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| Let Love In | 
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| Artist: The Goo Goo Dolls
Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy Used: $3.88
You Save: $15.10 (80%)
New (45) Used (33) from $3.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  139 reviews
Sales Rank: 4382
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 49748
UPC: 093624974826
EAN: 0093624974826
ASIN: B000EGDC82
Release Date: April 25, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Average Used music CD with artwork and case * * We carefully inspected this * Great customer service * Satisfaction Guaranteed!
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| Tracks:
| • | Stay With You | | • | Let Love In | | • | Feel The Silence | | • | Better Days | | • | Without You Here | | • | Listen | | • | Give A Little Bit | | • | Can't Let It Go | | • | We'll Be Here (When You're Gone) | | • | Strange Love | | • | Become |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The Goo Goo Dolls have long since traded the bracing, Replacements-lite abandon of their early days for an ethos of heart-on-their-sleeve emotionality wed to a solid heartland pop craftsmanship that's too easily been casually mislabeled. Superstar producer Glen Ballard (who shares many a writing credit here as well) pushes that latter sensibility to its logical extremes, ensuring a slick sonic experience that won't disappoint those who hitched themselves to the Dolls' wagon circa their mid '90s commercial breakthrough. But there remains a nagging sense that this is a band that isn't pushing itself very hard: even the hook-solid opening single "Stay With You" seems downright cautious. Coupled with Ballard's penchant for polish, Johnny Rzeznik's introspection on "Without You Here" hews close to the center line before Robbie Takac's "Listen" gives the album a much-needed jolt of energy. The album's featured cover, a faithful, contemporary AOR-friendly take on Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit," is emblematic of the Goo Goo Dolls fortunes here: They often seemed boxed in by a past that's not necessarily their own. --Jerry McCulley
Album Description
Better days are here again as one of America's favorite rock bands, The Goo Goo Dolls, returns with its first studio album since 2002. Opening the doors for Let Love In-with the renowned Glen Ballad producing the band for the first time. Let Love In welcomes The Goo Goo Dolls back to the top of rock.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 134 more reviews...
 Goo Goo Dolls deliver the delicious with first studio album in 4 years.... April 25, 2006
63 out of 73 found this review helpful
Things change a lot in 4 years. Bands come and go; groups that were once on top of the world become bargain bin material in your local record store. Averaging three years between albums hasn't hurt The Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznik, Robbie Takac, and Mike Malinin, however. Their new release, Let Love In, which I have had on constant rotation since getting the pre-release last week, is a strongly enjoyable album. Let Love In delivers the audience a deliciously comfortable slice of pure radio-friendly music.
The album kicks off with two songs sure to be big singles. Stay With You is an amped up song, its strong melodies and uplifting beats resonate wonderfully. Let Love In is musically lush; Strong acoustic guitar and great fuzzy bass tones join ethereal strings that highlight lyrics sure to make the heart ache, "the only way we'll feel again, the only way to see again, is to let love in." Feel The Silence has an addictive beat and comforting chorus. The fourth and best track on the album, Better Days,is a plea for love and tolerance in a fractured world; A somber piano melody accompanies emotional lyrics, "Tonight's the night the world begins again" and "there's something only you can give..that's faith and trust and peace while you're alive," while a full orchestra builds to an emotionally pleasing crescendo. This song will be on every radio. Without You is a bit of a pleasant surprise musically, as if U2's Edge jumped into the studio to play lead guitar on this laid back mid-tempo song.
The album's midway point gives us Robbie's first vocal with Listen, a song sure to please the Robbie fans and infuriate the Robbie haters. Give a Little Bit follows, makes its encore return from last year's single release. As cover songs go, this is one of the best in recent years, ideally blending Rzeznik's voice and 12-string guitar. Can't Let it Go is probably the closest thing to a Black Balloon on this record, "You were no angel, and I was no saint, but somehow I can't let it go." When You're Gone feels like filler track at first but becomes better and better with every listen. Strange Love is Robbie second vocal track. This is the first real departure from the Dolls normal style, offering an 80's feel with piano notes floating over a repeating chorus. This would make a great track for a movie. The closing track Become is decent enough but leaves you with a slightly off aftertaste as it can't seem to decide what kind of song it wants to be.
For you Doll fans counting at home, this album has 9 Johnny and 2 Robbie vocals. The record as a whole is fairly laid back, without any fast tempo rock tracks that earlier albums had. Glen Ballard's production on this album gives us tighter and better melodies and smoother choruses, but the songs as a whole are more atmospheric than rocked out. More instruments and effects are used, layering the songs with more depth and complexity than the three-chord punch of yesteryear. Some feel that this album is too laid back at first play, but it grows considerably better with repeated listens. Those that don't like the softer side of Goo may be unhappy with this album, as Let Love In doesn't take dramatic risks in songwriting or stray far from the Dolls recent formula of success. It is an ear friendly album sure to be on constant rotation this year and will be a crowd pleaser. Recommended.
A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO
 Let Love In? How about Let The Goo Goo Dolls Out instead? June 4, 2006
25 out of 46 found this review helpful
The Goo Goo Dolls have just released their eighth studio album, entitled Let Love In. It seems like the reviews of this album reflect unanimous praise - the thing is, I couldn't help but notice that the majority of these reviewers are female, and that their introduction to the group was either "Name" or "Iris", and that they are probably unaware of the existence of any GGD albums prior to A Boy Named Goo and Dizzy Up The Girl. Then we have a few longtime fans that talk about the group's "maturity" in explaining the direction of their recent works.
Don't kid yourselves, people. The true intentions of the Goo Goo Dolls couldn't be more obvious if this album was a collection of covers featuring songs that all have the word "Money" in the title (you know, like "Money" by Pink Floyd, "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong, "For The Love Of Money" by O'Jays, etc.). This is a band that's all about the money, as they have clearly proven that mass appeal, conformity and radio play are far more important to them than depth, critical acclaim, and the fans of their first five albums that they dropped like a hot potato. Now they write the type of songs that warm the hearts of many a desperate housewife and that make most men sick to their stomachs. What makes it worse is that you can't listen to this album without getting that feeling that their hearts just aren't in it - instead of playing the music they want, they're a bunch of corporate marionettes playing up to the adult contemporary audience just to cash bigger checks ... because one can never have too many mansions, yachts, luxury cars, or alimony payments.
Once upon a time, this band used to rock hard, with enough hooks to attract a loyal following. In 1995, they recorded an acoustic ballad called "Name", which of course became a huge smash. It was tolerable because it seemed to come from a genuine place, and was on an album filled with the rockers that we were accustomed to from these guys. Thus began the downward career trajectory. The Goo Goo Dolls decided to turn their backs on their old fans, instead opting to completely court the easy listening crowd that had never heard of the band before "Name" came out. Therefore, the follow up to A Boy Named Goo, 1998's Dizzy Up The Girl, was filled with treacly, cheesy sentimental string-laden pop begging for rotation on the soft rock stations between Celine Dion and Air Supply. Never had a band more blatantly sold their souls to the corporate machine. The follow up, Gutterflower, was no different from the predecessor, despite declining sales, and that brings us to the present.
Let Love In is still more of the corporate fluff that has become the Goo Goo Dolls bread & butter. Looking for something that rocks like the album Jed, "Long Way Down", "Lazy Eye", or even "Dizzy"? You won't find it here, as the closest they get is with the single "Stay With You", which despite being slightly amped up is still as sappy as the title suggests. I couldn't help but laugh as these guys were thrashing their heads around during a live performance of this song on television, trying to convince us that they still rock out like they used to - what a joke that was. What's left is a sterile, faceless cover of Supertramp's "Give A Little Bit" that's over a year old (having been featured on a 2004 live album), and tons of safe, utterly lifeless ballads in the vein of "Iris" and "Black Balloon" that may provide a great backdrop to a romantic scene on a park bench in some movie starring Jennifer Aniston, but are incredibly dull and boring to listen to.
In summary: Let Love In is another weak effort by a band that's phoning it in trying to make a quick buck. Any band that changes their sound this drastically should have changed their name - what once used to be an energetic, visceral rock band is now a group of cheesy, maudlin balladeers with material that sounds like bad Bon Jovi songs. I know that John Rzeznik claims that he hates the Bon Jovi comparisons, but if it really bothered him I'm sure he would have written something other than all the lame soap opera anthems that can be heard on Let Love In. This band has become washed up, predictable, bland and thoroughly forgettable. Goo Goo Dolls, it was fun while it lasted, but now it's time to throw in the towel and call it a career.
Better than the critic reviews found here May 15, 2006
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
I had completely forgotten about the Goo Goo Dolls until I saw this most recent release at my local store, I still have Dizzy up the Girl located in a favorite place in my collection, but did not particularly enjoy Gutterflower. this CD is fantastic. I love every song on it except those that are sung by Robbie Takac. I never enjoyed his voice on any of their previous albums and wonder why they even let him sing lead on 1 or 2 songs every album. I know Amazon and other reviews make it sound like this band is selling out, and the sound is to pop, or to AOR or to slickly produced and that it is missing an edge somewhere. Well excuse me, but what if I like the sound, the lyrics, the production and the feel of the CD? What if I like AOR, Adult Contemporary Radio and this is what I like listening to? Some people just don't get it. I enjoy this CD greatly. It is by far more profound and more enjoyable than anything else out there in the market right now. Do not pay attention to what is written about this band or this material, trust your ears. The only important review is what you consider to be good according to your own taste. Buy this, listen to it, and enjoy this music, you will not be dissapointed.
 Let Love In - Translation: Let's get on the ending credits of 'ER' again... December 2, 2006
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
It is with much disappointment that I write this harsh review. Let Love In is every rock fan's misfortune. I guess the guys were watching too much Nickolodeon in the 4 years it took to create this record.
There a couple of very good songs on here. 'Stay With You' is at least a semi-respectable opener, and 'We'll Be Here (When You're Gone)' is a great tune with what I think is genuine energy, a great vocal melody, and a very good riff. Besides this, this is a real sorry album. Pretty much devoid of passion, attitude, and creativity, it is background music at best. Stick on 'Long Way Down' and it is instantly recognizable, but can someone tell me the difference between let's say Tracks 5 and 11? I've had this album for months, I still can't tell the difference.
At the time of writing, this album has Soundscanned exactly 334,485 copies in the U.S. Maybe the low sales figures compared to their other efforts will kick their behinds into composing energetic rock songs again.
A soccer mom and the 14 year old girl just emerging from Delia's at the mall will absolutely love this record, so if that is not indicative of the musical intelligence these types of people bear, then what is? Something should click in your head telling you something is wrong here when these fans enter the mix. Honestly, what self-respecting man or boy over the age of 15 will really like this record? Certainly no rock fan will respond to this the way they will respond to the near flawless tunes of the past the GGD have written. A GGD fan from 15 years ago is LIGHT YEARS away from the kinds of people this band draws nowadays.
Even though Gutterflower was 'getting there' as far as the direction of the band, that record featured many great rock songs and even the softer ones had some passion, creativity and made you feel something. This record unfortunately has done nothing of the sort. Usually when I listen to songs or records in full, it gives me some sort of image in my head, it makes me think about something or inspires me in some way.
So go on, vote. I look forward to the '3 out of 21 people found this review helpful'. Considering I have knowledge of what constitutes a faux GGD fan today, it really won't affect me much.
Enjoy the record Jenny Q. Mallgirl, I'm sticking on 'String Of Lies' and 'Domino'.
Glen Ballard strikes again... April 30, 2006
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
Here we go.
We waited four long years for 9 new songs? We already had "Give A Little Bit" from Live in Buffalo and "Better Days" has been a single since December. Jeez. Like many of you here, there are lots of big fans. I include myself in that bundle but this album does not cut it with me. Purely for the lack of new material.
Granted, this is not entirely the bands fault. You can blame producer/professional over-commercialization of great rock bands Glen Ballard.WHEW! I'm sure he cut more than a few tracks from this album and made these just absolute crap. Stay With You just goes through the motions and I get nothing out of the rest. This is the same thing that happened to Dave Matthews Band "Everday" in 2001. Songs were written in 9 days and produced too heavily taking away their raw sound that their fans liked so well.
It's frustrating to know that I'm listening to Gutter Flower more than Let Love In. I know it's not the end of the world but it's upsetting to have waited so long for this. I can only reccomend this to hardcore Goo fans. It gets one star for effort.
I REALLY wanted to like this album. Maybe it will grow on me? I can only hope. See you in another 4 years.
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