Real Groove

June 2002 | Issue 105

THE GOO GOO DOLLS
Gutterflower (Wamer Bros.)

After years of heavy roadwork, playing every dump from their native Buffalo to California and back again, the Goo Goo Dolls finally hit it big in 1998 with 'Iris', from their Dizzy Up the Girl album. The band released a 'career retrospective' immediately after in order to take advantage of their new-found fame. Now comes Gutterflower, their first new material since 'Iris'.

Like a younger version of Bruce Springsteen, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist, John Rzeznik, guides his band through a clutch of blue-collar tunes extolling the virtues of true love, honesty and loyalty. The sound is basic, guitar-driven rock with a hint of corporate sheen to ensure maximum radio exposure. What the band gives up in grit they make up for in melody and energy. Gutterflower has a clean, modern sound, courtesy of producer Rob Cavallo, while Rzeznik, and to a lesser extent, bassist Robby Takac, have written a dozen tight, catchy, radio-friendly tunes.

'Here is Gone' is the first single, but really, any of the first five songs would have done the trick. Like Springsteen, the Dolls prefer their rock full of anthemic choruses and heartfelt vocals. They connect most successfully on 'It's Over', a moody, pensive track that breaks into a good old-fashioned uplifting chorus. Another highlight is 'What a Scene', wherein Rzeznik rails against celebrity, the star culture and artifice. It all sounds good, in fact, too good. The Goo Goo Dolls have wrapped their everyman image in such a glossy package as to render it almost redundant. Thankfully, there are moments of real excitement and emotion, and a few good songs, mixed in among the ordinary and mundane.

MARTY DUDA