| Fairweather Johnson | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 23, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Studio | The Site, San Rafael, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:20 | |||
| Label | Atlantic 82886-2 | |||
| Producer | Don Gehman | |||
| Hootie & the Blowfish chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Fairweather Johnson | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau |  [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[3] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [4] |
| Rolling Stone | [1] |
Fairweather Johnson is the second studio album by American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, released on April 23, 1996, through Atlantic Records. Three songs from the album were released as singles: "Old Man & Me", "Tucker's Town", and "Sad Caper". The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in May 1996, while their debut, Cracked Rear View, was still in the charts. It has sold 2,361,000 copies in the US as of May 2012.[6]
Despite its initial success, sales tapered off quickly, and the album earned mixed reviews; much of the criticism took aim at the album's dour, alt-rock inspired sound as opposed to the jangly radio-friendly style of Cracked Rear View. It was included in Pitchfork Media's 2010 list of "ten career-killing albums" of the 1990s.[7] Stylus Magazine shared sentiments, including it in their "Non-Definitive Guide to the Follow-Up", saying "really, everyone saw this one coming a mile off. Who was really gonna care about another Hootie album?"[8]
Track listing
[edit]All songs written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld.
- "Be the One" – 3:25
- "Sad Caper" – 2:49
- "Tucker's Town" – 3:45
- "She Crawls Away" – 4:25
- "So Strange" – 4:03
- "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" – 4:27
- "Earth Stopped Cold at Dawn" – 3:27
- "Fairweather Johnson" – 0:51
- "Honeyscrew" – 3:36
- "Let It Breathe" – 3:53
- "Silly Little Pop Song" – 2:56
- "Fool" – 3:05
- "Tootie" – 3:04
- "When I'm Lonely" – 5:34
Personnel
[edit]Hootie & the Blowfish
- Darius Rucker – lead vocals, guitar, Dobro
- Mark Bryan – guitar, backing vocals, mandolin, piano
- Dean Felber – bass, backing vocals
- Jim Sonefeld – drums, backing vocals, percussion, piano
Other musicians
- Dean Dinning – harmony vocals (track 11)
- Nanci Griffith – harmony vocals (tracks 5, 7)
- Randy Guss – tambourine (track 4)
- Lili Haydn – viola (tracks 7, 13)
- Peter Holsapple – accordion (tracks 4, 12), Hammond organ (track 3), piano (track 5)
- John Nau – Fender Rhodes (track 10), Hammond organ (tracks 1, 3, 4–6, 10, 12, 14), piano (track 2)
- Cary Phillips – infant roar (track 4)
- Glen Phillips – harmony vocals (tracks 4, 11)
- Michael Severens – cello (tracks 7, 13)
Production
- John Clark – photography
- Don Gehman – engineering, mixing, production
- Ethan Hill – photography
- Phyllis Leibowitz – stylist
- Benjamin Niles – art direction
- Eddy Schreyer – mastering
Chart positions
[edit]| Chart (1996)[9] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums chart | 12 |
| Canadian Albums chart[10] | 6 |
| Dutch Albums chart | 37 |
| German Albums chart | 41 |
| New Zealand Albums chart | 6 |
| Scottish Albums chart[11] | 9 |
| Swedish Albums chart | 36 |
| Swiss Albums chart | 37 |
| UK Albums chart | 9 |
| US Billboard 200 | 1 |
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[12] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[14] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b Fricke, David (1996-12-02). "Hootie & the Blowfish: Fairweather Johnson : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
- ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Fairweather Johnson - Hootie & the Blowfish". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
- ^ Browne, David (April 26, 1996). "Music Review: 'Fairweather Johnson'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ^ Hochman, Steve (1996-04-21). "Hootie Doesn't Blow It". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
- ^ "CG: Artist 590". Robert Christgau. 1996-08-06. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
- ^ Paul Grein (May 16, 2012). "Chart Watch Extra: Following Up A Monster". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch).
- ^ "A Feature About Nothing: The 1990s in Lists". Pitchfork.
- ^ "The Non-Definitive Guide to the Follow-Up - Article - Stylus Magazine". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
- ^ "Hootie & The Blowfish - Fairweather Johnson - hitparade.ch". swisscharts.com.
- ^ "Canadian Album peak". Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Hootie & The Blowfish – Fairweather Johnson". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
- ^ "British album certifications – Hootie & The Blowfish – Fairweather Johnson". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – Hootie & The Blowfish – Fairweather Johnson". Recording Industry Association of America.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Fairweather Johnson at Discogs (list of releases)
- Fairweather Johnson at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
