Hootie & the Blowfish: Cracked Rear View : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Dominating this hugely appealing major-label debut, Darius Rucker's voice is a thrilling discovery: Big and bluesy, it's a force of nature. The South Carolina band, together since 1989, lends an unapologetically love and peace worldview (their hit "Hold My Hand" updates the sentiments of the Youngbloods' "Get Together") to fat, folk-derived, group-written guitar rock; their absolute lack of irony is as refreshing as their sing-along hooks. But it's from the darker, more introspective numbers ("Goodbye," "Not Even the Trees") that real inspiration shouts out. Rucker comes across as the archetypal soulman, his exuberance completely convincing.