A while ago I published what was labeled as an Uncut Demo Session of one of the most interesting, yet unknown, Goo Goo Dolls releases in my possession. It is now the time to share with you all the final version of the aforementioned material.
Not many Goo fans know that in 1989 the band participated to a fundraising project for people in need who lived in the Buffalo, NY area, the same city the Goo Goo Dolls hailed from. “Friends Of The Night People” aimed at collecting money for the homeless, and one way of doing that was by raising it through local music bands. The Goo Goo Dolls have always been prone to these initiatives, and as a way to contribute they issued a cassette-only, two-song release featuring the following tunes:
- Do You Believe?
- My Girl
Why is this release important? There are a few reasons. First and foremost, this was the first, official material the band commercialized in terms of Single format. The second one, “We Are The Normal“, appeared only four years later. In between the two, a number of Promo-only releases not intended to generate any income had been put out, their focus was to promote the band on radio stations and magazines.
Furthermore, this cassette may be one of the first, if not THE very first, studio-recorded collaboration between them and the amazing Lance Diamond. The latter appears as lead singer in both songs, and also provides a brief, spoken introduction to the first one.
Let’s dig more into the songs themselves. “My Girl” is a Temptations cover the band liked to sometime play live in 1989 and 1990. I remember reading somewhere that there were plans to include it in “Jed”. In my opinion, it is a great cover which I would have personally preferred to see in that album, instead of “Down On The Corner“.
What about “Do You Believe?“…? Well, that song deserves its own little section within this post.
DO YOU BELIEVE? / DO YOU BELIEVE IN HIM? — AN HIDDEN GEM, A ONE-OF-A-KIND DIAMOND ONLY A FEW HAVE UNEARTHED
By now, I’m sure the title already gave my impressions away. Let’s analyze the first song which appears on the cassette. “Do You Believe?” was actually an original song the band wrote specifically for the fundraising occasion. It is not known who wrote the lyrics and who wrote the music. I speculate it was a team effort involving John, Robby, George, and maybe some other individual (the producer? Lance?).
The version which appears here is very good. I love the lyrics, I love the fact Lance sings along with an (undisclosed) woman throughout the tune. I love the bridge. Overall, I think it’s a pretty solid and quite interesting original song which is aligned with the Christmas spirit, while also offering to the listeners a little taste of the more alternative rock, melody-oriented approach the band embraced with was their then-upcoming third effort.
However, the story for “Do You Believe?” was not over. In 1997, one of the “Bleak Years”, the song was re-recorded and just like its first time, it appeared in another Buffalo, NY fundraising project for the needy titled “That Other Christmas“, which in that occasion was actually released on a CD. Furthermore, it was renamed as well to “Do You Believe In Him?” and featured slightly different lyrics. Once again, Lance Diamond is there as a lead singer, and another (undisclosed) woman as the vocal accompanist.
Why is the re-recorded version important? Because it officially marks the last studio collaboration between the Goo Goo Dolls and Lance… And once again, this relevant event was somehow hidden to the Goo fans masses, as it was presented only in a somewhat obscure release.
I proclaim “Do You Believe In Him?” an hidden gem, a one-of-a-kind diamond only a few Goo fans had the pleasure to unearth, without exaggeration. Obviously, the song musically resembles its precursor tune. However, there are some differences which make it not only superior to it, but most importantly (in my humble opinion) one of the best songs the Goo Goo Dolls ever wrote.
Specifically, its energetic bridge and guitar solo which show off the band’s creativity being on another level. Musically, it reminds of a typical “Superstar Car Wash” track, pumping out aggressiveness and powerful melodies while offering a pop aftertaste. Finally, its perfect execution and high-value production make it a very special Goo Goo Dolls song to cherish and admire. Don’t forget, this track was recorded as the “Dizzy Up The Girl” production was still underway, a period in which the band had finally received some well-deserved recognition in the US thanks to “Name“, and was trying its best to prove once again they were worthy of it (despite the personal problems some of the members were facing during that year, such as John suffering from depression due to a failed marriage and writer’s block).
I invite you all to listen to the re-recorded version if you haven’t already, because it really deserves a lot of attention. You can listen to it here, and enjoy some very juicy info about it, including an instrumental version of the song created with AI technologies.
Alright. I’ve made my case for it. Now on to business.
The cassette-rip I am sharing today comes with amazing audio quality, and is certainly the best version of such release I have in my possession. Being an analog-to-digital conversion, there may be some clicks here and there, but in my experience I did not find any. if you do, keep in mind such conversions are never 100% perfect, and sound degradation and/or loss is always part of the process.
You can listen to it below. Download links are available at the end of this post.
Temple of Goo - The rarest Goo Goo Dolls releases, for real Goo fans only 
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