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Ego,
Oppinion, Art & Commerce
Kerrang!
Doll Parts
Goo Goo Dolls: Collection of 22 remixed tracks spanning all of the Buffalo trio's six albums
Ego, opinion, Art
& Commerce
KKK (Out of 5 K's)
It took the Goo Goo Dolls the best part of a decade to get anyone to pay attention to them. When they did, with 1995's million-selling a 'A Boy Named Goo' album, they were instantly written off as one-hit wonders. Such has been the lot of the New York State threesome, forever underrated and undervalued.
'A Boy Named Goo' was of course, followed by the even more successful ' Dizzy Up The Girl' album. It was still dismissed by dolts in the UK, but never mind. Which brings us to the grandly titled 'Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce' a 22-track collection of remixed - and in two cases re-recorded - songs drawn apparently at random from each of the band's albums. In many ways it's both confusing and unsatisfactory. This patently isn't the Goo Goo Dolls' greatest hits, since neither 'Iris' or 'Dizzy' are included. The spurious remixing process aside, there's nothing here that fans won't have, and no sleevenotes or fancy packaging to try and make up for it. That'll be an ill-conceived stopgap release then.
What this does emphasise, time and time again, is just how good a songwriter Goo's mainman Johnny Rzeznik is and always has been. Coming from the same poetic, rough-edged American rock school as Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner and The Replacements' Paul Westenberg, Rzeznik's songs are deceptively simple - three or four minutes in length, using a similar number of chords. The thing that separates him from any number of punk-pop oafs is his sense of melody, his ability to turn the most basic of phrases into an instantly unforgettable hook. Whether that be on something as ramshackle as 'I'm Addicted' from the band's self-titled debut album, or more polished later efforts like 'All Eyes On Me', 'Bullet Proof', 'Ain't That Unusual' and 'Name'.
His only fault, in fact, is his inability to stop his best mate/chubby bassist Robby Takac from sneaking a handful of bog-standard pub punk songs onto every Goo's album, including this one. In this case it should always be over before the fat bloke sings.
Paul Rees
e-mail them a piece of your mind at
Kerrang@emap.com
Or Alternatively snail mail them a piece of your mind at -
Feedback, Kerrang!, PO Box 2930, London, England, W1A 6DZ
