Producers: Lou Giordano (tracks 1-11); Rob Cavallo, Goo Goo Dolls (tracks 12-13).

Engineers: Lou Giordano (tracks 1-11); Jerry Finn (tracks 12-13).

Recorded at Beartracks Studios, Suffern, New York and Soundcastle, Los Angeles, California.

All songs written by John Rzeznik or Goo Goo Dolls except "Disconnected" (Mann/Piranha/Secrist/Sinister) and "Slave Girl" (M. Blood/J. Jakimyszyn).

A BOY NAMED GOO shows that the Goo Goo Dolls have soaked up all the elements necessary to make them a great guitar band. The album's title clearly harkens back to Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" and its narrator's search for the people who named him; but the Goo Goo Dolls aren't taking that path. They already know their past (straight-ahead post-punk), and A BOY NAMED GOO plots out their present.

With a smart-alec, bar-band approach reminiscent of the Replacements, the Goo Goo Dolls rage about being "Disconnected"--that "someone pulled the plug." They sound worried on "Long Way Down," realizing that "I don't think I'll make it on my own." "Burnin' Up" offers another key to the Goo Goo Dolls' garage sound by adding a smidgeon of Husker Du (the Bob Mould guitar chimes and Grant Hart's melodic vocal sense are properly reproduced). But it's on the acoustic "Name" that the Dolls' own context emerges. The song complains about "growing up way too fast" in a culture where everything seems borrowed and "re-runs are our history."

This is what makes the Goo Goo Dolls admirable. They're thoroughly aware of the repetition within today's guitar-rock, and use only the good pieces to evaluate the present. A BOY NAMED GOO shows a band completely aware of their surroundings, and boasts some great guitars in the process.

Personnel: Johnny Rzeznik (guitar); George Tutuska (drums).

Audio Mixer: Lou Giordano.

Recording information: Bear Tracks Studio, Suffern, NY; Beartracks Studios, Suffern, NY; Sound Castle Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Trackmaster Recording Studios, Buffalo, NY; Trackmaster Studios, Buffalo, NY.

Though they hailed from upstate New York, the Goo Goo Dolls began as a band enamored of the '80s Minneapolis sound of the Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, et al. Accordingly, their early albums were fervid punk-flavored items full of barely controlled sonic mayhem and occasional hints of pop songcraft. By the time of 1995's A BOY NAMED GOO, the band had honed its sound to perfection, trimming off the roughest edges and seriously pumping up the pop sensibilities. Sure enough, it provided the Dolls with their commercial breakthrough five albums into their career.

It was the poignant semi-ballad "Name" that provided the band with their all-important radio smash, but in fact that tune was a bit of an anomaly. Though the Dolls had prettied up their approach, most of the songs on GOO were still full-on rockers replete with thick, chugging guitars and bravura drum-bashing, standing in stark contrast to the low-key, acoustic-based "Name." Still, once listeners were drawn in, they had no problem connecting with the more energetic side of the band.

Produced by Lou Giordano with his trademark full-bodied, immediately accessible, but never washed-out sound, A Boy Named Goo finally got the band across to a wide audience, and deservedly so. Right from the start, the Goo Goo Dolls sound perfectly on the right track after Superstar Car Wash's OK but ultimately go-nowhere feeling -- "Long Way Down" is another stone-cold classic of wounded romanticism wedded to catchy Cheap Trick-tinged punk-pop, Rzeznik's singing the not-so-secret weapon. Hearing him on the descending chorus, matching the just sad enough guitar crunch, makes one realize that there's always hope for full-bodied rock & roll. The eternal Replacements tag now makes less sense than ever -- the Goos have their own enjoyable sound, Rzeznik's a more individual singer than ever, and all three rock out accordingly. Takac similarly has his own sonic improvements, his formerly rasped high register now just a little more controlled but no less affecting, as winners like "Burnin' Up" and "Somethin' Bad" easily demonstrate. Rzeznik-sung highlights are equally everywhere -- the commercial but never stupid "Naked," with a great chorus and immediately radio-friendly music, the equally sharp "Only One," and the mighty fine "Ain't That Unusual." There's no question what the highlight is, though -- however untypical of the rest of the album's mid-range feedback fun, "Name," with its sweet but sad acoustic arrangement, made perfect sense as the Goos' long-delayed radio breakthrough. Rzeznik's empathetic vocal, delivering one of his best lyrics on favored subjects of friendship, loss, and fame, matches unfolky strumming and quiet energy, creating a song that feels like both a farewell to the American Dream and to a long-lost partner. All this without sounding a Bruce Springsteen sermon -- a rare thing indeed. ~ Ned Raggett