A Boy Named Goo is the fifth studio album by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls, released in 1995 on Warner Bros. The album was a commercial success, and was certified double-platinum by the RIAA within a year of its release.[4] This is the last Goo Goo Dolls album with George Tutuska on drums; he was replaced by Mike Malinin just before the album was released.[4]
| A Boy Named Goo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 14, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Studio | BearTracks Studios, Suffern, NY and Trackmaster Studios, Buffalo, NY | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:14 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Lou Giordano, Goo Goo Dolls | |||
| Goo Goo Dolls chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from A Boy Named Goo | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [6] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
History
editThis album is the Goo Goo Dolls' first studio album to not have 14 tracks. The song "Stand Alone" was written by George Tutuska, and because John Rzeznik didn't want to exploit Tutuska’s efforts after his dismissal, the song was only included on a promo version of the album. On the wide-release version, it is replaced with "Disconnected" and "Slave Girl", which were initially B-sides to the "Only One" single. On the same promo, "Ain't That Unusual" was labeled as "Someday". The two replacement songs are covers of songs by defunct Buffalo and Sydney punk bands The Enemies and Lime Spiders.
The song "Name" is well known as the Goo Goo Dolls' first hit. According to lead singer John Rzeznik, the song's unusual composition came about "quite accidentally".
This album also marked the band's last with the Metal Blade Records imprint.
Walmart controversy
editOn June 5, 1996, the band's label, Warner Bros., released a statement claiming that Walmart had decided to stop selling A Boy Named Goo because some Walmart customers had complained that the album cover was offensive. The statement claimed that some customers had incorrectly thought that the child on the cover was smeared in blood rather than blackberry juice. Walmart acknowledged that they had decided to stop selling the album, but denied Warner Bros.'s claim that this was because of complaints about the cover art, instead ascribing the decision to weak sales.[10] Of the reports that Walmart customers had thought that the child on the cover was smeared in blood, Rzeznik said, "The name of the album is A Boy Named Goo. The picture is of a boy covered with goo. What part of this concept are they unclear on?"[11]
Track listing
editAll songs written by John Rzeznik, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Long Way Down" | 3:28 | |
| 2. | "Burnin' Up" | Rzeznik, Robby Takac, George Tutuska | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Naked" | 3:43 | |
| 4. | "Flat Top" | 4:30 | |
| 5. | "Impersonality" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 2:41 |
| 6. | "Name" | 4:30 | |
| 7. | "Only One" | 3:18 | |
| 8. | "Somethin' Bad" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 2:30 |
| 9. | "Ain't That Unusual" | 3:19 | |
| 10. | "So Long" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 2:33 |
| 11. | "Eyes Wide Open" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 3:56 |
| 12. | "Disconnected" (The Enemies cover) | Joe Bompczyk, Bob Guariglia, Pete Secrist, Fred Suchman | 3:00 |
| 13. | "Slave Girl" (Lime Spiders cover) | Mick Blood, Richard Jakimyszyn | 2:17 |
Advanced copy track listing
editThe track listing for advance copies—before George Tutuska was fired from the band—was slightly different. Neither of the covers were present, and another original song written solely by Tutuska, "Stand Alone", was featured.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Long Way Down" | 3:39 | |
| 2. | "Burnin' Up" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Naked" | 3:44 | |
| 4. | "Flat Top" | 4:30 | |
| 5. | "Impersonality" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 2:40 |
| 6. | "Name" | 4:31 | |
| 7. | "Only One" | 3:18 | |
| 8. | "Something Bad" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 2:31 |
| 9. | "Someday" | 3:22 | |
| 10. | "So Long" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 2:33 |
| 11. | "Stand Alone" | Tutuska | 3:43 |
| 12. | "Eyes Wide Open" | Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska | 3:57 |
Covers and media appearances
editMetalcore band Haste the Day covered the song "Long Way Down" for their album When Everything Falls. "Ain't That Unusual" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1995 film Angus. A remix of the song "Long Way Down" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 film Twister.
Personnel
editGoo Goo Dolls
- John Rzeznik – lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar,
- Robby Takac – bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on tracks 2, 5, 8, 10, and 12
- George Tutuska – drums
Additional personnel
Charts
editCertifications and sales
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[15] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[16] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Lindsay, Cam (December 17, 2015). "Rank Your Records: John Rzeznik Plays Favorites with the Goo Goo Dolls Records". Vice. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ "Album of the Day". Rhino Entertainment. March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "New Music for June". Radio & Records. No. 1096. May 26, 1995. p. 78.
- ^ a b Miers, Jeff (12 October 2018). "Timeline: Goo Goo Dolls, through the years". Buffalo News. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ Raggett, Ned. "A Boy Named Goo – Goo Goo Dolls". AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ McKeough, Kevin (March 16, 1995). "Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Goo Goo Dolls". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Cristiano, Nick (March 19, 1995). "Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo (Metal Blade/Warner)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Harris, Keith (2004). "Goo Goo Dolls". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 338. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Reece, Douglas (June 29, 1996). "Wal-Mart Halts 'A Boy Named Goo' Reorders". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 64.
- ^ "Wal-mart Shoppers' Protest Goo Goo Dolls' New Album". Orlando Sentinel. June 9, 1996. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2876". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- ^ "Goo Goo Dolls Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- ^ "American album certifications – Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
