Musical Chairs

CD

Folks tend to speak of populist folk-popsters Hootie & the Blowfish in surface terms. The first album, Cracked Rear View, they'll tell you, sold 15 million copies. Second disc, tsk, tsk--only a measly couple million--a real failure for this supposed supergroup. And now, for entry three, the pressure's on: Will Hootie reclaim the multi-platinum throne? But the lens is horribly out of focus here. The songs on Musical Chairs--rife with chiming Americana hooks, swimming in the rich, woodsy warble of one of modern rock's most definitive voices, Darius Rucker--are every bit as aesthetically sound, warm, and hometown charming as those that catapulted the band to fame. Who--outside of Atlantic Records bean counters--truly cares how much this one sells? From the opening feel-good affirmation "I Will Wait" through the punky pounder "Wishing" and the Calypso-flavored "Las Vegas Nights," to the gospel-jangled familial recollections "Home Again" and "One by One," this is one subtly beautiful effort, the kind that creeps up on you with each listening. The more you play it, in fact, the less you worry about how many of your peers have purchased it already. Put the calculator away. Enjoy great music the way it should be enjoyed--eyes shut and smiling. --Tom Lanham