Gutterflower's Front Cover

“Gutterflower” was to be the first album the Goo Goo Dolls released after the acclaimed “Dizzy Up The Girl”, the CD that gave us “Iris” and “Slide”. This time around the tone is much starker because John Rzeznik was going through a divorce, and broken sentiments surface at every turn. Leaving aside these songs about disillusionment and loyalty lost, there are two songs that describe the way he felt when moving from Buffalo to LA. They are the single “Big Machine” and “What A Scene”.

The other singles were to include “Here Is Gone”, the closest to the hit formula they had established in the previous record, and “Sympathy”. “Sympathy” is one of the few all-acoustic songs that they were to release as a single, and it is equally enticing on the album as it is when listened to on its own. The song treats disenchantment like the remaining tunes within the album, wondering in which measure the failure of a relationship is down to each person. The conclusion seems to be that both are equally to blame, yet they are incapable of admitting it. Nietzsche used to say that the one who loves the most is the most damaging person since he or she tends to request impossible thing from his/her loved one at every turn. And the majority of songs on offer here (“Think About Me”, “What Do You Want”, “Truth Is A Whisper”) do nothing but bring that to mind time and again.

On the other hand, Robby offers up 4 songs. They mostly reinforce the overall mood of the album (“You Never Know”), yet he also contributes the uplifting “Up, Up, Up” and “Smash”. But on the whole, the album feels like Johnny’s show. Robby songs are also shorter, and it is John the one who closes the album with “Truth Is A Whisper”.

As a conclusion, we could say that “Gutterflower” is an unexpected development of the formula that had worked so well the previous time around. It is unexpected if only because the sound remains but the content has changed drastically. Such a change is not deliberate, of course. It is the kind of change motivated by (to quote Dylan) a “simple twist of fate” – yet to the one affected by it, everything is but simple. “The truth is so complicated now”, John sings. These complications resulted in this album. And it is a solid one, if you ask me. Those of you who liked “Dizzy Up The Girl” are going to enjoy it. But I think you would like the one that came after this one (“Let Love In”) best.

Rating: 7.5/10

For a general introduction to this compilation album go here.

The CD has 22 songs. I feel it is interesting to provide you with the track list, along with the album that each song was originally found in.

Bullet Proof              (Dizzy Up The Girl)
All Eyes on Me         (Dizzy Up The Girl)
Amigone                      (Dizzy Up The Girl)
Acoustic #3             (Dizzy Up The Girl)
Naked                           (A Boy Named Goo)
Ain’t That Unusual        (A Boy Named Goo)
Burnin’ Up                (A Boy Named Goo)
Flat Top                  (A Boy Named Goo)
Eyes Wide Open        (A Boy Named Goo)
Fallin’ Down            (Superstar Car Wash)
Another Second Time Around   (Superstar Car Wash)
Cuz You’re Gone        (Superstar Car Wash)
We Are the Normal        (Superstar Car Wash)
Girl Right Next to Me        (Superstar Car Wash)
Lucky Star            (Superstar Car Wash)
On the Lie            (Superstar Car Wash)
Just the Way You Are        (Hold Me Up)
Two Days in February    (Hold Me Up)
Laughing                      (Hold Me Up)
There You Are            (Hold Me Up)
Up Yours                              (Jed)
I’m Addicted            (Goo Goo Dolls)

As you have just noticed, there is only a song apiece from their earliest releases. That is something that (from what I have heard so far) is hard to object to, especially if you climbed aboard the Goo’s train around the time of “Iris”. These songs are mere curiosities and little else.

The albums that are better-represented are the ones whose sound will win you over like “Name”, “Slide” or “Iris” did, and these songs roughly make up half the CD.

The “Dizzy Up The Girl” material in particular works very well, and more than one of its songs could have made it as a single cut to me. I am especially thinking about “All Eyes On Me” and the brittle “Acoustic #3″, one of the songs that were rerecorded for this CD. The other was “Two Days In February”, another acoustic number that broke up the monotony in the otherwise energetic “Hold Me Up”.

Speaking of numbers that are stamina-laden, there is a song near the middle of the disc which is exceptional. It is the one entitled “Eyes Wide Open”. The song not only packs a lot of punch but it also has a lyric that is far, far removed from the romantic fare many people often ground their criticism of the Goo Goo Dolls on. And it has a guitar solo to write home about, too.

I do admit the songs that follow after “Eyes Wide Open” are not as engaging as the ones that made up the first part of the album, although “Girl Right Next To Me” is very catchy and Robby’s “Lucky Star” is a great contribution to the repertoire of the Goo’s, as it is the excellent “Amigone” (also included here – track number 3). And “We Are The Normal” is also part of the second half, so in a certain sense everything evens out.

I am going to tell you something which you might find surprising: this album might be an even better introduction to the Goo Goo Dolls than the “Best Of” package. Let me explain what I mean. “Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce” showcases them as a band on the whole – John and Robby sing, and the late-day material is apprehended differently by placing it in this context. You realize where did it come from. As REM sang, “sweetness follows”. In this case, sweetness follows some days of obvious teenage angst (“Up Yours”, “I’m Addicted”). Believe me, it is nice to have that insight. If you can – and take my word that it is worth it – get the greatest hits and this compilation album together. They paint a picture in all the hues you can imagine. If you want only the golden hues, then go for the “Best Of” album. But if you want the full palette, and an understanding of how what was somehow obscure eventually became more glowing, and how this Buffalo band “let love in”, this is where it’s at.

Would I recommend purchase of this compilation: Yes
Do I feel like digging deeper into their catalog after listening to it: Yes

(What I Learned About) Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce

You already know how enthusiastically I listen to the Goo Goo Dolls. Maybe such a prolonged keenness was the result of buying this compilation right after having purchased their “Greatest Hits Vol. 1” CD. You see, “(What I Learned About) Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce” delves into their studio albums one by one and offers up the best songs from each one of these CDs. In many cases, alternate mixes and/or entirely rerecorded versions are featured.

What I like best about this compilation is the way it is structured. The six albums that are featured are “Goo Goo Dolls”, “Jed”, “Hold Me Up”, “Superstar Car Wash”, “A Boy Named Goo” and “Dizzy Up The Girl”. The tracks on the CD run from back to front. That is, rather than starting with the songs from the self-titled debut and taking you chronologically to the songs included in “Dizzy Up The Girl” the CD starts with the “Dizzy Up The Girl” material and goes all the way back to “Goo Goo Dolls”. You might think that such a thing is not a big deal, but I assure you it is. Think about it, many people are familiar with the more mature sound of the Goo Goo Dolls. Arranging the songs like this lets anybody trace the way that such a sound evolved.

Because it did evolve. Maybe the turning song within their repertoire was “We Are The Normal”, a song with lyrics penned by Paul Westerberg from The Replacements, their role model band. The song is included here, of course, and it is the closest to a “hit song” on offer. All the remaining tunes are album tracks, and while most of them are cherished by fans not a single one saw release as an A-side.

Another key aspect of the album: you do get to listen to Robby sing quite a bit. In case you didn’t know, he was the band’s founder and in the beginning he was the one who took care of singing the lead parts. Johnny Rzeznik was to occupy that position full-time eventually, and the two have very marked styles. The way they approach songwriting is also completely removed from one another, with John eliciting some emotions more immediately than Robby and viceversa. Not to mention that Robby’s songs are always more punchy and raucous.

Part 2: analysis of individual songs.

The Cover Of The Compliation

If you have already gone through the general introduction I penned yesterday, you know I bought this CD more or less accidentally and how it hit me like nothing else the moment it started playing.

This compilation focuses on the Goo Goo Dolls’ commercial peak, heralded by the smash song “Iris” from the movie “City Of Angels” and the album “Dizzy Up The Girl” up to the song “Before It’s Too Late” from Michael Bay’s debatable big-screen adaptation of the classic 80s’ show “Transformers”. Three albums are covered: “Dizzy Up The Girl”, “Gutterflower” and “Let Love In”. These are albums that more or less follow the pattern set down by a song that was originally featured on the album called “A Boy Named Goo” (1995), and which was entitled “Name”. It was their first successful excursion into a territory much mellower than what many fans were accustomed to, and it signaled the commencement of their surge in popularity. That song has been re-recorded for inclusion on this compilation. There is not really that much of a departure – the role the acoustic guitar plays out is the only noticeable difference between the old and the new version of “Name”.

The Dolls’ other big it alongside “Iris” is included here as well. It is a number called “Slide”, and it is a quintessential “mature” Goo Goo Dolls’ composition. It has an introduction played on an acoustic guitar, a nice build up and choruses were the intensity peaks. The lyrics deal with the uncertainty of love, and showcase the singer’s determination to fight for what he feels it is right in a world where moments seem to pass everybody by.

Besides “Name”, another song which is different from its original album counterpart is “Feel The Silence”. The song has been remixed, but only connoisseurs will take that much notice.

I frankly adore the album from A to Z, and in addition to all the songs mentioned above I carry a torch for “Let Love In” and “Big Machine”. I also like “Broadway” if only because the energy stakes are a little higher than on the rest of the album, and Robby’s vocals are so well-timed.

The voice you will hear throughout the disc, incidentally, is John’s. Robby sings very few of their signature tunes, but his contribution to the sound of their albums is something that should never be dismissed.

I have grown so attached to this band that I have to recommend this album to you in the strongest possible terms. If you ever caught “Iris”, “Slide” or “Name” on the radio (and I know you did it) you already know what to expect. If you did not like them, this compilation album is just not for you. But if you did like them, buying it is a definitive start on the right foot.

Would I recommend purchase of this compilation: Yes
Do I feel like digging deeper into their catalog after listening to it: Yes

Left To Right: Robby Takac, John Rzeznik & Mike Malinin

One of my greatest projects is the eventual realization of a mini-series revolving around the lives of five friends who are in a band together, and who enter a music contest. The viewer gets to see them as they learn what matters in life through music, and I have spent a truly inordinate amount of time working the soundtrack out to the point that music has become the true protagonist of the series.

One day, I caught a song called “Sympathy” on the radio. I liked it and downloaded it. The song became part of the soundtrack I assembled. And I have a rule: if I ever come across a CD containing any of the songs I have included in that soundtrack, I buy the album immediately. When I was shopping one day, I spotted the Goo Goo Dolls “Greatest Hits” CD and I purchased it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but a rule is a rule.

I seldom recall bonding with a band like I did with them when I first listened to that CD. All I can tell you is that if I was in a band myself, it would be the spitting image of the Goo Goo Dolls both in terms of music and lyrics.

As most of you probably know, the band (which hails from Buffalo) had an energetic phase at the start of their career, a phase which was too reliant on the sounds of The Replacements. Eventually, their sound became more elaborate and more mature, culminating in the hit song “Iris” (featured in the movie “City Of Angels”), and further hits included “Slide” and “Before It’s Too Late” from the movie “Transformers”.

The band comprises guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac and drummer Mike Malinin. The original drummer was George Tutuska – he was ousted circa the release of their fourth album, “Superstar Car Wash”. That was the album that gave them their first flirtation with fame, too – the song “Name” was a Top 5 hit.

Although my two favorite bands are from England (The Who and XTC), it turns out that the two bands that move me the most are from the States (10,000 Maniacs and The Goo Goo Dolls). I am not sure why that is. I am not sure if I will be able to figure that out, either. All I know is that when I listen to any of them I feel like someone walks the same path I walk, and that single fact makes the journey more uplifting. And in the particular case of The Goo Goo Dolls, the journey besides them becomes not only more uplifting but also a truly emotive and reflexive one.

I am reviewing two of their compilations (“Greatest Hits” and “What I Learned From Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce”) before scrutinizing their studio albums. I know I won’t be able to convey why their music means so much to me, because that is subjective by definition. But I am confident I can provide you with a good insight on the band and what is the most effective way of experiencing their work.