''Gutterflower'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska.
After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sou ...
. It was released in 2002 on
Warner Bros. Records. It is the follow up to their critically successful albums ''
Dizzy Up the Girl
''Dizzy Up the Girl'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Goo Goo Dolls, released on September 22, 1998 through Warner Bros. Records. The album is often noted for being the album which propelled the Goo Goo Dolls into success, al ...
'' and ''
A Boy Named Goo
''A Boy Named Goo'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls, released in 1995 on Warner Bros. As a commercial success, it has been RIAA-certified as double-platinum.
History
This is the Goo Goo Dolls' last studio album wit ...
''. The album was commercially successful upon its release, hitting No. 4 on the
''Billboard'' 200, their highest position on the chart.
Track listing
Singles
"Here Is Gone" and "Big Machine" have been the only two songs released from this album as singles and videos have been created for both. A video for the promotional single "Sympathy" was also released.
"Big Machine"
John Rzeznik refers to this as his "disco song". "I'm really horrible at programming drum machines, but this was like pattern 74 on my drum machine, which said 'disco.' I called all my friends and said, 'Check this out, this is my disco song!'" He describes it as "a propulsive tale of unrequited love". "Big Machine" was occasionally performed live on a smashed
Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...
guitar that Rzeznik has fondly nicknamed "The Half-Caster". Despite being smashed in half, it still plays. It can be seen in a 2002
VH1 Storytellers special. Rzeznik stated that he had someone fix it up and it works just fine.
"Here Is Gone"
John Rzeznik wrote this song on the phone while talking to a friend. He asked his friend if he should "take the chords up or take 'em down?" and the friend told him to "take 'em up" and that's how he came up with the chorus and the rest of the song came together shortly thereafter.
According to Rzeznik in 2007, the video for this song cost more to produce than the entire Gutterflower album itself.
Reception
* Upon release, ''Gutterflower'' received generally positive reviews from critics. In fact, although The Goo Goo Dolls' multi-platinum album
Dizzy Up the Girl
''Dizzy Up the Girl'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Goo Goo Dolls, released on September 22, 1998 through Warner Bros. Records. The album is often noted for being the album which propelled the Goo Goo Dolls into success, al ...
(which was ''Gutterflower's'' predecessor) sold around 3,000,000 more albums than ''Gutterflower'', reviews were equally positive.
* In 2005, ''Gutterflower'' was ranked number 499 in ''Rock Hard'' magazine's book of ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.
Personnel
*
Johnny Rzeznik
John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik (; born December 5, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, best known as the founder, guitarist and frontman of the American rock band Goo Goo Dolls, with whom he has recorded 14 studio albums.
Early life
Rzeznik w ...
– lead guitar, lead vocals
*
Robby Takac
Robert Carl Takac Jr. (born September 30, 1964) is an American rock bassist and vocalist. Takac is one of the founding members of the Goo Goo Dolls, along with Johnny Rzeznik.
Background
Takac was born in Buffalo, New York and grew up in the Buf ...
– bass, background vocals, lead vocals on "Smash", "Tucked Away", "You Never Know" and "Up, Up, Up"
*
Mike Malinin
Michael Theodore Malinin (born October 10, 1967) is an American musician known for his work as drummer of the Goo Goo Dolls. He has been drumming for Tanya Tucker since 2016.
Family
Michael Malinin was born in Washington, D.C., one of the fou ...
– drums, percussion
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Goo Goo Dolls albums
2002 albums
Albums produced by Rob Cavallo
Warner Records albums