Rating:  -
It's strange how we love bands that stick to a particular sound, such as AC/DC or Slayer, yet people outright bash bands that do the same thing. While Goo Goo Dolls originally started out as a more punk-geared band, over the years they became not really mainstream but better songwriters so it was more about memorable hooks and memory while rocking out rather than just rocking out for the sake of it. Gutterflower, the follow-up to the mega-hit Dizzy Up the Girl, continues in the same vein but it almost has a more matured quality to it. For this review, I won't review bassist Robby Takac's songs since they make the album sound worse than it is.
Big Machine: Since Carwash, they've never disappointed with the openers and this is no exception. It's hard-rocking, catchy yet it doesn't have that obvious MOR-oriented sheen to it. My one real nitpick is that it just seems short, like the song should've went a bit longer but oh well. 9/10
Think About Me: Such a great track. The guitar tuning is excellent and you can tell the boys just had fun playing this. John's vocals though during the chorus almost sound a bit restrained as if he should've been belting it out but since the song's so good, who cares right? 8.5/10
Here is Gone: Probably the one track that had the potential to match Iris or Name in terms of single. Lyrically wise of course it's relationship stuff but go figure, John manages to put it in a good perspective. My favorite part is probably when the pre-chorus goes into the chorus, it just sounds so...epic. Not as overplayed as Iris but I'm slightly sick of it at times. 9/10
What a Scene: This is one of those kind of John songs similar to Broadway where it's good when you actually set your mind to listen to it but it's probably not the "downloadable" Dolls mainstays like Slide or something. The ending section would work if it was actually a good ending, it's just not that catchy to me so it doesn't help that it goes on forever. 7.5/10
It's Over: Relationship stuff of course but John sounds so passionate. He actually almost had a Leonard Cohen quality in the beginning which I found quite surprising. It's a bit more laid-back during the verses but then the chorus hits and it's the Dolls like always which isn't a bad thing. In my opinion this wins the Ain't It Unusual award, so named for that massively underrated song from a Boy Named Goo. 9/10
Sympathy: Probably one of the best songs John's written. An incredibly catchy acoustic riff leads into an honest song where he admits mistakes yet he notes wrongs at the same time. Was the third single after Here is Gone and Big Machine it got a bit of airplay but not enough to thankfully make it irritating. 8/10
What Do You Need?: Arguably the heaviest John song on the record and it'll probably take awhile for it to catch on. It's admittedly good but it doesn't have that easily identifiable hook like a guitar riff a la Slide or chorus. 8/10
Truth is a Whisper: It's actually a good choice for a closer now that I think of it but upon initial listen it didn't really gel with me. It's got a great energy to it and the guitar work/sound works great but similar to What Do You Need, give it time for it to sink in. 7.5/10
It's different than Dizzy Up the Girl where there wasn't a single outright bad Rzeznik song but here it's as if the songs have to take awhile which is a good move since the songs won't have that "spun too many times" feeling you might get with mega-hit records.
Rating:  -
Dont pay attention to any of these 4 & 5 star reviews. This album is a complete waste of time & space in anyones music library.
Rating:  -
It finally came. Took long enough, but I got it. I'm listening to it right now. Gutterflower is the 2002 studio album release from The Goo Goo Dolls. What's my take?
The opener, "Big Machine", is easily one of the best, most explosive tracks that The Goo Goo Dolls have ever cut. I'm fairly well familiar with the song, as I've downloaded it previously (iTunes), but it's worth noting that it is still awesome. It's about a guy who has fallen hopelessly for an apathetic girl who is destroying her life through her carelessness and, as should be expected of Johnny Rzeznik, it is lyrically honest and has an edge.
"Think About Me" is all right. Because it's Rzeznik, it's head-and-shoulders above your average alternative rock, but it doesn't really stand out as a brilliant song.
The third song, "Here Is Gone", I also had downloaded and listened to previously. As with "Big Machine", it's still great and I think I appreciate it even more now. Johnny Rzeznik proves that he might be the best vocalist in modern Top 40 music and the lyrics are quite affecting, even if the subject matter is nothing new (girl closes off because of a past relationship crash, guy tries to keep things together somehow).
"You Never Know" features Robby Takac on vocals and is therefore almost unbearable. When Johnny Rzeznik is as good as he is, why can't he sing all of the band's material? Takac isn't too bad when he's doing backup vocals, as on Dizzy Up The Girl's "Bullet Proof", but on lead...he's terrible. Truly.
"What A Scene" is another rocker number that works well; Gutterflower is thankfully full of these. It's a pretty solid song, and I enjoy it a fair bit. Drummer Mike Malinin shines here; the percussion section does very well.
And then comes "Up, Up, Up", another terribly regrettable Takac song, but still better than most of his other lead-vocal tracks somehow (at the very least; doesn't say much). He doesn't do too poorly on bass here, though.
"It's Over" has a very cynical title, as you might have noticed, and the lyrics are hopeless: after breakup, girl moves on and guy is desperate and still needs her. Again, despite the cliche, Rzeznik cuts through it with well-crafted honesty in his message. That's probably why I like this band so much.
Then there's the acoustic song, "Sympathy", also a downloaded track and probably the best song on the album. In addition to it having one of the best damn music videos I've ever seen, it's a great song with thought-provoking lyrics that can be interpreted in multiple ways. The way that I have to look at it is that the narrator's been trying to fit in with a crowd, or with a certain person - with Rzeznik, probably his now-ex-wife - by pretending to be someone he's not, and now he's agonizing over what he's given up to fake a different life, and he's sorry, but he just can't do that anymore because it was all a lie. Sympathy is strange, though, because he's breaking away...and that's not a bad thing. He's realizing that he can't live like that and it's time to change, and he doesn't need sympathy from the people or person he pretended to in order to get with them.
"What Do You Need?" is an underrated uptempo, aggressive Rzeznik tune. The lyrics suggest a fragmented relationship made from desperation that is, as such relationships are wont to do, now falling apart because of the high tensions and emotions. Gutterflower is a very bleak album beneath the sheen, owing to Johnny Rzeznik's problems with his former marriage - it seems to be an emotional catharsis in this way, which makes it seem all the more honest and actually focused.
The third Takac song, "Smash", would be pretty good if he wasn't singing it. Unfortunately, he is.
The fourth and last Takac song, unfortunately placed directly after "Smash" (also Takac), could not be redeemed by anything save for perhaps the vocals of Steve Perry, Elton John, or Phil Collins, who seem to be able to sing anything without making it sound lyrically awkward. Worst song on the album.
"Truth Is A Whisper" closes out Gutterflower on a less musically intense level than the way "Big Machine" opens it. It's not all that catchy, but it's all right and Malinin has some nice cymbals going on here. It may grow on me; many initially unassuming Goo Goo Dolls songs tend to do that.
Overall, not as good as 1998's instant classic Dizzy Up The Girl or 2006's Let Love In, but a fairly solid offering nonetheless, marred (as always) by the voice of Robby Takac cropping up a little too often (one song = too often). I already had the three best songs on my hard drive, but it's good to have other songs like "What A Scene" and "What Do You Need?" and the album itself.
Rating: -
Fans had to wait four years after the Goo Goo Dolls' last studio album for the band to release their next one. The wait was worth it; GUTTERFLOWER is part of the Goo Goo Dolls' best work. Johnny Rzeznik performs even more accoustic and clear tone guitar tracks than ever before. His work displays his progression as a player, however his voice does become somewhat repetitive. Robby Takac finally produces decent songs that work well to the overall structure to this album. His pieces are still not as good as Rzeznik's, but they are far better than what they have been in the past. GUTTERFLOWER is also grittier and grudgier than its predecessor. This quality actually sounds awesome with the record's pieces making this album less poppy and more in a rock performance style. This record landed the Goo Goo Dolls tons of soundtrack and promotional spots. It also gave them a chance to perform on the Today Show's Summer Rock Series back in 2002. GUTTERFLOWER is a well performed album and one any Goo Goo Doll fan should own.
Stand out tracks include:
"Big Machine"
"Here Is Gone"
"What A Scene"
"Sympathy"
"Tucked Away"
"Truth Is A Whisper"
Rating:  -
Who could have guessed that these guys would one day resort to creating corporate product for forlorn punks? It seems like only yesterday when guitarist/singer/songwriter Johnny Rzeznik served as a welcome distraction from the lackluster output of bassist/singer/songwriter Robby Takac, but apparently, they have switched roles on Gutterflower. This time around, it's Rzeznik who gets tedious, while Takac provides some relief from the glossy bathos. Rzeznik appears distracted by the sudden thrust into the spotlight that was brought on by "Iris". Throughout Gutterflower, he appears to be exerting too much effort on the music industry's impression of what people expect from a `hit' songwriter. On the band's previous album, Dizzy Up the Girl, they graduated from `the rock and roll college of undeniable hooks', hitting a stride that suggested an epiphany of sorts for these guys. Gutterflower is full of them, too, tugging the listener in while Rzeznik sings his lyrics of troubled love. The only problem is that I'm having trouble hearing the band through all of the production gloss. This album presents a Madame Tussaud version of the Goo Goo Dolls; accurate in detail but gaudy by nature. The songs are all good, but they also seem transparently formulaic.
"Here Is Gone" is the collection's best song (and the first single from the album), but it is initially disappointing because its opening suggests Radiohead's "High and Dry" without measuring up that song's melodic excellence. It shares the same theme as "High and Dry" as well, with lyrics about abject heartbreak and rejection. As I said, though, it's the collection's best song, and it is maddeningly effective in its portrayal of unrequited love. Others fare much worse. But elsewhere, Rzeznik fares much worse. When he can sing a line as mundane as "It's hard to be free when you're down on your knees" (in "What a Scene"), he's as convincing as Jon Bon Jovi, made even worse by the monotonous, repetitive melody. By comparison, the efforts of Robby Takac sound almost enlightened, even when he indulges himself in his Keith Richards fixation. If measured by its presumed commercial success, and its ability to tug at vulnerable hearts, Gutterflower succeeds. But, if judged by its tendency toward product over artistry, it's a wax replica of the real thing. B- Tom Ryan
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