Something for the Rest of Us
Encyclopedia
Something for the Rest of Us has received mixed to favourable reviews. Collating 8 reviews, the review aggregator
website Metacritic
gave the album an average score of 59%, which indicated a "mixed or average" response.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic awarded the album three stars out of five, opining that the album "delivers in its content if not in its sound." He did offer praise to the albums overall "ambition", summarizing that, "While the band remains much closer to the warm AAA bath that’s become their defining signature, the added ambition does give Something for the Rest of Us variety that’s welcome after the exceedingly pleasant Let Love In
." BBC Music
writer Mike Diver gave a mixed review, albeit praising the band for playing to their "established strengths." Despite this, he went on to add that, "So easy on the ear, indeed, that maintaining focus can be difficult. John Rzeznik’s gruff tones are always the scene-stealing element of any track, but when he’s barking out well-worn clichés about love and loss, it’s a task to read between tired lines and hear some heart. Several tracks aren’t so much dripping with weak metaphors as drowning in them."
Blog Critics writer Kirsten Coachman was more receptive in her article on the album. She said that the record was, "proof why the Goo Goo Dolls remain popular with music fans. They know their audience, and even better, they know how to relate to their audience through their music." She praised the band for still being able to "rock a love song", while offering particular praise to album closer "Soldier". She added, "The final song rounds out the album with its lyrics that could make you feel like the song is being sung directly to you." Dan Slessor of Kerrang!
magazine was also favorable in his review, awarding the album a "good" three K! score. He wrote that "anthemic American radio rock really doesn't come much better than that of the Goo Goo Dolls." He offered praise for the "giant hooks" found among the songs, as well as the band showing a "ton of heart", despite the "polished" production.
Q magazine also awarded the album three stars out of five, noting "there's enough here to satisfy the faithful, if nothing to enlist new recruits." Barry Walters of Rolling Stone
was more dismissive however, criticizing Rzeznik. He wrote, "frontman John Rzeznik remains an assured singer. But amid his vocal polish is a new sense of strain, and for a band this lightweight, the additional anxiety doesn’t flatter." Kathy Stephenson, writing for the Salt Lake Tribune, was highly impressed with the album and offered a grade of "A-". She opined that, "All 12 tracks offer the rich themes, smart lyrics and rock-worthy melodies that have made this trio a favorite for more than two decades." College newspaper, The Stylus
also gave a positive review. Bryan Montgomery scored the album at seven out of ten and despite viewing the album as "merely a shadow to the great albums in the past", he prised the songwriting by pointing out that, "With every new album, it seems that Rzenik's writing becomes stronger, and Something For the Rest of Us is an album where the writing is a key piece to what makes the songs sound so good. The sound on the album is truly reminiscent of what the band has become so well-known for in the last few years."
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
website Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the album an average score of 59%, which indicated a "mixed or average" response.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic awarded the album three stars out of five, opining that the album "delivers in its content if not in its sound." He did offer praise to the albums overall "ambition", summarizing that, "While the band remains much closer to the warm AAA bath that’s become their defining signature, the added ambition does give Something for the Rest of Us variety that’s welcome after the exceedingly pleasant Let Love In
Let Love In (Goo Goo Dolls album)
Let Love In is the Goo Goo Dolls' eighth studio album. "Better Days", which was released as a single late in 2005, appears on the album, along with a cover of the Supertramp song, "Give a Little Bit".-Track listing:...
." BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
writer Mike Diver gave a mixed review, albeit praising the band for playing to their "established strengths." Despite this, he went on to add that, "So easy on the ear, indeed, that maintaining focus can be difficult. John Rzeznik’s gruff tones are always the scene-stealing element of any track, but when he’s barking out well-worn clichés about love and loss, it’s a task to read between tired lines and hear some heart. Several tracks aren’t so much dripping with weak metaphors as drowning in them."
Blog Critics writer Kirsten Coachman was more receptive in her article on the album. She said that the record was, "proof why the Goo Goo Dolls remain popular with music fans. They know their audience, and even better, they know how to relate to their audience through their music." She praised the band for still being able to "rock a love song", while offering particular praise to album closer "Soldier". She added, "The final song rounds out the album with its lyrics that could make you feel like the song is being sung directly to you." Dan Slessor of Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine was also favorable in his review, awarding the album a "good" three K! score. He wrote that "anthemic American radio rock really doesn't come much better than that of the Goo Goo Dolls." He offered praise for the "giant hooks" found among the songs, as well as the band showing a "ton of heart", despite the "polished" production.
Q magazine also awarded the album three stars out of five, noting "there's enough here to satisfy the faithful, if nothing to enlist new recruits." Barry Walters of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
was more dismissive however, criticizing Rzeznik. He wrote, "frontman John Rzeznik remains an assured singer. But amid his vocal polish is a new sense of strain, and for a band this lightweight, the additional anxiety doesn’t flatter." Kathy Stephenson, writing for the Salt Lake Tribune, was highly impressed with the album and offered a grade of "A-". She opined that, "All 12 tracks offer the rich themes, smart lyrics and rock-worthy melodies that have made this trio a favorite for more than two decades." College newspaper, The Stylus
The Stylus
The Stylus, originally intended to be named The Penn, was a would-be periodical owned and edited by Edgar Allan Poe. It had long been a dream of Poe to establish an American journal with very high standards in order to elevate the literature of the time...
also gave a positive review. Bryan Montgomery scored the album at seven out of ten and despite viewing the album as "merely a shadow to the great albums in the past", he prised the songwriting by pointing out that, "With every new album, it seems that Rzenik's writing becomes stronger, and Something For the Rest of Us is an album where the writing is a key piece to what makes the songs sound so good. The sound on the album is truly reminiscent of what the band has become so well-known for in the last few years."