Fairweather Johnson is one of those CDs that you buy because you like the one or two songs played on the radio, but you're fully prepared to hate the rest of it and be ok with that. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that I loved the majority of songs on this CD. I saw a VH1 special where Hootie played these songs acoustically, and it was wonderful and convinced me to buy the CD. Now, it's one of my CD changer regulars--the ones where you can listen to the entire CD without constantly reaching for the remote to skip songs. My personal favorites are "Earth Stopped Cold at Dawn" and "Let It Breathe." The CD is mellow in most places, but it reflects a maturation in song writing ability compared with Cracked Rear View. Those looking for a repeat of Cracked will be sorely disappointed. Johnson has much more depth and emotion. This just may be Hootie's best CD of all.