Goo Goo Dolls
Gutterflower

THE REVIEW

If you've experienced abandonment or your significant other has left you to your fate, then this album is just for you. To offer a bit of comfort to those who have abruptly ended a relationship, John Rzeznik, the frontman of the Goo Goo Dolls, has poured all the sad emotions caused by the separation from his wife into “Gutterflower,” in order to share the same feelings with the band's fans. Saying it like this, one might think of a gloomy album composed of a handful of melancholy and lifeless ballads. Quite the opposite, because Rzeznik has produced airy and musically "positive" tracks precisely to exorcise the pain and leave it behind. The result is an album with decidedly reflective lyrics, yet associated with the same rock vein that is the trademark of the Buffalo group.

“Gutterflower,” released in 2002 four years after “Dizzy Up The Girl,” does not make you miss its famous predecessor at all and consequently ranks among the most successful works of the Goos, marking their maturity. Those who discovered them through their hit single "Iris" (and I believe at least in Italy much of their fame is owed to the big ballad from the movie "City Of Angels") will find the same vibes in “It’s Over.” “I can't stand without you… and I won't find the answers when you're gone… But it's over to you”… sings Rzeznik, expressing his lament even in the hopeful opener “Big Machine” - a heart-stopper from the very first listen - and in the first single “Here Is Gone,” a midtempo that expresses a desire for freedom and looking forward: the calm after the storm. More angry, however, is “What Do You Need?” ("Why do we need to turn it on? Why does it always feel so wrong? What do you need from me tonight? The truth is so complicated now… You feel so free to say… You’re wrong, you’re wrong…”), while “Sympathy” is an acoustic gem where once again the singer reflects on the relationship gone sour.

From my point of view, the album falters when bassist Robby Takac (one with an improbable hairstyle) takes the microphone: his are the punk-flavored songs reminiscent of the early Goo Goo Dolls (the group indeed emerged at the end of the ‘80s), but that shrill voice can become annoying in the long run. The only criticism, for an album that offers easy-listening music for all ears and guaranteed emotions. Why ask for more? Rating 7.5