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"Get The Knack… Again" The Knack |
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Well if you didn't get it the first time, they're gonna make sure you don't miss it now! Here's a whopping four disc collection
of reissues spanning the bands' short and underrated career that's about
to be The Knack were power-popped, mop-cropped pretty boys molded in the shape of Beatlemania in every way imaginable-a can't miss combination that didn't miss at all the first go round; a witty Californian concoction to counteract the blinding effects of the disco ball… and they were good. Maybe too good. Who doesn't remember "My Sharona" like it was yesterday… unless of course the song pre-dates you, but still, somewhere, sometime you had to have heard it-ah, maybe the "Reality Bites" soundtrack seven or eight years ago. There was more to it but for the most part that about sums it up for the talented but short-lived guitar-rocking, balladeers that sadly went the way of The Monkees a decade earlier. The Knack however, with their "Get
The Knack" debut did in fact create an album for the ages-about
six million of So oddly enough, when Capitol announces "Reissue of The Knack's first four albums," most will raise a brow in wonder, really? Well, there were two others that quickly followed but neither came close to the impact of the debut, and nobody could've expected them to. "But The Little Girls Understand" was released, seemingly buried in the wake of the first release which was still charting by the time "Baby Talks Dirty" arrived at radio. This one had a few good cuts and basically followed the formula of its platinum selling predecessor, perhaps too closely. The song strength was not quite as good. They could easily have marketed another two or three singles from the first record. But hey, strike while the iron's hot right? The band's reputation, something
I remember vaguely, as it wasn't tops on my list in the pre-adolescent
period, went down the toilet. Perhaps criticized as some overblown corporate
contrived puppet show lacking either in sincerity or 1981 saw "Round Trip" released and by this time The Knack seemed a dead issue while others of their ilk, Styx, Cheap Trick, Greg Kihn, etc. were making the big time on hit radio and shortly, the video waves, The Knack simply missed the boat, or rather bailed too soon. "Round Trip" was a bit glossy but mainly the same, the band, doing what they do best, simple three chord Rock tunes heavy on melody, a bit of sweat, sneer and style, but just weren't as good as they were before. The band succumbed to mounting pressure and split soon after. Another one destined for the "Whatever Happened To…" files is seemed. Ten years later, they reappeared from their stay in obscurity with an unexpectedly jamming "Serious Fun" record in '91… the "fourth" in this reissue series. Their trademark sound and adolescent/adult tradeoff shone through again with a beefed up guitar sound and enthusiastic songwriting. "Serious Fun" should've been and maybe could've been the album that followed the success of "Get The Knack." "Rocket O' Love" was the big one here, sharing a "My Sharona" feel most fans could've picked up on right away. I don't know where the press was for this one but still turned out to be a solid comeback-look out for "I Want Love," "Serious Fun" and "Doin' The Dog." The collection features a wealth of unreleased material, in-studio demos, live cuts and various assorted Knack-scraps for the ardent fan and Rock and Roll connoisseur. These guys were good-they certainly
were gutsy, let's face it, but hey, much as it pains me to say this, at
least they Released by Capitol Records Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] P.O. Box 20252
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