A little Hootie goes a long way

Seafood, yes. This much Blowfish, no. The release of this album promised to bring back memories of the good ol' middle school days when "Hold My Hand" was the anthem and "Let Her Cry" touched your soul. And it does. But nostalgia can only last so long. \nBy definition, a "best of" album includes all the work fans have heard before, so the choice of what to include in such a compilation is key. But Hootie & the Blowfish seem to be more concerned about attracting listeners with titles they recognize than with putting together something reflecting their greatest achievements.\nWhile the album is dominated by the big hits, it does throw some surprises into the mix. A soulful cover of "Use Me" is the highlight of the album, pulled from a less-successful record -- Scattered, Smothered and Covered. \nDisappointing, though, is the choice to include "Goodbye Girl," the title track to the TNT remake of the same name. Most would agree singing the theme song to a made-for-TV movie isn't exactly the high point of any band's career. Granted, it's not a bad song -- but it's not exactly "best of"-worthy either.\nSo while it's fun to relive memories through the music of one of the '90s more popular bands, a little Hootie can go a long way, and a Kazaa playlist can provide pretty much the same experience.