The robust new box will be available on CD & LP
Hootie & the Blowfish will unveil a robust and comprehensive new box set, The Atlantic Years 1994-2003, on January 24th. It will be available in multiple configurations, including a 5 CD set and a 6 LP set, the latter exclusively at rhino.com.
The box set presents the group’s seminal albums released on Atlantic Records in one essential package. The 6 LP configuration boasts their definitive RIAA 22x platinum-certified history-making debut, Cracked Rear View, the triple platinum Fairweather Johnson, and the platinum Musical Chairs, the latter two both pressed on vinyl for the first time in over 25 years. The set also includes two titles never-before-available on vinyl, namely the covers album Scattered, Smothered and Covered and the self-titled Hootie & the Blowfish.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Cracked Rear View stands out as one of the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time, “the highest-certified debut album of all-time,” according to the RIAA, and a cornerstone of the modern zeitgeist. Released on July 5, 1994, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and moved over 22 million copies and counting. The album propelled the band to the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for “Let Her Cry.” With additional iconic songs, including “Hold My Hand,” “Only Wanna Be With You,” and “Time,” the album has impressively generated over one billion streams and counting.
On its heels, Fairweather Johnson bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and yielded “Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)” and “Tucker’s Town,” while Musical Chairs saw the band return to the Top 5. Scattered, Smothered and Covered notably comprised covers of everyone from Led Zeppelin, Roy Orbison, and The Smiths to R.E.M., Tom Waits, and Bill Withers. The band’s 2003 self-titled album, Hootie & the Blowfish, marked their final release with Atlantic Records. The album boasted irresistible sing-along tracks like “Deeper Side” and “Little Darlin’” alongside power ballads like “Rain Song” featuring vocals from The Bangles’ guitarist Vicki Peterson and Continental Drifters’ co-founder Susan Cowsill.
