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Now, I know that Dizzy Up The Girl is a bit more poppy-sounding and not as punk as the Goo's earlier stuff. So when I popped this into my CD player, I wasn't really sure what to expect...would this be more Jed or DUTG?

I was blown away.

This is an incredible CD...It should have been MORE successful than Dizzy Up The Girl. The quality of the music is incredible...It's littered with articulate, passionate lyrics, impossibly catchy hooks, and some of the most challenging guitar solos EVER. This is probably the only CD I can put in my CD player and not have to press the skip button once.

The diversity of this album is great, too. For those of you who don't know, the Goo Goo Dolls bass player, Robby Takac, also writes and sings for the band. For some reason, his songs are never released as singles. Some people don't listen to his songs, most likely because they get too used to John's crooning and when Robby's high, raspy voice comes on don't want to take the time to appreciate it. When John writes, he tends to go in all directions...anything from anthemic power pop to acoustic ballads to hard edged, give-em-the-middle-finger punk. Robby tends to stay closer to one style-- fast paced, bouncy punk. (Ive never heard a Robby song with an acoustic guitar) The subjects of Robby's songs tend to be quirky and original, while most of John's songs are usually about love, dating, what have you.

When you combine John's and Robby's voices, whether it being in a duet ot them simply singing back up for each other, good things happen. They do a duet on this song called String Of Lies, and it kicks serious butt. Buy the CD and listen to String Of Lies, you'll understand what I've been writing about. Hell-- buy this CD and listen to all the songs. There's something for everyone. Iris fans will enjoy We Are The Normal, (it has a violin solo and the lyrics were written by Paul Westerburg) Fans of the early stuff will love Domino and String of Lies, (Semi-Angry lyrics with blaring electing guitar) and people who just wanna listen to some good Rock n' Roll will enjoy On The Lie, So Far Away, and Fallin' Down.

I hope this review was insightful. The Goo Goo Dolls are so much more than Iris and Name, even though those are good songs. They have an actual history, and work hard to get to where they are...so check out this CD! You won't be disappointed.


Before they broke   January 31, 2006
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful

This album is a pure power pop masterpiece. Written when the Goo Goo Dolls were virtual unknowns and didn't worry about a "follow-up" single or album. A great leap in songcraft from Jed and Hold Me Up.
I recall first hearing this in 1993 the day it arrived in the mail at college radio station where I worked and wondered how long it would take for these guys to explode. A little over two years later they dropped a Boy Named Goo and the single "Name" just exploded.
The rest is an unfortunate history. Concerned with their place in the music world, the Dolls attempted to catch the fire of "Name"s success and feed us radio-friendly, cross over tracks like "Iris" and "Baby's Black Balloon". Bummer.

SCW is a great mix of songs that these guys wrote for themselves and their fans. Not the A&R guy.

Trading off on lead vocals over the first half of the album tracks, Johnny and Robby set a nice tone for each song. Johnny is the lover and Robby is the fighter. Kinda reminds me of Paul and Gene of Kiss(Sorry).

Standout tracks include...forget it, they're all very strong, if a little repetative by the time you get to "So Far Away". But who listens to complete albums in one sitting anymore? My advice: Listen to 1-7 the first day. Put the CD away. Listen to 8-14 on day two.

Buy this CD if you enjoy well written Pop Rock (Weezer, Green Day, etc). Doubtful you will be disappointed.


an absolute must-have   September 10, 2005
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

First off, I will bluntly say it: I love this album. I bought it in backtrack to get to know some of the Goos' older ablums before their new one was released and was far from disappointed. It is one of my favorite albums of all time. Don't get me wrong, I like their newer albums, too, but I really love this one.

Something about this album just makes me so happy. The music is well played and written and just...wow. I love it. And now, for a few reviews of some of the songs on there.

Fallin' Down is a great way to start off the album. It really gets you into it instantly, with a catchy hooky ("Do you know, where you want to go") and great music all around.

Lucky Star is a song I always enjoy listening to. I always find it interesting to hear Robby, the bass player's, voice because none of his songs make it to the radio. It's almost as if someone's singing you a secret the mainstream hasn't heard. The song wasn't what I thought it would be from my first impression of the title, but I'm quite fond of it now.

Cuz You're Gone is amazing. I love this song. I can just listen to it over and over again. It makes me just ecstatic. There's this one line in it I just adore that sends chills up my back every time I hear it ("Cuz you know that you're so beautiful and so untouchable"). It ends beautifully ("Yeah you're gone and I wish you'd come back"), also.

Girl Right Next To Me is awesome. I can't really describe what I like about it, I guess you'd just have to hear it for yourself to understand.

We Are The Normal is an amazing song. I love how it starts off musically, with soft string instruments for about 30 seconds then out into a full-out guitar rock. The lyrics are wonderful and true and make you think about your place in the world. Just absolutely great.

Stop The World is a good enough song just for the chorus, which is incredibly sweet:
"'Cause I could stop the world, 'cause I loved you
I could stop the world, and I don't want to
I could stop the world, and I won't
'Cause it ain't enough"
I mean, really, what's better than that?

So Far Away is a great closing song, and the Goo Goo Dolls seem to have a talent with this: all of their albums that I've heard (5), they seem to fill that particular place with the best song to fit there. It just fades out so wonderfully. I love it.

By now, you're probably sick of reading all this, but listen to me, this is an excellent album. I cannot stop listening to it, it's wonderful. And something about listening to a lesser-known album is just refreshing and calming. I definitely reccomend this. There is not a single bad song on here.


the goo goo dolls in their purest form   February 6, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

kinda like when they were still diamonds in the rough, the goo goo dolls had very good music. this cd is, in my opinion, their best work ever.

i really like the guitar work on this album. it is especially good on the track 'stop the world', which may not have been all that great without it. as usual, john rzeznik's vocals are exceptional, robby's falling short again. the one song that they didn't write on this recording, 'we are the normal', is a very powerful and realistic song about life and death. other songs that i like are 'string of lies'(a very interesting duet between john and robby) 'cuz you're gone' (because 'you diconnect yourself from it all because you know that you're so beautiful and so untouchable' is such a great line) 'so far away' (very good vocals by john) and 'domino' (actually sung by robby, but very good backgrounds by john)

this is my favorite band in the world in their best form. i know the goo goo dolls for this music, and i hope that others may come to know them for this, also.


"Superstar Car Wash" cleans up the act...   March 3, 2000
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

"Superstar Car Wash" the fourth major album from the simply fabulous Goo Goo Dolls, is one of their best! It contains such incredible music and is truly a spectrum of tastes. The band's diversity is really seen in the musicality of this album, ranging from the modern rock "Fallin' Down" to the louder stylings of "Stop the World" to the simply beautiful, "We are the Normal" - really one of their best songs, ever! (The album is worth it just for that one.) "Iris", and "Black Balloon" lovers are sure to be pleased with SCW. Truly a measure of the band's musical maturity, "Superstar Car Wash" takes Goo Goo Doll fans from "Hold Me Up" (the previous album) and into the famous "A Boy Named Goo" (the album that spawned the radio hit "Name"). This was an important album in the band's history and a major staple of a fan's collection. The songs have become increasingly layered with various music textures and harmonies; lyrics have become more candid and soul-revealing; and the stars that we know today were just Buffalo boys, waiting for a "wash" in success.