Scattered, Smothered And Covered

Performer: Hootie & the Blowfish
Engineer: Don Dixon; Don Gehman; Doug Trantow; Billy Huelin; John Harris
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Hootie & The Blowfish: Mark Bryan, Darius Rucker (vocals, guitar); Dean Felber (vocals, bass); Jim Sonefeld (vocals, drums, percussion). Additional personnel includes: Edwin McCain (vocals); Jon Nau (keyboards); Craig Shields (baritone saxophone); Gary Greene (percussion). Producers: Don Gehman, Tracy Schroeder, Don Dixon, Mark Williams. Principally recorded at N.R.G. Recording Services, North Hollywood, California and Reflection Studios, Charlotte, North Carolina. Personnel: Mark Bryan (vocals, guitar, mandolin, Wurlitzer organ); Darius Rucker (vocals, guitar); Jim Sonefeld (vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, percussion); Dean Felber (vocals, acoustic guitar); Edwin McCain, Nanci Griffith (vocals); Doug Lancio (guitar); Jamie Hoover (electric 12-string guitar, organ); Peter Holsapple (mandolin); Craig Shields (baritone saxophone); Timothy Sommer (organ); John Nau (keyboards); Gary Greene, Pat McInerney (percussion); Walker Sisters (background vocals). Audio Mixers: David Leonard; Don Dixon; Don Gehman; Doug Trantow. Audio Remixers: Don Gehman; Mark Dearnley. Recording information: N.R.G. Recording Services, North Hollywood, CA; Reflections, Charlotte, NC; Royaltone Studios; The Horseshoe, University Of South Carolina for MTV Unp; The Site, Marin County, CA. Photographers: Elizabeth Stockton; Lorenzo Agius. Still entirely comfortable with their reputation of being the ultimate bar band despite having released a debut that sold around 15 million copies, Hootie & The Blowfish regrouped for their fourth album with a covers record featuring rarities and previously unreleased material. Hipsters may sneer at the unassuming musical delivery and Joe Six-Pack personae, but the band's dedication to its fans extended to spearheading an Internet campaign that found voters picking a third of the songs on this collection. Of the five songs picked by web fiat, artists who get the Hootie treatment include Led Zeppelin (a mandolin-driven "Hey Hey What Can I Do"), The Smiths (a note-perfect "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"), and the New Grass Revival (a harmony-laden "Let Me Be Your Man"). The Hootie selections that round out this surprisingly diverse bag include R.E.M., whose "Driver 8" is given a dirge-like arrangement, and a punky rendition of The Reivers' "Araby" that offers some redemption. Darius Rucker's soulful baritone continues to keep the Blowfish afloat and is best utilized on a rich reading of Roy Orbison's "Dream Baby," complete with Jordanaires-like harmonizing.

No Depression (3-4/01, p.115) - "...The guests bring some welcome variety, and along with the strong undercurrents of blues and country...it all combines to make this an unusually strong effort..."

Hootie & the Blowfish burst out of the grass-roots southern rock scene in the mid-1990s, but their panoramic, All-American pop-rock sound was more influenced by John Mellencamp than by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band's distinguishing feature was the robust, booming voice of Darius Rucker (no, he wasn't "Hootie"), and their sunny, straightforward sound connected in a big way with audiences weary of grunge bleakness.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25