GOO
GOO DOLLS - Volume 2 (Warner Bros.)
Like vintage Replacements (their most obvious
influence ) or early Cheap Trick, Buffalo,
NY’s Goo Goo Dolls brandish soaring/searing
grunge-garage powered pop punk. In this two
CD set, long flashes of brilliance such as
“Long Way Down,” “Iris,”
and “No Way Out” soar amid sometimes
silly but cool covers like INXS’ “Don’t
Change,” or Stevie Nick’s “I
Don’t Want to Know,” both raucous
and focused.
The two-disc set includes 22 songs consisting
of classic covers, B-sides, rarities, and
24 of the band’s videos, which also
include their much talked about performance
at Red Rocks. For those who discovered the
Goo Goo Dolls with “Iris” and
only know them as AOR hitmakers, this collection
makes for a cohesive document of the Goo Goo
Dolls’ career. But you would be well
advised to dig a little deeper and look for
their earlier pre-hit albums like Jed and
Superstar Car Wash (but not the awful Greatest
Hits Vol. 1, a ballad-heavy collection was
thrown together to cash in on the unexpected
success of “Iris”) where the boys
rattled and rolled and displayed a lot more
grit and power-pop intensity.
The bottom line on The Goo Goo Dolls is,
they play smart, accessible songs that are
crafted with provocative lyrics that can get
slyly twisted at times. This is not shadowy
art rock, they are songs from a band that
are obsessed with playing, good, hard alt.
rock, with punk running through it’s
veins. - Phil Rainone (and Jim Testa)
CD Reviews 
