Superstar Car Wash

Performer: The Goo Goo Dolls
Engineer: Gavin MacKillop
Producer: Gavin MacKillop
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Goo Goo Dolls: Johnny (guitar); Robby (bass); George (drums). Recorded at Metalworks Recording Studios, Mississuaga, Ontario, Canada; Trackmaster Recording Studios, Buffalo, New York; and Master Control Studios, Burbank, California between August and October, 1992. Personnel: Johnny Rzeznik (vocals, guitar); George Tutuska (drums). Audio Mixer: Gavin MacKillop. Photographers: Frank Luterek; Chris Kehoe; Marlene Rosenberg. Unknown Contributor Roles: Mary Ramsey; Armand John Petri; Joe Rozler. The hard rock rawness of Buffalo's Goo Goo Dolls makes Superstar Car Wash an album that is high on amicable guitar riffs and attractive hooks, with an edge that never goes away. All the choruses are sandwiched perfectly between the crunching throttle of electric guitar and pleasing rock rhythms, changing pace and style just a notch in each of the 14 songs. Heavy but far from pretentious, songs like "Fallin' Down," "Cuz You're Gone," and "We Are the Normal," co-written by Paul Westerberg, combine pleasing elements of rough harmonies with infectious runs of six-string grit. John Rzeznik's vocals resonate with a reckless, punk-soaked ardor that lifts their music above and beyond the norm of power pop. The attitude that surrounds the album makes the Goo Goo Dolls out to be a rough and tumble outfit, outlining all the tunes with a rebellious tone. Quite different from their platinum A Boy Named Goo album, which soun ded smoother and refined, Superstar Carwash has the band sounding loose and freewheeling, making the best of any musical misdirection. Before radio adopted their polished glimmer, they let loose and channeled their playful immaturity throughout the attractive impurity of this album. ~ Mike DeGagne

Entertainment Weekly (2/12/93, p.57) - "...these guys dig that playing loud and fast doesn't mean you ain't a fool for love and that the best punks may be those who temper Sturm und Drang with melody and melancholy..." - Rating: A Alternative Press (4/93, p.61) - "...the [Goo Goo Dolls] are progressing...even though they've smoothed out a bit, you can still get drunk and fall over to them..." Musician (4/93, p.85) - "...like all great pop, the Goo Goos stand cliches on their head, while the magnetic hooks suck you in and make it all sound new again...marks a quantum leap over their thrash beginnings, a move akin to the Replacements breakthrough record LET IT BE..."

The angst-ridden alt-rock that bands like Nirvana popularized in the early-1990s eventually branched off into a softer, more mature sound with such groups as the Goo Goo Dolls. Formed in Buffalo, New York in the 1980s, as raw and rowdy Replacements-style rockers, Johnny Rzeznik and company hit paydirt a decade later with the pop ballads "Name" and "Iris." They would remain steady hitmakers for over a decade.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25