kill the enemy, I could die on foreign streets ... But now you walk by me, You won't talk to me."
This version of the war story, however is more upbeat than Springsteen's and ends with a catchy piano/bass ditty and the main character's finding comfort in the arms of a lover.
Other high points of "Fairweather Johnson" include "Sad Caper" and "Tucker's Town," which will soon dominate the airwaves.
The disc mellows considerably near its end. Only a few of the up-tempo rock songs that dominated Hootie's first offering are here.
The final three tracks, "Fool," "Tootie" and "When I'm Lonely" are well-written ballads, but suffer from Rucker's overbearing vocal style.
It will be difficult to gauge the commercial success of the new CD in the wake of the blockbuster "Cracked Rear View." The musical offering may be the only true indication of achievement.
If music is the case, Hootie has returned too soon. After a few listens to "Fairweather Johnson," it is evident that a break from the band's typical sound, and particularly Rucker's vocals, would be more welcome.
However, Hootie fans will not be disappointed. There is enough to satisfy most pop music aficionados on "Fairweather Johnson."
