Hootie & the Blowfish: Scattered, Smothered And Covered : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

You have to admit: the idea of Hootie and the Blowfish covering the Smiths' "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" is some kind of mind-blower. Morrissey is probably hiding under a couch somewhere right this minute, cringing as Darius Rucker turns the fey Brit ballad into pure Southern-rock corn. Say what you like about the Hootie dudes, but this covers compilation reveals them as an honorable South Carolina bar band that has survived its run-in with pop success by keeping its easygoing humor intact. Some of the selections get sluggish, but when the mighty Blowfish men bang out Led Zeppelin and Bill Withers classics, they prove that if they ever choose to return to their roots, they'll always have a future on the keg-party circuit. And if there's any justice, Morrissey will return the favor with a dramatic interpretation of "Only Wanna Be With You."