Hootie & the Blowfish - Cracked Rear View

Hootie & the Blowfish's debut album, Cracked Rear View, was the success story of 1994/1995, selling over 12 million copies. It's a startling, large number, especially for a new band, but in some ways, the success of the record isn't that surprising. Although Hootie & the Blowfish aren't innovative, they deliver the goods, turning out an album of solid, rootsy folk-rock songs that have simple, powerful hooks. "Hold My Hand" has a singalong chorus that epitomizes the band's good-times vibes. None of the tracks transcend their generic status, but they are strong songs for their genre, with crisp chords and bright melodies. Still, the songs wouldn't be convincing without the emotive vocals of Darius Rucker, whose gruff baritone has more grit than the actual songs. 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, and that's why Cracked Rear View was a major success. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Darius Rucker Vocals, Guitar (Acoustic), Percussion David Crosby Vocals (Background) Dean Felber Piano, Vocals, Clavinet, Guitar (Bass) Don Gehman Producer, Engineer, Mixing Eddy Schreyer Mastering Gena Maria Rankin Production Coordination Gloria Gabriel Producer Jean Cronin Art Direction Jim Sonefeld Vocals, Piano, Drums, Percussion, Glasses John Nau Piano, Organ (Hammond) Lili Haydn Viola Liz Sroka Mixing Assistant Mike McLaughlin Photography Wade Norton Assistant Engineer