Blogcritics: Comments on Hootie and the Blowfish: Looking for Lucky Review

Comment by Matt Paprocki

Tue, 9 Aug 2005 17:02:16 EDT

Just received the B Sides disc that came with pre-orders. While Ride Along belongs here for all its cheesy goodness (probably their biggest guiltly pleasure ever), I Deal should have been on the album, replacing Killing Stone. It's a great song, and it's worth tracking this disc down if you can find it. They may still include it with orders.

Comment by uao

Tue, 9 Aug 2005 00:09:52 EDT

oops, meant "Hootie" not "Hottie" up there. I wasn't talking about confirming those kind of suspicions.

Comment by uao

Tue, 9 Aug 2005 00:08:47 EDT

This will confirm some people's worst suspicions about me, but I've always thought old Hottie and the Blowfish were unfairly slagged on during their whole existence. For what they are, a bar band, they've put together quite a little body of what the reviewer calls "enjoyable, addictive, and easy to listen to" music, an apt desciption I won't quibble with. Which is why they've always taken so much guff since their debut. It's not like they've ever pretended to be Nirvana, or Phish, or Smashing Pumpkins or anything. They do play well together, Rucker's voice ia affable enough and has enough grit to carry a well-constructed roots rock song. They're not deep, not intellectual, not arty, not tough, not edgy; but consistently melodic, vaguely soulful, traditionalist, unpretentious-- not bad things. I have some Hootie and The Blowfish in my 18,000 tune randomplay, not a lot, but a couple dozen. When "Old Man And Me" comes on, it'll sometimes get me singing along. Hope their new album is good. The poor guy was doing Burger King ads in the Spring.