The Knack - My Sharona

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.

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...

You really don't want the 1994 remix, do you?

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)

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.

Hmmm, doesn't add up - that would take out a lot more than just that fine guitar solo, now wouldn't it??? :-)

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.

Hykker wrote: Curiously, is the existence of the "first" Knack the reason Capitol used the retro swirl label on the second Knack's singles?

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.

jimct wrote: As for the re-use of the vintage swirl Capitol label for "My Sharona", anything's possible.

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.

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?"

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

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???

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... :-)