Hootie & the Blowfish - Scattered, Smothered and Covered

It's easy to make fun of Hootie & The Blowfish because they are what everyone says they are -- a bar band made good. Since they were a bar band from the early '90s, it shouldn't come as a surprise that they knocked out Smiths and R.e.m. covers along with songs from the Led Zeppelin and Bill Withers songbooks -- this was the music of the time, and they were a band of their time. All of this surfaces on their B-sides and rarities collection, Scattered, Smothered And Covered. As these 15 songs bounce between covers and tuneful originals slightly less memorable than their big hits, it occurs to you that this must be how Hootie & The Blowfish sounded in Southern college bars before they recorded Cracked Rear View -- they're amiable, good-humored, earnest, and likable. Read More