This monumental record is currently the tenth best-selling album of all time in the U.S., certified 21x Platinum by the RIAA since its 1994 debut, as well as the best-selling debut album of all time.
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This Deluxe edition is packed with rare recordings including early versions of many of their biggest hits recorded in 1990 and 1991 and only available previously on cassettes sold at their live shows; the band's five-song 1992 Kootchypop EP; and other unreleased and rare studio tracks. It also boasts a live recording of the band's February 3, 1995 concert at Nick's Fat City in Pittsburgh, PA. Recorded just a few weeks afterCracked Rear Viewwas certified Gold, most of the concert has never been released, including performances of "I Go Blind," "Hold My Hand" and a cover of "Love The One You're With."
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In the liner notes, Tom Sommer, who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1993 writes: "On stage, Hootie & the Blowfish really sought to combine the intimacy, sensitivity, and whirling dervish qualities of 1980s R.E.M. with the muscular he-man-ism of Springsteen and the E Street Band ... The Pittsburgh set captures all this rather wonderfully."