Riffiter’s review of the songIris

In 1998 Iris spent 18 weeks at number one on American radio and still sat outside the Hot 100, because nobody could buy it as a single. That rule tells you about the record business in 1998, not about the song. The song holds up. The verses stay low and patient, then the chorus opens and Rzeznik pushes his voice right to the edge of cracking. That strain is what sells it. It is a huge ballad that never sounds pleased with itself for being huge, which is rarer than it should be. On November 3, twenty-eight years on, it was number nine on Spotify worldwide. Half a star off for a bridge that mostly waits for the last chorus.