Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce

RELEASE
May 29, 2001
LABEL
Hollywood
GENRES
Pop/Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Post-Grunge, Hard Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock

Album Review

It's hard to discern what exactly the purpose of Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce is. It's a compilation, boasting remixes and remastered tracks, but it misses all of the Goo Goo Dolls' biggest hits. So, the best guess for its reason to be is to provide latter-day fans with a basic idea of what the Goos were about before "Iris" and "Name" -- and, if that's the case, its release in 2001 is a little puzzling, since it's been years since they've broken through into the mainstream. In any case, this isn't a bad disc at all, since it does cherry-pick the Goos' albums rather gracefully, balancing almost-hits like "We Are the Normal" with a good selection of album tracks. Still, the audience for this must be pretty small -- not the hardcore fans, since they already have all this, but fans of the early stuff won't need it, nor will the really casual fans, who just want the hits, since they're not here. So, it's for the listener that either wants an overview of the early years -- and it's good at that -- or for the listener that has "Name" and "Iris" and wants to dig deeper, without getting the actual albums. Small audiences in both respects, but for those that belong to that audience, it's a good bet.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Bullet Proof
  2. All Eyes on Me
  3. Amigone
  4. Acoustic #3
  5. Naked
  6. Ain't That Unusual
  7. Burnin' Up
  8. Flat Top
  9. Eyes Wide Open
  10. Fallin' Down
  11. Another Second Time Around
  12. Cuz You're Gone
  13. We Are the Normal
  14. Girl Right Next to Me
  15. Lucky Star
  16. On the Lie
  17. Just the Way You Are
  18. Two Days in February
  19. Laughing
  20. There You Are
  21. Up Yours
  22. I'm Addicted