Hootie & the Blowfish hit #1 with Cracked Rear View

Cracked Rear View Hootie & the Blowfish

Released: July 5, 1994 Peak: 18 US, 4 UK, 13 CN CN, 7 AU Sales (in millions): 22.0 US, 0.1 UK, 23.9 world (includes US and UK) Genre: mainstream rock/adult alternative

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Hannah Jane Hold My Hand (7/30/94, 10 BB, 5 CB, 4 GR, 2 RR, 6 AC, 4 AR, 50 UK, 30 CN, 70 AU, 7 DF) Let Her Cry (12/24/94, 9 BB, 4 CB, 1 GR, 1 RR, 6 AC, 9 AR, 34 MR, 75 UK, 2 CN, 4 AU, 11 DF) Only Wanna Be with You (6/10/95, 6 BB, 2 BA, 5 CB, 2 GR, 1 RR, 3 AC, 13 A40, 2 AR, 22 MR, 87 UK, 1 CN, 40 AU, 9 DF) Running from an Angel I’m Goin’ Home Drowning (10/14/95, 21 AR, 17 DF) Time (10/27/95, 14 BB, 4 BA, 11 CB, 6 GR, 4 RR, 3 AC, 1 A40, 17 AA, 26 AR 1 CN, 13 DF) Look Away Not Even the Trees Goodbye Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (unlisted track) Total Running Time: 46:36 The Players: Darius Rucker (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion) Mark Bryan (guitar, etc.) Dean Felber (bass, etc.) Jim “Soni” Sonefeld (drums, percussion, etc.)

Rating: 4.070 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Quotable: “At their core, Hootie & the Blowfish are a bar band, but they managed to convince millions of listeners that they were the local bar band.” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Hootie & the Blowfish were certainly not a grunge band but they benefited from the renewed interest in guitar-based rock that the movement inspired. “At their core, Hootie & the Blowfish are a bar band, but they managed to convince millions of listeners that they were the local bar band.” AM These “college buddies from South Carolina” AZ had an indie release in 1993 with Kootchypop, but Cracked Rear View marked their major label debut. In true bar band spirit, “there may not be a lot of virtuosity behind it” AZ and there’s nothing particularly innovative here AM but there’s plenty of fun.” AZ This is “an album of solid, rootsy folk-rock songs” AM that are “bluesy” AZ and “energetic.” AZ These are songs that “packed to the rafters with harmonies and hooks.” AB This is “the kind of thoroughly likable album people sing along with on the car radio.” AZ “Hold My Hand has a singalong chorus that epitomizes the band’s good-times vibes.” AM It was the perfect choice for the lead single to introduce the world to lead singer Darius Rucker’s “gruff baritone” AM “backed by Mark Bryan’s muscular guitar.” AZ Rucker’s “delivery lends an authority to Hootie & the Blowfish material that may have been lacking with a weaker singer.” AB He “takes his vocal cues from what Gregg Allman made of blues and soul” RC and his “grit adds an extra layer of substance to a music already deeply comforting in its formal certainties.” RC Both “Hold My Hand” and Let Her Cry “bear an easy-rock hallmark similar to predecessors as diverse as the Allman Brothers and R.E.M.” AM As the second single, “Let Her Cry” showed a bit of a softer side for the band that was embraced even more at pop radio than its predecessor. The song won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance. While the usual trend is for follow-up singles to fall short of the success of earlier singles, Hootie & the Blowfish just continued to grow. Third single Only Wanna Be with You proplelled group to its greatest heights yet. The song went all the way to #1 on the Billboard pop airplay chart. In May 1995, Cracked Rear View reached the top of the Billboard charts, ten months after its initial release.

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AB Michael Spilling (editor) (2015). Best-Selling Albums: From Vinyl Records to Digital Downloads. Amber Books Ltd.: London, United Kingdom. Page 190. AZ Amazon.com review by Barrie Trinkle RC RobertChristgau.com WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 5/25/2012; last updated 11/27/2024.

---

The Allman Brothers Band released Eat a Peach

First posted 4/2/2008; updated 10/17/2020.

Eat a Peach The Allman Brothers Band

Released: February 12, 1972 Charted: March 18, 1972 Peak: 4 US, -- UK, 12 CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: blues rock

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More (4/29/72, #77 US) Les Brers in A Minor Melissa (8/12/72, #86 US) Mountain Jam (live) One Way Out (live) (12/2/72, #86 US) Trouble No More (live) Stand Back Blue Sky Little Martha Total Running Time: 69:24 The Players: Duane Allman (guitar) Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards) Dickey Betts (guitar, lead vocals on “Blue Sky”) Berry Oakley (bass) Jai Johannny Johanson (drums, congas) Butch Trucks (drums, percussion)

Rating: 4.292 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “A tribute to the dearly departed Duane, Eat a Peach rambles…through a side of new songs, recorded post-Duane, spending a full album on live cuts from the Fillmore East sessions, then offering a round of studio tracks Duane completed before his death.” STE “On the first side, they do suggest the mellowness of the Dickey Betts-led Brothers and Sisters, particularly on the lovely Melissa, and this stands in direct contrast with the monumental live cuts that dominate the album. They’re at the best on the punchier covers of One Way Out and Trouble No More, both proof of the group's exceptional talents as a roadhouse blues-rock band, but Duane does get his needed showcase on Mountain Jam, a sprawling 33-minute jam that may feature a lot of great playing, but is certainly a little hard for anyone outside of diehards to sit through.” STE “Apart from that cut, the record showcases the Allmans at their peak, and it’s hard not to feel sad as the acoustic guitars of Little Martha conclude the record, since this tribute isn't just heartfelt, it offers proof of Duane Allman’s immense talents and contribution to the band.” STE On the deluxe edition, “disc two stands as a virtually unreleased concert of the ABB’s final performance at the Fillmore on June 27, 1971 – with Duane, who was killed in October of that year. Two of the disc’s tracks had been previously released – Midnight Rider (on Duane Allman Anthology, Vol. 2) and ‘One Way Out’ (on the original Eat a Peach, which means the track shows up on both discs here).” TJ These two tracks also show up on the deluxe version of At Fillmore East. However, with the exception of those two tracks, this collection serves as At Fillmore East, Vol. 2, capturing the June 27, 1971 performances while the original At Fillmore East gathered recordings from the March 12-13, 1971 shows. Notes: A 2006 deluxe edition added a second disc of live material – “Statesboro Blues,” “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’,” “Done Somebody Wrong,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” “Midnight Rider,” “Hot ‘Lanta,” “Whipping Post,” “You Don’t Love Me,” and another version of “One Way Out.”

Resources and Related Links: The Allman Brothers Band’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide TJ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide - review of deluxe edition