Goo Goo Dolls "Superstar Carwash"

 Goo Goo Dolls "Superstar Carwash" 9/10

Tonight's spin might raise an eyebrow from my friends, acquaintances, readers, etc.  Isn't Goo Goo Dolls music kind of, well, Top 40 fluff?  The answer when it comes to this album, as well as the band itself is "no."  Most people's impression of the Goo Goo Dolls comes from their meteoric hit, "Iris" which was an absolute staple of adult contemporary pop radio in the mid to late 90s.  Is it VERY pop friendly?  Absolutely.  Is it kind of easy to digest?  Undeniably so.  Is it still a really well crafted pop anthem?  My answer is also yes on this.

BUT, we aren't here to talk about where the Goo Goo Dolls went, we are here to talk about where they came from.  Prior to being a band swooning suburban moms in the 90s, The Goo Goo Dolls were a punk-ish rock trio from Buffalo, NY.  Their career had a lot of twist and turns until they found that radio magic, but the journey, to me, is the most interesting part.

The early stuff by the Goos is decidedly punk.  The first album feels more like an early Green Day record, and has a lot in common with late 80s hardcore.  When your friend's mom was busy cranking up her favorite FM station to "Black Balloon," she was likely not privy to the fact that she was enjoying the music of the band that also wrote the frustrated anthem "Sex Maggot."  

When Goo Goo Dolls got going, Johnny Rzeznik wasn't even the vocalist or principal writer.  Bassist Robby Takac was the leader of the band.  Robby did a fine job of writing some fun, bratty punk, but Johnny was destined to be the face of the band.  Johnny is by and large the better singer, a better composer and arranger, and well, a better looking guy.  All parts of the formula for being a successful frontman.

After the first 2 albums, Johnny got over his stage fright, and decided that he wanted to share vocal duties.  Gradually, as their career continued, the band became more and more about his compositions and songs, but Robby does still get his due in their sets and on their albums.  "Superstar Carwash" is almost a perfect balance between their two styles, vocals, and songs.

With "Superstar Carwash" we get Goo Goo Dolls at their absolute best.  The band had tightened up, really honed in on songcraft and production, but still had a lingering punk edge.  The songs are just filled with hooks for days, memorable lyrics, stadium style anthems, all without sacrificing that "real" feel behind the writing.  This is the most convincing Replacements record that The Replacements never made.

1) "Falling Down"

Johnny's first opener on a record.  His melodic croon comes to pick you up.  A great tune about romantic frustration straight from the page of his hero, Paul Westerberg (more on Paul later).  The guitarwork is impeccable.  Beautiful layers of acoustic and clean/distorted electric guitar.  It sets the tone for the "big" sound that this three piece showcases throughout the record.

2) "Lucky Star"

Robby's first take on the mic.  Feels a little bit more like a throwback to their earlier stuff.  A little bit simpler of a chord structure.  The Robby songs on this record feel like they get the necessary attention though.  As Goo Goo Dolls albums went on, he took the mic less and less, until it was essentially a token song or a filler track.  His songs are treated like cannon Goo fodder on this record, and it really shows what his writing is capable of.  

3) "Cuz You're Gone"

Now Johnny is back in front of the mic.  One thing I can say, generally with any band, two lead singers is better than one.  Especially when the band has such a unique sound that it doesn't matter who takes the mic, the band is recognizable to the casual listener no matter who is taking lead.  The subject is pretty straight forward, it's a breakup song.  But the pre-chorus really puts the feelers on.  It feels more like a plea than a lament.  Once again, a wall of sound effect with the guitars just adds to the raw power of the song.

4) "Don't Worry"

Alright, Robby is back for more levity.  Another more lackadaisical punk track.  When 3 chord punk is convincing, it is powerful.  The wall of sound effect with the guitars certainly helps here.  The song isn't the strongest effort, but it feels like a triste on mid-20s boredom.  Johnny's incredible layers of lead guitar work take this number from sort of forgettable to coolness.

5) "Girl Right Next to Me"

Not to be out done, Johnny writes a punk number here.  The sugar coating is apparent, and this song is just as much a product of too many lonely nights listening to Big Star records as it is an ode to the Sex Pistols or Ramones.  The fluffiness comes from the fact that it seems like this song is about that first few weeks of infatuation.  But it is *just* edgy enough to keep from falling off of the rock n roll cliff.

6) "Domino"

Kind of a standard, easy to find riff.  The first sort of forgettable song on the whole album.  The backing vocal chant effect saves this one from the "unnecessary" bin, but it is otherwise a relatively juvenile song saved by a decent producer.

7) "We Are the Normal"

Okay, so this is the type of song that happens when someone gets to see a dream come true.  Johnny dreamed of writing a song with his idol Paul Westerberg, of the legendary Minneapolis group The Replacements.  It is hard to evaluate any of Westerberg's work or his adjacent work unbiased, as The Replacements are my favorite band, and I believe Paul Westerberg is probably the best songwriter of Gen X.  Well, Paul's genius speaks loud and clear here; this song is definitely a Goo Goo Dolls song, and his touch is very limited.  One of the band's first forays into writing a real ballad, this song sounds like they had already perfected the craft.  Had this song been on a bigger and more successful record, it would have been a top 10 single.  Instead, it sits at the end of the first side of a cult favorite album.  Either way, this is cannon Goo Goo Dolls rock, and deserves a place next to their biggest singles.  This song was supposedly written as Johnny Rzeznik and Paul Westerberg sent letters back and forth getting it right.  As much of the Goo Goo Dolls stuff feels like a love letter to the rock sound of Minneapolis, it is nice to see them get a nice love letter back.

8) "String of Lies"

For a band with two capable front men, there is a void of songs where they both exercise their time on the mic.  This one is an exception.  This one feels like another breakup anthem, but one full of anger and resentment.  Most of the songs feel sort of vulnerable; this one just feels like venom as Johnny and Robby trade barbs.  

9) "Another Second Time Around"

Robby is always a pocket bass player.  A decent one, but he does play the bass a little safe usually.  This one shows him doing a few walks up the neck, and drawing a few different picking techniques.  Johnny keeps it interesting by changing the way he plays the chords in each verse.  The song feels like a song about an on again, off again affair.  Sometimes romance in your 20s in deftly complicated, and this song speaks straight to it.  One of Robby's best efforts as a writer and vocalist.

10) "Stop the World"

This song feels frantic from the get go.  It also does its best to be wise beyond its years.  It is certainly written to be sung by an auditorium full of people.  The end is a fist-pumping generational call.  It speaks of the whims of change, the lack of responsibility of youth, and helplessness.  Very cool deep track.

11) "Already There"

A less convincing "remember when we were kids" song.  There have been eons of other nostalgia tracks written.  This one does feel a bit phoned in.  Robby likely sort of saw the writing on the wall that Johnny was about to be the face of the band.  For what it is worth, he has played a loyal and able lieutenant, but this song does sort of show why Johnny was the one who began to carry this band into stardom.

12) "On the Lie"

Speaking of Paul Westerberg, this song is full of his casual word play, and his ability to strike a chord with a single line.  Except, this isn't a Westerberg song, it is from his loyal disciple.  The rhythm of the song is impeccable, with Robby carrying the back end on his bass.  The chorus gets so big you just want to scream a long.  This is one of the first songs that showed that the Goo Goo Dolls were primed for stardom.  Another deep cut that would have been a single on a more popular record.

13) "Close Your Eyes"

This song feels like an early 90s number.  the organ in the background adds a welcome texture to a Robby song, which can sometimes get a little 2 dimensional.  It almost has a deep Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers feel to it, which just oozes authenticity.  This is a great Robby track.

14" "So Far Away"

Another one singing out into the abyss of love lost.  Straight from school of Minneapolis by way of Buffalo, this is a great coda to the whole record.  Not the best song on the record, but a great summary of what has just played out.

So, "Superstar Carwash" sits at the crossroads between punk cred and pop stardom.  The Goo Goo Dolls would unlock the formula to pop writing and never look back, but there is a sort of sadness about what could have been.  Perhaps some less zealous producers could have guided their songcraft without blunting their edge.  But this record is a testament to a sound that lasted for a few songs, and could have been.

I don't dislike the newer stuff that they do, but it just doesn't have the same authenticity.  Maybe one day we will get a throwback record or tour.  Until then, we have this piece of dead dinosaur to scrape a needle across....