The Goo Goo Dolls have been busy in an upstate New York studio, rifling through mounds of old tape for a forthcoming collection of remixes, so far designated for overseas release only. The album, as yet untitled, isn't so much a greatest hits package as it is a chance for the trio to liven up their lo-fi past and rework the limited production on a few numbers that had been prevented from full realization in their pre-platinum days.
Buffalo's finest began the project by revisiting their 1987 eponymous debut and plan to power all the way through 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl. Overseeing the project is Rob Cavallo, who co-produced the band's 1995 breakthrough A Boy Named Goo and has also twiddled knobs for the likes of Green Day and Eric Clapton. Noted mixmaster Chris Lord-Alge (Hole, Fastball) has also been retained for the record.
In addition to remixing and remastering a host of favorites, old and new, the band will also be re-recording a few numbers. In a strange pairing, the trio brought in New York City cello rebels Rasputina (whose frontwoman, Melora Creager, is best known for backing Nirvana on their final tour in 1994), to add eerie string parts to "Two Days In February," a gentle favorite from 1990's Hold Me Up. Keyboardist and old pal Jamie Muhoberac (Matthew Sweet, the Rolling Stones) has also been dropping science on the sessions. There's been some talk of adding a few outtakes or B-sides to the record, though no track listings have been firmed up just yet.
As it stands now, the album is slated for an early 2001 release in the U.K. and Australia on both the Edel (Hollywood International) and Festival labels. In the meantime, the band delighted workers at their U.S. label (Warner Brothers) on Friday with a parking lot holiday celebration set using drummer Dave Devore to fill in for vacationing skinsman Mike Malinin.
The band's next scheduled gig, a New Year's Eve show at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, has taken a turn for the surreal with word that Guns n' Roses have been added to the bill for their first show in seven years. As things stand today, the plan is for Axl Rose and his new band of mercenaries to take the stage well after the Goos have finished, sometime around 1 a.m. It's unclear how tickets will work for the event, as the Goo Goo's portion of the show is advertised for between $75 and $175, while Gn'R's set will set you back $150-$250.
On another odd Goos note, the band's former collaborator, the Incredible Lance Diamond, has self-released released a collection of soulful seasonal numbers, A Lance Diamond Christmas. Goo fans onboard before singer Johnny Rzeznik's wardrobe makeover may remember Diamond as the potent voice behind the band's covers of CCR's "Down On the Corner" (from 1989's Jed), Prince's "Never Take The Place of Your Man" (from Hold Me Up) and the Rolling Stones' "Bitch" (from 1993's No Alternative compilation). The album, on which regular Goo keyboardist Dave Shultz makes a guest appearance, features sentimental and rocked-out readings of (among others) "Silver Bells" and "Winter Wonderland," and is available through Diamond's Web site at www.boyleworks.com/fabfay/lancediamond.html.
GREG HELLER
(December 13, 2000)