Hootie No More

Jumping back into the country scene for a bit, I wanted to touch on one of my favorite artists that could be considered fairly new to country.  The one time lead vocalist for none other than Hootie & The Blowfish, Darius Rucker has slowly...but surely made his transition into the world of country.  Darius originally leading a band whose mainstream popish/rock wooed audience all throughout the 90s.  Two of the most popular and successful songs they had were: 

This a live recording of them playing at a show named Farm Aid ('03)...

...and my personal favorite

Darius has this really amazing quality about his voice.  It has heavy soul influences and has a rough aspect to it, yet at the same time it also has this really smooth and relaxing tone to it as well.  But this not only works with the rock that he was producing but also with his new found country affliction.  His first country album, entitled "Learn To Live," was released in 2008, and his second, "Charleston, SC 1966," in 2010.  A few singles have been released in the process including the one and only "Wagon Wheel," (for those of you that aren't country fans, Wagon Wheel was originally an "unfinished sketch" by Bob Dylan ("Rock Me Mama") but recorded and made famous by folk/country band Old Crow Medicine Show in 2004).  In my opinion, Darius' version is by far the best.  He also fits quite nicely into the country scene with another one of my personal favorites: "Drinkin' And Dialin'," not taking any time to make a new original song just like all of the other "original" drinking songs... regardless I still really like it.

The funny thing about it is, is that I don't really care for the country songs of his that were showed off as singles on country radio, but besides that I think that he really is one of the better mainstream country artists of today.

-Brooks Gonzales