Goo Goo Dolls
Dizzy Up The Girl

THE REVIEW

It was 1998. In the Christmas of that year, I wasn't interested in any plush toys of some strange endangered animal, no pair of earrings to make me look older, no illustrated book of "The Betrothed" or similar. I was 10 years old and felt the need to own my own CD. So I asked my parents to give me the Goo Goo Dolls' one (in my eyes, this exploit was shrouded in an aura of sacredness mixed with a fervent maturity). And this surprised both my parents and my sisters (who at most could have expected some request about the Queen, being the flagship band of my family). This album had the power to open the doors of rock to a child (that would be me!) in the years when Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and similar budding bands were all the rage. And unlike the latter, who had an all too predictable success, the Goo Goo Dolls were lauded, sic et simpliciter I would say, for what has become one of the most "dedicated" love songs on the radio (together with "Always" by Bon Jovi, I suspect).

But the Goo Goo Dolls are not just "Iris". Their punk background certainly faded in Dizzy Up The Girl but a keen ear can undoubtedly catch a slight nuance that still lingers in some tracks. This is the case of "January Friend", "Amigone" and "Full Forever", musically and textually decent tracks. Unfortunately, it's undeniable the gap (evident even to a rock novice like I was at the age of 10) between Rzeznik's songs (vocals and guitar) and those of Takac (bass and backing vocals). The three aforementioned indeed have something already heard that could easily lead a more mature listener to a sudden discard (and this is often the problem with songs with punk influences). Takac's pieces thus stand out too sharply from the properly rock ones but, fortunately, this does not preclude the opportunity to appreciate the latter.

"You're cynical and beautiful" is the opening line of "Dizzy", a track with no great pretensions by Rzeznik, whose short length nonetheless encourages a deeper first listen. Then comes "Slide" with those intro and outro arpeggios that make it sound even better acoustically than it is. "Broadway" sounds rather Bon Jovi-esque and is perhaps the only song that stands between the album's dual sound, not properly fitting into either scheme. "Black Balloon" and "All Eyes On Me" are tracks united by a certain melancholic vein, suggested by the singer's voice more than by the sound itself. "Bullet Proof" is the most rock piece of the entire album, perhaps the right outcome expected for most of the songs of Dizzy Up The Girl. Contrary to this assertion stand "Acoustic #3" and "Iris", indisputably beautiful but far removed from the preceding counterparts. It closes with "Hate This Place" which in some way resumes the line of "Slide".

This album is definitely a nice album. Big words to exalt its excellent qualities are unnecessary because it hasn't changed much in the history of rock music. It didn't have any significant effect either in terms of influences or from a purely musical perspective. It is simply a good work that I recommend listening to. Absolutely.