Customer Reviews

Superstarcarwash

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alright. I'll admit it. I'm a 14 year old girl. I was once one of the N*SYNC-worshipping teeny boppers drawn to the Goo Goo Dolls by "Name" and "Iris". So I bought Dizzy Up The Girl. And I loved it...and realized there is world beyond overproduced, overcommericialized, bubblegum pop. After this sudden exposure to actual music, I promptly threw out the trash I had been listening to (N*SYNC, BSB, Britney Spears, I am SO ASHAMED...) and started re-building my CD collection. One day, a friend of mine gave me SuperstarCarWash as a birthday gift.

Now, I know that Dizzy Up The Girl is a bit more poppy-sounding and not as punk as the Goo's earlier stuff. So when I popped this into my CD player, I wasn't really sure what to expect...would this be more Jed or DUTG?

I was blown away.

This is an incredible CD...It should have been MORE successful than Dizzy Up The Girl. The quality of the music is incredible...It's littered with articulate, passionate lyrics, impossibly catchy hooks, and some of the most challenging guitar solos EVER. This is probably the only CD I can put in my CD player and not have to press the skip button once.

The diversity of this album is great, too. For those of you who don't know, the Goo Goo Dolls bass player, Robby Takac, also writes and sings for the band. For some reason, his songs are never released as singles. Some people don't listen to his songs, most likely because they get too used to John's crooning and when Robby's high, raspy voice comes on don't want to take the time to appreciate it. When John writes, he tends to go in all directions...anything from anthemic power pop to acoustic ballads to hard edged, give-em-the-middle-finger punk. Robby tends to stay closer to one style-- fast paced, bouncy punk. (Ive never heard a Robby song with an acoustic guitar) The subjects of Robby's songs tend to be quirky and original, while most of John's songs are usually about love, dating, what have you.

When you combine John's and Robby's voices, whether it being in a duet ot them simply singing back up for each other, good things happen. They do a duet on this song called String Of Lies, and it kicks serious butt. Buy the CD and listen to String Of Lies, you'll understand what I've been writing about. Hell-- buy this CD and listen to all the songs. There's something for everyone. Iris fans will enjoy We Are The Normal, (it has a violin solo and the lyrics were written by Paul Westerburg) Fans of the early stuff will love Domino and String of Lies, (Semi-Angry lyrics with blaring electing guitar) and people who just wanna listen to some good Rock n' Roll will enjoy On The Lie, So Far Away, and Fallin' Down.

I hope this review was insightful. The Goo Goo Dolls are so much more than Iris and Name, even though those are good songs. They have an actual history, and work hard to get to where they are...so check out this CD! You won't be disappointed.

kinda like when they were still diamonds in the rough, the goo goo dolls had very good music. this cd is, in my opinion, their best work ever.

i really like the guitar work on this album. it is especially good on the track 'stop the world', which may not have been all that great without it. as usual, john rzeznik's vocals are exceptional, robby's falling short again. the one song that they didn't write on this recording, 'we are the normal', is a very powerful and realistic song about life and death. other songs that i like are 'string of lies'(a very interesting duet between john and robby) 'cuz you're gone' (because 'you diconnect yourself from it all because you know that you're so beautiful and so untouchable' is such a great line) 'so far away' (very good vocals by john) and 'domino' (actually sung by robby, but very good backgrounds by john)

this is my favorite band in the world in their best form. i know the goo goo dolls for this music, and i hope that others may come to know them for this, also.

First off, I will bluntly say it: I love this album. I bought it in backtrack to get to know some of the Goos' older ablums before their new one was released and was far from disappointed. It is one of my favorite albums of all time. Don't get me wrong, I like their newer albums, too, but I really love this one.

Something about this album just makes me so happy. The music is well played and written and just...wow. I love it. And now, for a few reviews of some of the songs on there.

Fallin' Down is a great way to start off the album. It really gets you into it instantly, with a catchy hooky ("Do you know, where you want to go") and great music all around.

Lucky Star is a song I always enjoy listening to. I always find it interesting to hear Robby, the bass player's, voice because none of his songs make it to the radio. It's almost as if someone's singing you a secret the mainstream hasn't heard. The song wasn't what I thought it would be from my first impression of the title, but I'm quite fond of it now.

Cuz You're Gone is amazing. I love this song. I can just listen to it over and over again. It makes me just ecstatic. There's this one line in it I just adore that sends chills up my back every time I hear it ("Cuz you know that you're so beautiful and so untouchable"). It ends beautifully ("Yeah you're gone and I wish you'd come back"), also.

Girl Right Next To Me is awesome. I can't really describe what I like about it, I guess you'd just have to hear it for yourself to understand.

We Are The Normal is an amazing song. I love how it starts off musically, with soft string instruments for about 30 seconds then out into a full-out guitar rock. The lyrics are wonderful and true and make you think about your place in the world. Just absolutely great.

Stop The World is a good enough song just for the chorus, which is incredibly sweet:
"'Cause I could stop the world, 'cause I loved you
I could stop the world, and I don't want to
I could stop the world, and I won't
'Cause it ain't enough"
I mean, really, what's better than that?

So Far Away is a great closing song, and the Goo Goo Dolls seem to have a talent with this: all of their albums that I've heard (5), they seem to fill that particular place with the best song to fit there. It just fades out so wonderfully. I love it.

By now, you're probably sick of reading all this, but listen to me, this is an excellent album. I cannot stop listening to it, it's wonderful. And something about listening to a lesser-known album is just refreshing and calming. I definitely reccomend this. There is not a single bad song on here.

"Superstar Car Wash" the fourth major album from the simply fabulous Goo Goo Dolls, is one of their best! It contains such incredible music and is truly a spectrum of tastes. The band's diversity is really seen in the musicality of this album, ranging from the modern rock "Fallin' Down" to the louder stylings of "Stop the World" to the simply beautiful, "We are the Normal" - really one of their best songs, ever! (The album is worth it just for that one.) "Iris", and "Black Balloon" lovers are sure to be pleased with SCW. Truly a measure of the band's musical maturity, "Superstar Car Wash" takes Goo Goo Doll fans from "Hold Me Up" (the previous album) and into the famous "A Boy Named Goo" (the album that spawned the radio hit "Name"). This was an important album in the band's history and a major staple of a fan's collection. The songs have become increasingly layered with various music textures and harmonies; lyrics have become more candid and soul-revealing; and the stars that we know today were just Buffalo boys, waiting for a "wash" in success.

This is the 4th albumn by the Goo Goo Dolls and the one that most diehard fans will tell you is their favorite. The Goo Goo Dolls started as a punk rock band with the bassist, Robby Tackac, singing the majority of their songs. In this CD you can see how the band begins to really define themselves as musicians who can play with melody and harmony and turn it into an awesome rock song. Hard enough for those who like it edgy and soft enough for those who are fans of the Goo's more recent work on Dizzy Up The Girl and Gutterflower. This is a CD purchase that will not disappoint!!

One thing I've never understood is why this album was not a huge hit when it was released in 1993. It's fantastic and would've fit well with the music scene at the time. The Goo Goo Dolls are my favorite band of all time, their albums are always great from top to bottom, and this one is no exception. "We Are The Normal" was the single from this and they scored a modest hit on college radio with it, but nothing else happened. Their big breakthrough came two years later...but this should've made them famous. The guitar work is excellent...Johnny Rzeznik has to be one of the most underrated guitar players today because those solos blow me away. And the song writing, as always, makes me wish I could be able to write songs like theirs. "Fallin' Down" opens the album (this should've been huge) followed by the first Robby track on the disc, "Lucky Star" (not to be confused with the Madonna hit of the same name). With the line "As bright as you are, don't get burned by your lucky star", how could you not want to sing along. "Cuz You're Gone", a song about wanting someone that you just can't reach and wishing they would "come back", follows 3rd. Next, is the second Robby song, "Don't Worry". I hate it when people say Robby's songs are no good, because they really are, people just get used to Johnny singing more often now. But Robby really does have great songs. "Girl Right Next To Me", "Domino", and the modest hit, "We Are The Normal" with words by Paul Westerberg complete the first half of the album. But the 2nd half is just as good. Maybe even better. The second half of the album starts with "String Of Lies" and Johnny and Robby duet with the lines, "String of lies, we always compromise for you" being sung in unison, a rockin' song with once again excellent lyrics and music. "Another Second Time Around", "Stop The World" (one of my personal favorites), "Already There", and "On The Lie" follow. None of them should be skipped over. "Close Your Eyes" follows as the last Robby song and the album finishes up with "So Far Away", a Johnny song with the bridge, "If you break enough glass and there's no one to hear cause your heart's full of hate and your mind's full of fear, let it go"...it makes for an incredible ending to an incredible rock album that will make you want to push the repeat button. Ignore the people who call the Goos' wimp rockers, cause it's not a fair description as any Goo fan will tell you. They're one of the most hard working, influential bands of today, and you know, I'm glad they hung in there cause their hard work paid off, as they are now one of the most popular rock bands around. This is a look at the Goos before they made it big, maybe, like me, you'll wonder why this wasn't bigger. Any rock/alternative music fan should really give it a listen, it's really a powerful album and a fan favorite and who knows, maybe you'll end up an even bigger fan than me. Give it a listen, it's really worth it.

This CD is simply excellent, I loved it from the second I put it in my CD player. It has everything that anyone could ever want all wrapped up in a delightful package including, quite possibly, the best picture of Johnny ever put on CD jacket. The picture itself is worth the money! Humor is found in Robby's lyrics that often describe the snow, his grandma, and TV. "Already There" and "Domino" are his best on this CD, the messages are thoughtful yet these songs make you smile every time. On this CD Johnny was obviously drawing lyrical ideas from a strong relationship. He shows the love side of the relationship in songs like "Girl Right Next to Me," "Stop the World" and "Fallin' Down" and the difficult side of love in "Cuz You're Gone" and one of his best ever "So Far Away." Johnny and Robby also team up to deliver the rocking "String of Lies," a treat for any Goo fan. And, of course, the excellent "We are the Normal" which becomes engraved in your mind after listening to it a few times, it is so wonderfully catchy. This album is an excellent, underrated buy, well worth the money for anyone, Goo fan or not, you will be once you buy "Superstar Car Wash."

This album is a pure power pop masterpiece. Written when the Goo Goo Dolls were virtual unknowns and didn't worry about a "follow-up" single or album. A great leap in songcraft from Jed and Hold Me Up.
I recall first hearing this in 1993 the day it arrived in the mail at college radio station where I worked and wondered how long it would take for these guys to explode. A little over two years later they dropped a Boy Named Goo and the single "Name" just exploded.
The rest is an unfortunate history. Concerned with their place in the music world, the Dolls attempted to catch the fire of "Name"s success and feed us radio-friendly, cross over tracks like "Iris" and "Baby's Black Balloon". Bummer.

SCW is a great mix of songs that these guys wrote for themselves and their fans. Not the A&R guy.

Trading off on lead vocals over the first half of the album tracks, Johnny and Robby set a nice tone for each song. Johnny is the lover and Robby is the fighter. Kinda reminds me of Paul and Gene of Kiss(Sorry).

Standout tracks include...forget it, they're all very strong, if a little repetative by the time you get to "So Far Away". But who listens to complete albums in one sitting anymore? My advice: Listen to 1-7 the first day. Put the CD away. Listen to 8-14 on day two.

Buy this CD if you enjoy well written Pop Rock (Weezer, Green Day, etc). Doubtful you will be disappointed.

I officially became a Goo fan when I was 12 and got their CD "Dizzy Up the Girl". I stil remember the moment, driving down 141 with my dad to get a frosty. Johnny's single "I'm Still Here" came on and I told my dad I loved the song. He looked surprised and excited. "That's the Goo Goo Dolls!" My dad was a GGD fanatic and was always talking about them. He started describing all of their other hit singles to me and it turns out I loved them all, I just never knew they were by the same band. That summer we saw them in concert twice.

The second CD I got was A Boy Named Goo, a gift from my dad. I listened to it once, maybe twice and decided I didn't like it. That was when I was 12, my favorite song was "Iris", and I couldn't stand Robby. I'm 16 now and believe that CD may be their best yet. They started off as a goofy punk band with songs like "Up Yours": very immature, bad lyrics, bad music. With each album they've released, they've become more and more mainstream. Their cover single "Give A Little Bit" may be the most mainstream song I've ever heard, period. As much as I dislike grunge punk stuff, I hate really mainstream stuff. This album and A Boy Named Goo are perfectly in between. They've still got the hard guitar, but they've matured and become more serious. Well, Johnny has. That's why I don't hate Robby anymore. In their most recent albums, he offers a hard-rock break from Johnny's mainstream cheesy ballads.

My two favorite Goo songs are "Flat Top" and "On the Lie". "On the Lie" can be found on this album and "Flat Top" on A Boy Named Goo. For any real fan of GGD who appreciates them better than I did when I was twelve, these two albums are must haves.

p.s. I meant to give them 5 stars but it won't let me change my rating now.

Simply put, this is the best rock and roll CD in my collection of well over 300 CDs. A little bit of pop, a little bit of punk, a little bit of metal, and a lot of Replacements influence, SSC is amazing from start to finish. "Fallin' Down" has a killer riff, and "We Are The Normal" (co-written with one of the Replacements, incedentally) is almost as good as "Iris," my personal favorite GGD track. The lyrics, as always, are amazing and profound, and anyone who likes Robby Takac's voice will like this, for his voice is at its very best here. The only place it sounds better is on "Slave Girl" from A Boy Named Goo (another killer album). If you like rock music with soul and energy, pick this up.