# Why were the Knack loathed by critics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008 "2017-10-16T01:27:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/1 "2017-10-16T01:27:15Z")
I was only a wee tot back in the Knack’s heyday. From what I understand – and please correct me if I’m wrong – music critics pretty much universally panned the Knack back in their heyday. Over the last year or so, I finally got around to checking out their debut album, _Get the Knack_. And you know what? It’s fucking great. One power pop treat after another. I mean, seriously great album with wonderful pop songs and great musicians. I really don’t think there’s a bad song on that album. Bruce Gary on drums just pushes all my buttons for what I love out of a drummer, and Berton Averre’s guitar was tastily melodic with great phrasing and tone, with one of the most iconic guitar solos in rock history (in “My Sharona,” of course.) And everyone tight as shit from what I’ve found online from their live performances (Carnegie Hall is a particularly good one.) So, am I crazy? What the hell did critics think was wrong with this album? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/2 "2017-10-16T01:52:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was only a wee tot back in the Knack’s heyday. From what I understand – and please correct me if I’m wrong – music critics pretty much universally panned the Knack back in their heyday. _Get The Knack_ was the first album I every bought, along with _The Kids are Alright_ by The Who, so I’m probably a bit biased. But there were many positive reviews of their first album; many critics liked their energetic pop. Most of the backlash came from the huge promotional push and instant success of the band. They thought they were manufactured stars. Most of the criticism wasn’t really about the music. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/3 "2017-10-16T03:03:24Z")
They helped Weird Al Yankovic’s career get started, so they should be appreciated for that. They liked his parody _My Bologna_ so much, they convinced their record company to offer him a contract. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/4 "2017-10-16T10:09:15Z")
There’s a decent documentary on Netflix or Prime. Basically, their manager withheld access to them in some key situations - not doing interviews, skipping a great TV show appearance or two - to foster some feeling of exclusivity that profoundly backfired. The fact that Doug Fieger was a bit of snarky, immature guy and I think the press read the worst into the tactic. It’s so sad. Get the Knack, to me, is a perfect album. I love every track. Fieger’s immature boy impulses and horniness are more than fine in a song like Good Girls Don’t even if they don’t translate well to a persona. And Burton Averre - man, what a player. That Sharona solo is amazing. But listen to his work throughout Good Girls Don’t, or That’s What the Little Girls Do - he laces in the tastiest lead fills and Byrds-like jangle fills like in Your Number or Your Name. and Bruce Gary and Prescott Niles drive it - the songs have a rock edge to them that, coupled with Averre’s virtuosity, always keeps the band in the “legit musicians” camp. Kind of a power-pop Van Halen. Their career is a missed opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/5 "2017-10-16T10:12:10Z")
My guess is that the late 70s was a difficult time to be playing rock if you wanted to sound original and didn’t want to piss off the record-buying public. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/6 "2017-10-16T10:13:36Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > My guess is that the late 70s was a difficult time to be playing rock if you wanted to sound original and didn’t want to piss off the record-buying public. Yeah, artists like Tom Petty 😉 cracked a formula that very few figured out. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/7 "2017-10-16T10:31:09Z")
A while ago I read with interest [this article](http://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-knack-get-the-knack/) about their demise. > [@](#): > > Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones was a genuine fan. “I’ve literally played that album a million times, but I couldn’t really tell people – 'cause it was kind of uncool, being from the Sex Pistols, and that whole era,” Jones said in Getting the Knack. “I loved that album. I still have a copy of it!” I saw the _Knack_ at Manly Flicks in 1979 and they rocked very hard. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/8 "2017-10-16T10:43:12Z")
Interesting, and probably little-known fact: Doug Fieger’s brother Geoffrey is a lawyer who represented Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the assisted-suicide physician, and won his acquittal in every case in which he represented him. Kevorkian was convicted in the only case in which he represented himself. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/9 "2017-10-16T11:10:59Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > A while ago I read with interest [this article](http://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-knack-get-the-knack/) about their demise. > > I saw the _Knack_ at Manly Flicks in 1979 and they rocked very hard. Fascinating. Coming from a guy people wanted to deride as punk hamfisted player who also totally rocked. Yeah - both are great. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/10 "2017-10-16T12:28:41Z")
I remember a lot of comparisons with early Beatles. The cover and title are reminiscent of Beatles. There was some push back about that and “yawn, another jangle band, this time they think they’re the Beatles”. Just what I remember from being in the business. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/11 "2017-10-16T14:23:45Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > And Burton Averre - man, what a player. That Sharona solo is amazing. Every now and again, I’ll be driving around without my own playlist going. Sooner or later, _My Sharona_ will come on. And if it’s the version with the abridged solo, well, it puts me in a mood that makes me understand the source of some of the worse road rage incidents. I just wanna start ramming cars off the road\*… - This is not a good idea, ever, but _especially_ not when I’m riding my motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/12 "2017-10-16T14:24:04Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > There’s a decent documentary on Netflix or Prime. Basically, their manager withheld access to them in some key situations - not doing interviews, skipping a great TV show appearance or two - to foster some feeling of exclusivity that profoundly backfired. The fact that Doug Fieger was a bit of snarky, immature guy and I think the press read the worst into the tactic. Yeah, that actually does remind me that they also had this reputation, rightly or wrongly, of being totally full of themselves and being commercial, “manufactured” rock or something b.s. like that. But being arrogant asshats or not, that debut really speaks for itself. I mean, hate the band all you like, but criticize the music on its merits. (Though it does seem the reviews I find today of that album are generally very good.) I haven’t really listened through the follow-up albums yet. It seems that there is some consensus they didn’t really quite live up to their debut, but I’ve heard fairly positive things about them. I am familiar with “Baby Talks Dirty,” but that almost sounds like it’s trying a little too hard to recapture the magic of “My Sharona.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/13 "2017-10-16T14:50:31Z")
I thought the backlash came _precisely because_ they were unable to follow up the debut with anything substantial. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/14 "2017-10-16T14:58:11Z")
The Knack arrived at a time when people were looking for the type of music that would follow the classic rock era of the 60s and 70s. It was being followed by all sorts of variations of rock that couldn’t satisfy everyone, and to a great extent that’s all the earlier rock era was anyway. So, on top of the more specific reasons given above, just about every new band and sound was derided by many critics, and the as John DiFool mentions, unable to follow up on their initial success the reputation of critics pans stuck with them. They seemed to me to be following in the footsteps of so many 70s one-hit-wonder bands. Personally, I found them just as good as any band of that time , although I am more of a general listener than an aficionado. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/15 "2017-10-16T15:04:04Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I thought the backlash came _precisely because_ they were unable to follow up the debut with anything substantial. I’m not sure. From what I’m reading, the whole “Knuke the Knack” campaign started in July of 1979, well before the follow-up album or anything. The Knack hate had fomented by then. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/16 "2017-10-16T15:28:34Z")
I was pretty young when they appeared (10 years old in 1979), but from what I understand they were a band like Boston in that they did not emerge out of any particular regional scene or movement. They were the product of a corporate record-label boards carefully studying then-current trends, assembling a bunch of competent rather than talented musicians, and producing a prefabricated product meant for mass consumption. Nowadays, most of pop culture is very blatantly packaged for mass consumption to the lowest common denominator, but in the late 70s a band had to at least appear to be (if not actually be) “authentic”. There was also a certain level of arrogance in the marketing of the Knack. Their Lp “Get the Knack” had a cover photo that obviously aped the look of early Beatles Lp covers as if to say “We are the new paradigm-shaping, standard-setting band which all future bands will have to be compared to.” If you’re gonna make a statement like that, you’d damn well better have the raw talent to back up the claim. And the Knack really didn’t. Personally, the only Knack song I know well is “My Sharona.” While it does have a lot of energy, I find it simplistic, repetitive, and one of those grating ear-wormy songs that get lodged in the brain so that I would rather blow my brains out rather than hear it one more time. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/17 "2017-10-16T15:40:29Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > I They were the product of a corporate record-label boards carefully studying then-current trends, assembling a bunch of competent rather than talented musicians Except, as musicians, they weren’t merely competent. They were pretty fucking amazing. And, also, they don’t seem to be a corporate assembly of musicians from the bios that I’ve read. It seems Doug Fieger arrived in LA, met Averre, and they started a songwriting partnership. Doug also knew Bruce Gary from years before. Not sure how Prescott Niles got into the band, but it all seems to be centered around Fieger and him assembling the band, not some corporate process. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/18 "2017-10-16T15:54:42Z")
**puly** - you’re correct. **Don** - sorry; none of that’s true. The hate started well before the second album came out. I recall everyone loving Sharona, but it got played to death on the way to being the #1 song of the year. Add Fieger’s persona and the idiot manager and you have a Blurred Lines situation - good song that people ended up angry over. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/19 "2017-10-16T15:57:00Z")
Funny bit o’ trivia: the “real” Sharona still uses the song on her Real Estate website. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008/20 "2017-10-16T16:06:50Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > …from what I understand they were a band like Boston in that they did not emerge out of any particular regional scene or movement. They were the product of a corporate record-label boards carefully studying then-current trends, assembling a bunch of competent rather than talented musicians, and producing a prefabricated product meant for mass consumption. It’s a strange position for me to be in, jumping to the defense of Boston. Every story I’ve heard about the recording of this album, up to and including the detailed breakdown on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_(album)#Recording_and_production), tells a tale of clueless (and deliberately misinformed) record label execs that did not know that Boston was essentially just one dude in a basement, that the final tapes were not recorded in the booked studio in LA, and as far as I can tell, Scholz presented the entire album as a finished take-it-or-leave-it product. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-knack-loathed-by-critics/799008.md?page=2)