Fairweather Johnson
I think this album is often overlooked and somewhat unfairly. Yes, it was a popularity killer for Hootie. Although overplay on the radio, an apparently long forgotten problem of the past for stations like The Beat, bares most of the blame. It was a departure from the upbeat Cracked Rear View but different doesn’t mean worse; although Cracked is better Fairweather has a great appeal of its own.
The band was feeling and writing about different things, specifically being on the road away from their families. It’s different but emotionally and musically rich and deep. They explore a different, darker place and that takes guts.
Be The One
Lyrically intriguing, partly because Darius mumbles so much there’s about 80 thousand ways to interpret the song. But who hasn’t at one time or another felt like that line at the end?
Sad Caper
A more upbeat tempo still works with serious subject matter which has some interesting juxtaposition “it’s like sometimes you want to see the rain but the sun gets in your eyes“
Old Man & Me
An admittedly unremarkable song this probably sounds most like their previous album so on those grounds I guess it provides a transition but you never find yourself craving this song like you do others from this album.
Earth Stopped Cold At Dawn
What a beautiful song, easily one of my all-time favorites. This is one of those songs you crave if you go too long without hearing it. Nothing else sounds like it. The harmony is unique and fantastic, the lyrics deep.
Honeyscrew
This song has perhaps the most intriguing line of the entire album, “don’t let the sun make me feel lonely“. Anger, sadness, and religion; at the time a somewhat new departure for Hootie but it just broadens the timelessness of their appeal with the variety and depth of the subject matter.
Let It Breathe
Regret and frustration seem to be heavy themes here.
Silly Little Pop Song
Another lyrically interesting song, the title has virtually nothing to do with the song. Title comes from an odd occurrence during the songwriting process in which they’d sit down with the intention of writing a 5 minute rock song but always come out of it with a 3 minute pop song; makes it hard to remember it when you’re going through your mp3s.
Fool
Like so much of this album, you can only enjoy this song alone. It’s cathartic to sing along, “There’s so much I feel, so much I conceal, there’s just so many things I can be“. I also like the reference to my favorite, favorite Hootie song of all time Not Even The Trees, “can’t write the story from the trees, about some lady who’s watching me saying “boy carry your load”“. This is all clearly evidence of a more matured, nuanced songwriting that speaks to real emotions rarely addressed in song.
When I’m Lonely
Another fantastic song; singing along can be cathartic.
Tucker’s Town
A disappointing song with a horrible video made because they lost a bet that to this day makes me wonder if they gave up on taking their careers seriously; a rare miss for Hootie.
So Strange
I’m going to sound like a broken record because so many of these songs are lyrically interesting, this one included. “If you can’t find the warmth in my summer, if you can’t find the light in my day, I just look to my friends and we’ll see all our troubles away“
She Crawls Away
Classic example of misinterpreted lyrics, people tend to think it’s about a woman who treated him poorly, perhaps with an addiction problem - but it’s about his daughter. How many artists write about how awesome it is to be a father? I think every father sees a little of themselves in this song. “It’s like the sun goes down when she crawls away“
Tootie
It’s one of the sweetest songs of all time with one of the weirdest names but uniquely fantastic.
Overall it’s an album that, once you’re exposed to it, you’ll find yourself returning to for years.
