|
| BACK TO ALL NEWS
06/02/01 05/25/01 05/25/01 05/02/01 In the decade and a half since the Goo Goo Dolls first started making music together, the array of styles attributed to them has ranged from "passionate post punk" with "steel sharp hooks" to "shimmering rock n' roll" that's "emotional and honest." But, whether you view the Goos from the vantage point of "rowdy barroom rock" with "street-smart songwriting" or "arena level megastars" who write "energetic, pop savvy melodies," the truth is, the Goo Goo Dolls have something for everyone as they amply demonstrate on their brand-new album of remixes, What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce (1987-2000). Available on Warner Bros. Records, the jam-packed, 22-track anthology collects on one disc a distinctly diverse set of songs from the multi-platinum artists affectionately known as the Goos. In all, 21 songs were remixed for the collection, with "Two Days in February" always a concert pleaser entirely re-recorded. "While we were remixing the songs, we thought it would be fun to do a studio version of that song," says John Rzeznik (vocals, guitar). "The original was recorded live outdoors and had a lot of background noise. On the new one, you don't hear cars driving by." In fact, "Two Days in February" helped serve as the impetus for bringing the album into being in the first place. The audience response to it and other songs is what encouraged the group to enter the studio in review of their collected works. "Making this record was like looking at a bunch of photo albums from high school," explains the band's Robby Takac (bass, vocals). "It had been such a long time since we'd even gone back and listened to the early records. But, they're what led us to our current situation, and we had a blast putting this together." In showcasing the group's best loved tracks to fans new and old, the compilation draws from six critically acclaimed Goo Goo Dolls albums: the band's self-titled debut, Jed, Hold Me Up, Superstar Car Wash, A Boy Named Goo and Dizzy Up The Girl. "Listening to those records again brought back lots of memories for us," remarks Takac. "We tried to choose songs that were really meaningful to us and that we thought represented the band throughout that 13-year period." Indeed, cuts such as "Girl Right Next to Me," "Burnin' Up," "Eyes Wide Open" and "Bulletproof" not only attest to founding members Rzeznik and Takac's versatility as songwriters but demonstrate how the trio, which includes Mike Malinin (replacing original drummer George Tutuska), has developed musically. Nearly every track represents the Goos' flair for combining power punk guitar-driven rock with melodic pop hooks—a feat that has established them as one of the biggest success stories of the last decade. The musical journey of the Goo Goo Dolls began in 1985. Raised with blue-collar ethics and formed in the midst of the rock alternative scene, the trio engendered a fiercely loyal following in and around its hometown of Buffalo, NY. While non-stop playing did eventually bring the band paying gigs farther afield, Takac can vividly recall the those lean, early years: "We'd go out on tour in a rented or borrowed van, and if we couldn't afford a motel, the van was where we'd eat and sleep," he says. "We depended on the kindness of fans who would offer us their apartments to take showers." The group's first album, the independently produced Goo Goo Dolls, came out in 1987. Jed , which contained the frenzied "Up Yours" (included here), came out a year later. As the Goos began to attract major club audiences around the country, music critics began to take notice, too: The Los Angeles Times appropriately christened the band's sound "a roar of youthful rage, a big dose of tenderness." In 1991, the Goo Goo Dolls attracted major attention when their third album, Hold Me Up, was released through a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records. The album's varied musical approach only hinted at what the band was capable of in the songwriting department. More critical praise followed and the Goos embarked on a club tour with The Replacements. The next release, Superstar Carwash, in 1993, mixed working-class angst with self-effacing humor and explosive guitar work with catchy hooks. With Superstar? netting critical raves, the trio began to receive radio attention with the soaring "We Are the Normal," co-written by Rzeznik and The Replacements' Paul Westerberg. "Our only goal back then was just to play our songs and have a great time," recalls Takac. "Until Superstar? began to get noticed, we didn't really look toward the future or think about having any kind of real success as a band." A fifth album by the group (now hailed as "America's best known unknown band") was released in March 1995. A Boy Named Goo, which included 11 hook-laden originals, was to become the turning point in the group's career. But, while the album's pulsating "Burnin' Up" and insightful "Flat Top" were proof that Rzeznik and Takac had arrived as songwriters, it wasn't until the summer of 1995—when the Rzeznik-penned "Name" became a radio staple—that the band finally, truly broke through. In November, "Name" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart and the video became a staple of MTV and VH-1. "The album was out for almost eight months before 'Name' took off," remembers Rzeznik. "We were just about to give it all up and go back to our day jobs." The following spring, after ten years together and almost a year after the release of A Boy Named Goo, the group made its first trip to Europe; by the end of 1996, they had logged 22 months of non-stop touring. The year 1998 brought a follow-up punch to the Goos' sweeping popularity when the compelling "Iris" made its appearance on both the soundtrack to the film City Of Angels and on the band's sixth release, Dizzy Up The Girl. "Iris," which would hold the No. 1 spot on six separate Billboard charts, would also go on to break radio airplay records. The massive success of the ballad, plus four other hits from the album ("Slide," "Black Balloon," "Dizzy" and "Broadway") brought more than a million radio plays and three Grammy nominations. To date, Dizzy Up The Girl has sold more than four million copies worldwide. The frenzy is certain to pick up again with the group's plans to enter the studio this summer to record its seventh album of all-new material. In the meantime, fans everywhere can celebrate the collected works of a group whose proven career and incomparable recordings are increasingly gaining new listeners with What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce (1987-2000). BACK TO ALL NEWS |
