Goo Goo Dolls


Goo Goo Dolls are a rock trio who formed in 1985 as the 'Sex Maggots' from Buffalo. The band are made up of Johnny Rzeznik (Electric & Acoustic Guitar,Vocals) Robby Takac (Bass Guitar,Vocals) Mike Malinin (Drums) -who actually replaced drummer 'Tutuska' before joining the warner bros label, they were originally just a cover band, until they slowly came up with their own stuff, they were mostly influenced by 'The Replacements', but they really remind me of 'The Calling'.. their newer stuff does anyway.
(In that picture the 2 on the right look liked women to me when i first saw it.. but no, it really is a trio of men).

The trio started off known as the 'Sex Maggots', but of course they were advised to change their name for various reasons so they became 'The Goo Goo Dolls' after seeing an advert in the back a magazine for a doll with a movable rubber head.. they released their first album in 1987 when they were signed with the punk metal label 'Blade' -the album was self titled 'The Goo Goo Dolls'.

Their first 4 albums were complete punk and mostly had bass player Robby Takac singing as he had a much rougher sounding voice.. then their style started to change in 1995 when they released 'A Boy Named Goo'- this album all the way through to their newest album 'Gutterflower' was a much cleaner style of rock instead of their old alternative thrash punk style, their new music now features Johnny Rzeznik as the lead singer with a much cleaner sounding voice. They changed their look aswell as their label to 'Warner Bros'.
In 1995 they were dubbed "Americas best unknown band".

I find myself unable to stop listening to the Goo Goo Dolls, the lyrics are what really pull you into their music, Johnny has a great way with words, he reaches you on so many levels of emotion, and you can always relate to it somehow, and there will always be someone who can relate to it someway.. you just know. What im really refering to is there newer music which started being released in 1995.
If you listened to their first album and then stuck on their newest album you would have never guessed they were the same band! They completely changed their style.
It's so great to see bands do this, u can see they are capable of not just sticking to one style, you can hear that they actually have talent and an ear for different types of music, and as musicians are quite open-minded too.

If you want to try out The Goo Goo Dolls and aren't sure which album to pick, then pick carefully..
because it completely depends on what style you prefer, if you love thrashing punk music then go for their older albums such as 'The Goo Goo Dolls' (self titled). If you prefer some cleaner normal rock with cleaner lyrics and cleaner melodies, then definitely pick a newer album such as 'Dizzy Up The Girl'.

Personally my favourite songs are;
Slide,
Broadway,
Black Balloon,
Acoustic #3,
Iris

Here are some lyric examples..

Black Balloon:
"..Baby's black balloon makes her fly
I almost fell into that hole in your life
And you're not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Cuz you were the same as me
But on your knees.."

Broadway:
"..Broadway is dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway is dark tonight
See the young man sitting
In the old man's bar
Waiting for his turn to die.."

Acoustic# 3
"..They painted up your secrets
With the lies they told to you
And the least they ever gave you
Was the most you ever knew.."

"..And I wonder where these dreams go
When the world gets in your way
What's the point in all this screaming
No one's listening anyway.."

Ok these songs are all off 'Dizzy Up The girl'.. but its my favourite album too, i think its the best i have heard of them so far, so please do try them out..
I don't think you're likely to regret it if you like this type of music. I don't know how but the music really does put a smile on your face, and i can listen to it without getting sick of it so this is a very good way of telling if a band has a good variety of music or not, being able to listen to it over and over again without getting bored of it.

You can find out more about The Goo Goo Dolls at their website http://www.googoodolls.com

Snapshot Link: http://www.aahceleb.com/pics/goo_goo_dolls.html

Thanks to Nay for introducing me to The Goo Goo Dolls and discussing their Biography!


| | Posted: Sun - August 14, 2005 at 08:17 PM          

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