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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 24 September 2014 at 7:57pm | IP Logged
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I'm jumping back into the '70s, working backward from 1979. And we start at the top...
"My Sharona" completely dominated top 40 radio in the summer of 1979. In the short term, it provoked a backlash. But 35 years later, I hear a superbly tight power-pop band at the top of their game, a spectacular guitar solo, and some breakneck drumming that I could never reproduce during my cover band days. Producer Mike Chapman aced it. Plus, Run-D.M.C. sampled parts of the main riff of "My Sharona" for "It's Tricky". Overall, A+, in my book.
LP version
The LP version ran 4:52 and first turned up on Capitol's Get The Knack (1989). The 1989 disc is mastered by Larry Walsh, and sounds quite nice. The same analog transfer is used for:- Priority's Rock Of The '80s Vol. 1 (1990; the bottom half of the waveform clips at -3 dB in the left channel only, but it doesn't sound as bad as it looks)
- Razor & Tie's 2-CD Super '70s (1995; very end of tail is truncated, when the level is down around -50 dB)
- Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 6 The '70s (1999; differently EQ'd digital clone)
- Simitar's Number Ones Party Time (1998; has a tiny amount of added compression)
- JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll 1975-1979 (1994; has a tiny amount of added compression)
- Cema's Rock-N-Roll Greatest Hits Of All Time Vol. 5 (1995; a lot of added compression)
- Simitar's Number Ones Rock It Up (1998; a lot of added compression)
All of these sound pretty good, but your best bets for the LP version are the original Capitol Get The Knack or the Time-Life disc (mastered by Dennis Drake, who chooses his EQ superbly).
45 edit
The 45 version cut out 128 beats, downbeat to downbeat, from 2:08.7 to 4:03.8 of the LP version. (Timing from the Capitol disc.) As edits go, this one sounds very natural, although guitar enthusiasts likely hate it because it removes a giant chunk of the solo. The 45ran about 4:01.
The first version of the 45 that I know was on a mail-order 3-CD set from Silver Eagle Records called Formula 45 (1988). This set was also released as 1st And 10 with a picture of OJ Simpson on the front. It's mastered by Larry Walsh, and has a nice, warm sound. It sounds basically like the 45 (I checked this one). Both this disc and the 45 are much brighter than the LP version, so it's possible that the 45 and LP are EQ'd differently.
The next version of the 45 on CD was Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 9 1979 (1990). This was mastered with a very slight smiley-face EQ. Very slight, not unlistenable by any means. The same analog transfer is used for:- Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 49 Seventies Dance Party 1979 (1990; digitally identical)
- Warner Special Products' 2-CD Good Times (1991; absolute polarity inverted)
- Time-Life's Guitar Rock Vol. 2 1978-1979 (1993)
- Warner Special Products' 3-CD Rock Box (1994)
- Warner Special Products' 2-CD Punk (1996)
- Priority's I Love Rock And Roll Vol. 3 Hits Of The 70's (1996)
- Time-Life's 2-CD Seventies Music Explosion Vol. 4 Magic (2005; digitally exactly 1 dB louder)
All of the above sound roughly the same - no weird EQ, no extra compression/limiting, reasonable volume levels.
Next, Bill Inglot and Ken Perry did a fresh analog transfer for Rhino's Billboard Top Hits 1979 (1991). This has the usual slight high-end boost typical of the late '80s/early '90s Rhino collections, but I really like the sound on this CD. Not sure what magic pixie dust Mr. Inglot used back then, but virtually all the pop tracks he touched from around 1990 to around 1993 sound remarkable to my ears. This CD just seems "clearer", for lack of a better term, than the batch I listed above. Maybe a lower-generation source tape? Who knows? This turned out to be the best of the bunch. A few peaks hit 100% - no big deal. The same analog transfer is used for:- Razor & Tie's 2-CD Those Rocking '70s (1991; weird EQ, sounds really tinny - avoid)
- Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 22 (1993; digitally identical)
- Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 1 (1994; digitally identical)
- Rhino Special Editions' cheapie New Wave Hits Vol. 1 (1996; digitally identical)
- Madacy's Rock On 1979 (1996; a little compression added, but doesn't sound terrible)
- Time-Life's AM GOld Vol. 26 1979 (1997; digitally exactly 1 dB quieter)
- I Love The '80s (differently EQ'd digital clone)
All of the above sound pretty much the same, except the Razor & Tie disc, which has a terrible sounding EQ.
And then, there are some outliers:- EMI UK's CDCard A Time To Remember 1979 (1996; Sounds like it used a higher-generation tape source, flat-sounding EQ, but at least there's no added compression.)
- EMI Australia's 5-CD Seventies Complete (1997; Virtually everything on this 5-CD set sounds like it's from a high-generation tape, and this track has a treble boost to compensate. Not good. At least there's no additional compression.)
- Disky Europe's 8-CD Wow That Was The '70s (1999; extreme maximization and extreme treble boost -this is the very essence of the term "ear-bleeder", and I can't imagine this would sound good on any system)[/LI
- Disky Europe's 8-CD Greatest Hits Of The '70s(2000; differently EQ'd version of the Wow set, and is even louder)
Avoid all of the above.
1994 remix
This was remixed for the Reality Bites soundtrack in 1994. The soundtrack has the LP length. There was a 45 released in 1994 (b/w "Tempted '94"), and I think the remix was edited down to match the 1979 45 edit.
You really don't want the 1994 remix, do you?
Best Bets
For sound quality, I choose:- Capitol's Get The Knack (1989) or Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 6 The '70s (1999) for the LP version
- Rhino's Billboard Top Hits 1979 (1991) or any of the digital clones for the 45 version
Edited by crapfromthepast on 25 September 2014 at 10:25am
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There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 4:41pm | IP Logged
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crapfromthepast wrote:
| But 35 years later, I hear a superbly tight power-pop band at the top of their game, a spectacular guitar solo, and some breakneck drumming that I could never reproduce during my cover band days. Producer Mike Chapman aced it...Overall, A+, in my book. |
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No argument here. :-) There are quite a few "power pop" classics from this period that I've simply NEVER grown tired of hearing, such as "Jessie's Girl", "867-5309/Jenny", "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)", etc., and "My Sharona" is definitely on that list as well. I'm going to assume, then, that you're a dedicated fan of the band, so I have to ask, what did you think of the group's 1991 "comeback" album, Serious Fun??? Because if you ask me, the Knack got the short end not once, but TWICE... :-(
Get the Knack was one of the very first LPs my brother & I had our parents buy us back in '79; we both listened to it constantly. And when the Chipmunks covered no less than THREE songs by the Knack ("My Sharona", "Good Girls Don't", "Frustrated") on their Chipmunk Punk album the following year, that was a major factor in getting them to buy us that record, too, lol. Yeah, "My Sharona" was more than a bit overplayed in '79, but I never felt the backlash the group received was warranted - by 1981's Round Trip, it was amazing how quickly they'd faded away as a result. :-( So for the rest of the '80s (as my interest in music continued to grow), I often wondered what could've been w/ them...
Ah, so flash forward to early 1991, when I started seeing press on them again in my weekly issues of Billboard! I was pretty jazzed to read they were FINALLY back w/ a new album, Serious Fun, and the magazine even spotlighted the lead single, "Rocket o' Love", as a "pick" (i.e., a "new release with the greatest chart potential"), literally gushing over it. (I'd transcribe the actual review here, but I can't find it anywhere on-line, and my copy of the magazine is currently packed away in storage.) I wasted little time buying the new album on cassette, and quickly fell in love w/ quite a few of the tracks; IMO, it was almost up there w/ Get the Knack, and had all kinds of potential. :-) Sure enough, "Rocket o' Love" cracked Billboard's "Album Rock Tracks" chart, eventually climbing all the way to #9 in a 10-week run, but to my surprise (and disappointment), it never cracked the "Hot 100"! In fact, I never heard the song on top 40 radio, nor did I ever see the video on MTV. Alas, at that time, it was apparent that the backlash from more than a decade earlier still persisted - oh, and then their new label, Charisma, also went bust a short time later... :-(
I really felt "Rocket o' Love" had "top 10" written all over it (if not #1), and was a great pick as the lead single. Here's the video on YouTube: THE KNACK - "Rocket o' Love" (1991) What was to be the second single, "One Day at a Time" - though a bit mellower - could've easily been a top 40 hit, too (track on YouTube: THE KNACK - "One Day at a Time" (1991)). Oh, and the title track kicked some "serious" @$$ as well, and should've been another top 10 AOR hit (track on YouTube: THE KNACK - "Serious Fun" (1991)). Serious Fun is definitely a lost gem, IMO...
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Well, I suppose us 40- and 50-somethings likely won't settle for anything less than the '79 original, lol. But that being said, I DO think that the song's inclusion in "Reality Bites" - and subsequent re-chart/MTV play when released as that remixed single from the film's soundtrack in '94 - not only validated the song as a classic, but essentially brought the backlash against the band to an end. I noticed that from that point onward, the group's stature began to grow once again, and that they finally started to get some of the long-overdue recognition they deserved...
Up until Bruce Gary's death in 2006, and Doug Fieger's serious health problems that also began that year (and subsequently took his life in 2010), the Knack were very high on my list of acts to see in concert, but regrettably, it never happened. However, if you don't have it already, I highly recommend the band's 25th anniversary DVD from 2004, titled "Getting the Knack". It's a fun & informative documentary covering their entire career up to that point, and luckily, it's still in print at a decent price. Listing on Amazon: THE KNACK - "Getting the Knack" DVD (2004)
Quote:
| The 45 version cut out 128 beats, downbeat to downbeat, from 2:08.7 to 4:03.8 of the LP version. (Timing from the Capitol disc.) As edits go, this one sounds very natural, although guitar enthusiasts likely hate it because it removes a giant chunk of the solo. The 45ran about 4:01. |
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Hmmm, doesn't add up - that would take out a lot more than just that fine guitar solo, now wouldn't it??? :-)
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Hykker
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 4:52pm | IP Logged
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Interestingly, there were 2 bands called the Knack both
signed to Capitol. They had at least one single: "I'm Aware"
b/w "Time Waits For No One" on Capitol 5774, it did not
chart. Curiously, is the existence of the "first" Knack the
reason Capitol used the retro swirl label on the second
Knack's singles?
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Santi Paradoa
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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I think the retro swirl Capitol label was part of the
record company's marketing scheme for the Knack as the
modern day American version of the Beatles.
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jimct
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 7:11pm | IP Logged
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Hykker wrote:
Interestingly, there were 2 bands called the Knack both
signed to Capitol. They had at least one single: "I'm Aware" b/w "Time
Waits For No One" on Capitol 5774, it did not chart. Curiously, is the
existence of the "first" Knack the reason Capitol used the retro swirl label
on the second Knack's singles? |
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Steve, the one you mentioned was the first of their 4 Capitol 45's,
released in 2/67, with both sides getting airplay in different markets. Here
are the other 3:
-Softly, Softly/The Spell (Capitol 5889) (4/67)
-Pretty Daisy/Banana Man (Capitol 5940) (7/67)
-Freedom Now/Lady In The Window (Capitol 2075) (1/68)
No LP was ever released, but UK label Cherry Red did issue a CD of the 4
45s, 5 unreleased tracks and an alternate mix of "I'm Aware" back in
2012.
There were other similarities. Both bands were from L.A., both received an
unusually high amount of promotional effort at the start, with Capitol
commonly utilizing the "Get The Knack" phrase during 1967 as well.
My CD's liner notes state that their first 45 came out the exact same week
as "Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever". Band members claim "Boss
Radio" head honcho Bill Drake wanted his stations to get earlier access to
new Beatle product than his competitors did. When Capitol said no to that,
Drake then cooled on other Capitol releases, which killed momentum for
their 45s, for what little their opinion is worth.
As for the re-use of the vintage swirl Capitol label for "My Sharona",
anything's possible. I know our gruff, loud, beloved, longtime regional
Capitol promo guy (from 1950-1991, Merv Amols; you're a MA radio guy,
Steve-perhaps you also met Merv) was at Capitol for both Knack eras, and
he would've immediately remembered/brought that fact to L.A.'s
attention, if no one else had. Thanks for reminding me about Merv, who
only passed away in 2010, at the ripe old age of 89.
Edited by jimct on 25 September 2014 at 7:12pm
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 9:47pm | IP Logged
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Hykker wrote:
| Curiously, is the existence of the "first" Knack the reason Capitol used the retro swirl label on the second Knack's singles? |
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Santi Paradoa wrote:
| I think the retro swirl Capitol label was part of the record company's marketing scheme for the Knack as the modern day American version of the Beatles. |
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jimct wrote:
| As for the re-use of the vintage swirl Capitol label for "My Sharona", anything's possible. |
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Actually, I can give it to you all straight from lead singer/guitarist Doug Fieger's mouth, as interviewed by Ken Sharp & Doug Sulpy in their 1997 book, Power Pop! (pg 244):
Q: Why did you use the swirl Capitol Records label most associated with The Beatles?
Doug: We used these swirl labels because we hated the Capitol label at the time. They were using this puke green label. It was just fucking awful. First, we wanted to put out a double album because we had all of the songs for the second album as well. The record company said, "No. You're a new group. We don't know if it's gonna sell. It's gonna cost too much money. You can't do a double album." So we said "okay." Then we wanted to design our label. We chose the swirl label because it was the nicest one they had. And, yes, it reminded us of the great records.
Hykker wrote:
| Interestingly, there were 2 bands called the Knack both signed to Capitol. They had at least one single: "I'm Aware" b/w "Time Waits For No One" on Capitol 5774, it did not chart. |
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And to that, Doug Fieger had this to say (same source, pg. 241):
Q: Oddly enough, there was a group on Capitol in the mid-'60's called The Knack. Were you aware of this?
Doug: That group was a local Los Angeles band and they had a couple of records out. I don't think that they had any big hits. I had never heard of them and didn't find out there was a band with the same name until a guy from Capitol said, "By the way, do you know that there was a band on Capitol with the name The Knack?"
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 10:25pm | IP Logged
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crapfromthepast wrote:
| ...a spectacular guitar solo... |
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Continuing from the same source quoted in my previous post, lead guitarist Berton Averre had this to say about that solo in the song (pg. 242):
Q: Berton, the guitar solo on "My Sharona" is outstanding. Did you pre-plan it?
Berton: No. Like most guitarists, I went through a be-bop jazz period. The most important thing you can learn from that is to ad-lib, so I formulate a solo spontaneously and when I get something that really works, I stick with it. I did the "My Sharona" solo as an overdub. The solo in "My Sharona" was not the one I was playing live. Probably the thinking was they wanted to get something a little fresher out of me.
Quote:
| Producer Mike Chapman aced it. |
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Seems you're giving him MUCH more credit than he deserves, lol. Here's what Doug Fieger said (again, same source, pg. 243):
Q: What did Mike Chapman contribute as a producer on the first two Knack albums?
Doug: When he came down to meet us at rehearsal he said all the right things. We didn't really need a lot of production. The first two albums were just recorded live. I think he knew enough to sort of leave the band alone and mike it properly. It's always been my feeling that anybody could have produced those records as long as they did it the way that it was done. There wasn't a heavy production technique. It was a matter of getting the live sound onto tape as authentically as possible. I always felt we were a better live band than we ever were on record.
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AndrewChouffi
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 11:07pm | IP Logged
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Re: "Producer Mike Chapman aced it"
Yes he did.
Sometimes the role of the producer is to leave well enough alone.
Mike Chapman knew how to take control when he NEEDED to, and also back off when that would result in a great record.
Andy
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jimct
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| Posted: 25 September 2014 at 11:11pm | IP Logged
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80smusicfreak wrote:
Actually, I can give it to you all straight from
lead singer/guitarist Doug Fieger's mouth, as interviewed by Ken Sharp
& Doug Sulpy in their 1997 book, Power Pop! (pg 244):
Q: Why did you use the swirl Capitol Records label most
associated with The Beatles?
Doug: We used these swirl labels because we hated the Capitol
label at the time. They were using this puke green label. It was just
fucking awful. |
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Gregg, I'm sure you've quoted the book correctly, but Doug Fieger's
recollection about "puke green" being used for 1979 Capitol labels is
100% incorrect. 1972-1978 Capitol stock 45 labels were orange, with a
tan "Capitol" at the bottom. In 1978, they changed over to a dark plum-
colored "retro script" design, that was similar to the purple script
design they'd used back in the 50's. Capitol kept this plum color until
around 1983, when they changed over to a mostly black label, with a
silver logo. The only all-green U.S. Capitol 45 labels I'm aware of were
used for 1967-1969 promo 45 copies, and was more of a fluorescent
green. All post-1972 Capitol promo 45s were on white labels, except
for some custom Wings 45 labels, such as "Silly Love Songs", "With A
Little Luck", etc.
Hey, I'm not saying that the plum color Capitol 45 label was a fantastic
look, either. Fieger got his colors mixed up. Can't believe everything
you read! Gregg, I'm surprised that a label stickler like you didn't catch
his error right away??? (You seem to like using three question marks
"for dramatic effect", so I thought I'd return the favor, kind sir!) :)
Edited by jimct on 26 September 2014 at 1:36am
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 26 September 2014 at 7:10am | IP Logged
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jimct wrote:
| Gregg, I'm sure you've quoted the book correctly, but Doug Fieger's recollection about "puke green" being used for 1979 Capitol labels is 100% incorrect...Fieger got his colors mixed up. Can't believe everything you read! Gregg, I'm surprised that a label stickler like you didn't catch his error right away??? |
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Actually, Doug's description did jump out at me, Jim. My original intent was to let his answer stand on its own - never said it was "gospel". But since you brought it up, when I re-read his response last night (have had the book for about ten years now), my immediate thought was the EMI America 45 labels of that time, as they were a subsidiary of - yes - Capitol. And a check of the labels on eBay for EMI America's three top 40 hits from 1979 - "One Last Kiss" (8007), "Sad Eyes" (8015), and "This Night Won't Last Forever" (8019) - indicates that they were all indeed the "puke green" color that Doug described. Therefore, I'm 95% certain those were the ones he was referring to in that interview - but obviously, it's now too late to go back and ask him again. Not saying that your description of all the 45 labels for Capitol proper isn't accurate, but sometimes you gotta think outside the box... :-)
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Hykker
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jimct wrote:
The only all-green U.S. Capitol 45 labels
I'm aware of were
used for 1967-1969 promo 45 copies, and was more of a
fluorescent
green. All post-1972 Capitol promo 45s were on white
labels, except
for some custom Wings 45 labels, such as "Silly Love
Songs", "With A
Little Luck", etc. |
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There were also the target-logo-era albums that were also
sort of a "puke green", but that only lasted until late
'72/early '73, well before the (2nd) Knack was formed.
As far as the always interesting topic of promo
labels...while the stock copies of the aforementioned Macca
singles had custom labels, the promos for
Silly Love Songs and Let 'Em In had the late 70s style label
with the retro script (which I believe was also used on his
1975 singles). My copy of "With A Little Luck" is a test
pressing, but ISTR "regular" promos having the same label
(only in black & white) as the stock copies with "not for
sale" added.
Edited by Hykker on 26 September 2014 at 7:34am
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Yah Shure
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Hykker wrote:
| There were also the target-logo-era albums that were also sort of a "puke green", but that only lasted until late '72/early '73, well before the (2nd) Knack was formed. |
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The chartreuse LP label with the purple target logo at the top only lasted about a year, mostly during 1970. When I bought Leo Kottke's Mudlark LP in early '71, the chartreuse background color had already been retired in favor of a reddish-orange. The rest of the label design remained unchanged.
The Discount Records chain had run an ad (probably in Rolling Stone magazine) in 1970 featuring a coupon for most of the Beatles' Capitol/Apple albums at $2.99 apiece, so I bought new copies of everything up through Sgt. Pepper's. Boy, was I ever surprised. Sacrilege! :) Although the sight of Sgt. Pepper's suddenly bedecked in chartreuse didn't make me puke, I thought it was the most hideous-looking record label I'd ever seen. I'm sure it was felt that the newly-rechristened Capitol Industries, Incorporated needed an updated logo to better represent its diversifying product line, but yeesh, that label color was the absolute pits.
Hykker wrote:
My copy of "With A Little Luck" is a test pressing, but ISTR "regular" promos having the same label (only in black & white) as the stock copies with "not for sale" added.
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I have that test pressing, too, as well as the standard promo 45. On the latter, the Tower Bridge design is in black and white on the stereo side, but is in full color on the mono side. You'd think it would have been the other way around.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: The Knack - My Sharona
