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. 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]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
A Boy Named Goo
Studio album by
Goo Goo Dolls
ReleasedMarch 14, 1995
Recorded1994
StudioBearTracks Studios, Suffern, NY and Trackmaster Studios, Buffalo, NY
GenreAlternative rock
Length42:14
Label
ProducerLou Giordano, Goo Goo Dolls
Goo Goo Dolls chronology
Superstar Car Wash
(1993)		 A Boy Named Goo
(1995)		 Bang!
(1997)
Singles from A Boy Named Goo
  1. "Only One"
    Released: February 1995
  2. "Flat Top"
    Released: June 12, 1995[3]
  3. "Name"
    Released: September 26, 1995
  4. "Naked"
    Released: January 1996
  5. "Long Way Down"
    Released: March 1996

History

This 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 George'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

On 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

All songs written by John Rzeznik, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Long Way Down" 3:28
2."Burnin' Up"Rzeznik, Robby Takac, George Tutuska2:29
3."Naked" 3:43
4."Flat Top" 4:30
5."Impersonality"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska2:41
6."Name" 4:30
7."Only One" 3:18
8."Somethin' Bad"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska2:30
9."Ain't That Unusual" 3:19
10."So Long"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska2:33
11."Eyes Wide Open"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska3:56
12."Disconnected" (The Enemies cover)Joe Bompczyk, Bob Guariglia, Pete Secrist, Fred Suchman3:00
13."Slave Girl" (Lime Spiders cover)Mick Blood, Richard Jakimyszyn2:17

Advanced copy track listing

The 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.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Long Way Down" 3:39
2."Burnin' Up"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska2:29
3."Naked" 3:44
4."Flat Top" 4:30
5."Impersonality"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska2:40
6."Name" 4:31
7."Only One" 3:18
8."Something Bad"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska2:31
9."Someday" 3:22
10."So Long"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska2:33
11."Stand Alone"Tutuska3:43
12."Eyes Wide Open"Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska3:57

Covers and media appearances

Metalcore 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

Goo Goo Dolls

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified 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
  1. Lindsay, Cam (December 17, 2015). "Rank Your Records: John Rzeznik Plays Favorites with the Goo Goo Dolls Records". Vice. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  2. "Album of the Day". Rhino Entertainment. March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  3. "New Music for June". Radio & Records. No. 1096. May 26, 1995. p. 78.
  4. Miers, Jeff (12 October 2018). "Timeline: Goo Goo Dolls, through the years". Buffalo News. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  5. Raggett, Ned. "A Boy Named Goo – Goo Goo Dolls". AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  6. McKeough, Kevin (March 16, 1995). "Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  7. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Goo Goo Dolls". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. Cristiano, Nick (March 19, 1995). "Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo (Metal Blade/Warner)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  9. 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.
  10. Reece, Douglas (June 29, 1996). "Wal-Mart Halts 'A Boy Named Goo' Reorders". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 64.
  11. "Wal-mart Shoppers' Protest Goo Goo Dolls' New Album". Orlando Sentinel. June 9, 1996. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2876". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  13. "Goo Goo Dolls Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  14. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  15. "Canadian album certifications – Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  16. "American album certifications – Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
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