Looking for Lucky

1	State Your Peace 3:37
2	Hey Sister Pretty 3:25
3	The Killing Stone 4:27
4	Get Out of My Mind 2:58
5	Another Year's Gone By 3:44
6	Can I See You 3:38
7	A Smile 3:49
8	One Love 4:06
9	Leaving 2:35
10	Autumn Jones 3:27
11	Free to Everyone 3:23
12	Waltz into Me 3:14

Barnes & Noble

Spending a few years out of the public eye can push a band in one of two directions -- a stylistic U-turn made in the hopes of attracting a whole new set of listeners or a retrenchment that affirms the substance of what initially drew folks into the fold. Darius Rucker and company take the latter approach on this comeback disc, which retains the warmth and amiability of their initial spate of releases while ever-so-slightly ratcheting up the southern-ness that always lurked beneath the surface. That might have something to do with the fact that the Blowfish boys called upon some of Nashville's bigger songwriting names to collaborate on Lucky's dozen songs. Collaborators include Radney Foster, Trick Pony's Keith Burns, and Matraca Berg, who pitches in on the rough-hewn "The Killing Stone," a severe, Appalachian-tinged indictment of religious hypocrisy. While the country element at times overwhelms the proceedings, as on the mandolin-and-fiddle led "Leaving," most of the disc's material interpolates Nashville's influence beautifully. "Autumn Jones," for instance, wafts along in a gentle Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell fashion, while "State Your Peace" kicks in forcefully à la mid-period Jayhawks. Rucker's voice is as invitingly burnished as ever, and his bandmates haven't forgotten the crowd-pleasing lessons they learned on the bar circuit way back when -- making Looking for Lucky a mighty fortuitous homecoming for Hootie-philes of all stripes. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Hootie & the Blowfish's fifth studio effort is the first to feature extensive co-songwriting credits, as well as a few well-placed guest musicians. Recording Looking for Lucky in Nashville after wrapping up the tour for their 2004 Best Of set, Hootie & the Blowfish were joined by Fairweather Johnson producer Don Gehman as well as engineer Nick Brophy, who contributed some programming and "great noises" to the songs. That doesn't mean Darius Rucker is suddenly singing through a vocoder, or Jim Sonefeld has been replaced by the tinfoil prattle of electronic percussion. No way. Hootie & the Blowfish sound as natural as ever on Looking for Lucky, their ear for melody intact through a slick 12-song set of rootsy pop with insightful nods to country, blues, and gospel. Brophy's work is clear on "Hey Sister Pretty," where a guitar effect broods behind the main vocal and the song is mixed like a single from Train or Better Than Ezra. Rucker still sings in that rousing baritone, and the harmonies and acoustic strum tag it as Hootie. But the band's sound benefits from the slight makeover -- nothing fancy, just a slight tweak toward modernization. Elsewhere on Lucky, additional songwriting from folks like Matraca Berg and the Silos' Walter Salas-Humara brings more depth to the lyrics and arrangements. So "Smile" gives Rucker a chance to sing in a slightly higher register, while "Leaving" is a gently mischievous hybrid of progressive bluegrass and pop with New Grass Revival members Sam Bush and John Cowan guesting on mandolin, fiddle, and vocals. Other Looking for Lucky highlights include John Hobbs' organ on "Get Out of My Mind" adding punch to its already bustling chorus -- "Mind" also finds Rucker drinking alone again -- and the evocative "Killing Stone," the collaboration with Berg, which would fit nicely on a contemporary country album. Johnny Loftus