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Musical Chairs

Artist: Hootie & the Blowfish
Genre: Alternative
Year: 1998
Rating: 7 / 10

Hootie & the Blowfish were the talk of the town when they burst onto the scene in 1994 with their debut smash cracked rear view. Featuring chart-topping singles like "Let Her Cry," "Hold My Hand," and "Time," this album became the best-selling debut of all-time, surpassing Boston's self-titled initial effort. Understandably, the excitement level for Hootie's follow-up, fairweather johnson, reached its crescendo in the spring of 1996. Showcasing a more critically-acclaimed sound, the band's sophomore album nonetheless lacked the mass appeal of cracked rear view, or that album's catchy pop jingles. Happily, with the release of Musical Chairs, Hootie & the Blowfish are back, and while not nearly at the level of their early music, the band has clearly taken a step in the right direction.

Musical Chairs, the third release from this popular Southern quartet, features a sampling of both previous albums as well as a slightly new direction for the band. Slower ballads like "Las Vegas Nights" and "Only Lonely" clearly belong with the set list from fairweather johnson, yet they serve as a credible sampling of the places the band has been in the past. "I Will Wait," the first song released to radio, harkens fans back to the days of Hootie's sing-along pop tunes. For the new Hootie & the Blowfish fan, these songs represent the wide variety of music the band has presented to its fans over the last four years. It is the fresh angle the band presents with the rest of its songs that indicates that the band's best days may not be behind it.

When Hootie & the Blowfish released "Old Man & Me" from fairweather johnson, I had visions of an exceptional follow-up album. The band appeared to have reinvented itself, while nonetheless maintaining its hold on the public's adoration, much as U2 had when it shifted gears between Rattle & Hum and Achtung Baby. Unfortunately, fairweather johnson failed to live up to the initial promise. Musical Chairs, on the other hand, finally delivers on the promise made two years prior. "Wishing" and "Bluesy Revolution" pick up where "Old Man & Me" left off, delivering all of the band's original pep while subtracting the excessive pop nature. Songs like "Desert Mountain Showdown" remind us that the band is still capable of some surprises, tossing the fans a folk charmer. In the end, the album is a welcome return for one of the 1990s' most successful bands.

Submitted 9/17/98.