In 2005, two years after their self-titled album, Hootie & the Blowfish released their fifth — and to date, final — album of original material, Looking For Lucky.
The band returned to producer Don Gehman for this effort, and for the first time brought on additional songwriters for some tracks. Some of these songs hint at Darius Rucker’s move into country music, with a strong bluegrass influence and a number of religious references.
Looking For Lucky is one of the best sounding albums in Hootie’s catalog, and the songs are well-crafted and performed in the band’s typical fashion.
My biggest takeaway from this Hootie deep dive is that the band is remarkably consistent. If their debut album hadn’t been so extraordinarily popular, setting them up for the inevitable backlash and fall, they could have churned out successful pop-rock records for decades.
Instead, the band went on hiatus after Looking For Lucky and Rucker began his foray into country music. He found a lot of success there, scoring hit songs and a Grammy win. In 2012, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
In early 2019, the 25th anniversary of Cracked Rear View, Hootie & the Blowfish has embarked on a very successful U.S. tour. They plan to release a new album later this year.
Began then came and went
Keeps coming back around to haunt you in the end
You think we’re fighting now
It’s all the same somehow
Love’s tortured artist wrecks the masterpiece again
Used to be clear what the looking glass said
Now everything’s hazy baby, nothing’s making sense
Hey sister pretty, your lips are on the city
Everybody’s waiting for the honeymoon to end
I’m still trying to stop this thing from dying
Don’t forget to kiss me before you beat me up again
Nothing so powerful yet so frustrating
Nothing so personal as a gift that’s from your heart
Nothing so damaging so devastating
Nothing so close yet so far apart
It used to be clear what the looking glass said
Now everything’s hazy baby, nothing’s making sense
Hey sister pretty, your lips are on the city
Everybody’s waiting for the honeymoon to end
I’m still trying to stop this thing from dying
Don’t forget to kiss me before you beat me up again
Hey sister pretty, your lips are on the city
Everybody’s waiting for the honeymoon to end
I’m still trying to stop this thing from dying
Don’t forget to kiss me before you beat me up again
Don’t forget to kiss me before you beat me up you beat me up again
It would be very cool if Hootie could have success with their upcoming album release. I suggest some tracks featuring Adam Levine, DJ Khalid and Ed Sheeran might do the trick.😊
Ooh, I love the idea of them mixing it up with some contemporary hit makers. How about Lil Nas X?
Lil Nas X would be a natural given his crossover with country.