Description
Hootie & the Blowfish are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band's debut album, Cracked Rear View, this year. The monumental record is currently the tenth best-selling album of all time in the U.S., certified 21x Platinum by the RIAA since its 1994 debut, as well as the best-selling debut album of all time. To commemorate the anniversary, the band will release two new versions of the monumental album with remastered, rare, and unreleased audio on May 31 in conjunction with the launch of their extensive North American Group Therapy Tour on May 30.

CRACKED REAR VIEW: 25th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION will be available from Rhino as a 3-CD/DVD Deluxe Edition set on May 31. A 2-CD Expanded Edition will also be available on the same day.

The 3-CD/DVD Deluxe Edition includes a newly remastered version of the original album, rare and unreleased studio and live recordings, plus a DVD with surround sound mixes, the original music videos from the album and more. The set also comes with extensive liner notes written by Tim Sommer, who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1993.

The band - Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld - recorded Cracked Rear View at NRG Studios in Los Angeles with producer Don Gehman. Released on July 5, 1994, the album became a musical phenomenon, topping the album charts in Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S., where it reached #1 five different times during 1995.

The album generated four massive singles: "Hold My Hand," "Only Wanna Be With You," "Time," and "Let Her Cry," which earned Hootie & the Blowfish a Grammy® Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group and also saw them recognized as Best New Pop Group by the Grammy® Awards.

Both new versions of CRACKED REAR VIEW are packed with rare recordings. Among the highlights are early versions of many of their biggest hits recorded in 1990 and 1991 and only available previously on cassettes sold at their live shows; the band's five-song 1992 Kootchypop EP; and other unreleased and rare studio tracks.

The Deluxe Edition of CRACKED REAR VIEW also boasts a live recording of the band's February 3, 1995 concert at Nick's Fat City in Pittsburgh, PA. Recorded just a few weeks after Cracked Rear View was certified Gold, most of the concert has never been released, including performances of "I Go Blind," "Hold My Hand" and a cover of "Love The One You're With."

In the liner notes, Sommer writes: "On stage, Hootie & the Blowfish really sought to combine the intimacy, sensitivity, and whirling dervish qualities of 1980s R.E.M. with the muscular he-man-ism of Springsteen and the E Street Band ... The Pittsburgh set captures all this rather wonderfully."

The Deluxe Edition DVD includes a 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the original album and 24/96 stereo mixes of five bonus tracks. It also features music videos for "Time," "Let Her Cry" and three more songs.

Tracklist
[CD1: Original Album Remastered]
1. Hannah Jane
2. Hold My Hand
3. Let Her Cry
4. Only Wanna Be With You
5. Running From An Angel
6. I'm Goin' Home
7. Drowning
8. Time
9. Look Away
10. Not Even The Trees
11. Goodbye

[CD2: B-sides, Outtakes, Pre-LP Independent Recording]
1. All That I Believe *
2. I Go Blind
3. Almost Home
4. Fine Line
5. Where Were You
6. Hey, Hey What Can I Do
7. The Old Man And Me - Kootchypop Version
8. Hold My Hand - Kootchypop Version
9. If You're Going My Way - Kootchypop Version
10. Sorry's Not Enough - Kootchypop Version
11. Only Wanna Be With You - Kootchypop Version
12. Running From An Angel - 1991 Version
13. Time - 1991 Version
14. Let Her Cry - 1991 Version
15. Drowning - 1991 Version
16. I Don't Understand
17. Little Girl
18. Look Away - 1990 Version
19. Let My People Go
20. Hold My Hand - 1990 Version

[CD3: Live at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA, February 3, 1995]
1. Hannah Jane
2. I Go Blind *
3. Not Even The Trees *
4. If You're Going My Way *
5. Look Away *
6. Fine Line *
7. Let Her Cry *
8. Motherless Child *
9. I'm Goin' Home *
10. Use Me
11. Running From An Angel *
12. Sorry's Not Enough *
13. Drowning *
14. The Old Man and Me *
15. Only Wanna Be With You *
16. Time *
17. Goodbye *
18. The Ballad of John and Yoko
19. Hold My Hand *
20. Love The One You're With *

[DVD]
5.1 Surround Sound Mix Of The Original Album:
1. Hannah Jane
2. Hold My Hand
3. Let Her Cry
4. Only Wanna Be With You
5. Running From An Angel
6. I'm Goin' Home
7. Drowning
8. Time
9. Look Away
10. Not Even The Trees
11. Goodbye
Hi-Res 24/96 Bonus Tracks:
1. All That I Believe
2. I Go Blind
3. Almost Home
4. Fine Line
5. Where Were You
The Videos:
1. Hold My Hand
2. Let Her Cry
3. Only Wanna Be With You
4. Time
5. Drowning - Live

*previously unreleased

3CD/1DVD Deluxe Edition (shown above)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QKGK3JG/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07QKGK3JG/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QKGK3JG/?tag=imwan-21

2CD Expanded Edition (contains CD1 and CD2 only)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QDVVJP4/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07QDVVJP4/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QDVVJP4/?tag=imwan-21

Looks like a nicely curated package.

IIRC, there were a couple of loose Christmas tracks around this time, something that could have been added, but otherwise it looks very good.

crosby sings on this.

and hootie sings everything flat.

Would love to have all these extra tracks from my homies (and fellow Gamecocks) on CD. Still remember the massive crowd for their release day in-store at Manifest Records in Columbia. I'm totally in for the 4-disc package. Might even be able to sell my original Kootchypop EP to pay for it.

The USA pre-order price for the big 3CD/1DVD has dropped by one third (!) and is now down to $39.98:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QKGK3JG/?tag=imwan-20

Even better is the initial pre-order price at Amazon UK, £19.57:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QKGK3JG/?tag=imwan-21

I spent a lot of time at Nick's Fat City around that time, but didn't catch them there. It seems like they would have been on to bigger venues by that date too.

A sample:

And a couple more:

This one is down to £18.18 at Amazon UK now (about $24 including shipping to the US). I couldn't resist at that price.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QKGK3JG/?tag=imwan-21

I don't always understand how the whole region things work. Would there be a problem getting this one from the UK when living in the US? Is there any R2 issues here?

The DVD is NTSC/Region 0 and will work just fine on North American players.

Thanks Linda...as always! It helps to have a librarian around.

The UK price for the 3CD/1DVD set has dropped further -- currently £16.99:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QKGK3JG/?tag=imwan-21

I've enjoyed my copy of this. Brings back many good memories. The live disc is pretty sloppy (read: it sounds just like they did while playing in Columbia, SC, bars and clubs in the early '90s), but a couple of the previously unreleased live covers and the entire second disc make it well worth the price. At £17/$21 bucks or so, it's a steal.

Don't sell your EP unless you are desperate, it will sound better than the new set in all likelihood. I would buy it if the price was fair.
I never thought I would spend another dime on Hootie but the price is decent.

I do thank them for providing some royalties to 54:40.

I love both versions of "I Go Blind." What an excellent song.

I am sure they made more money from that cover than the rest of their career combined.