Why were the Knack loathed by critics?

I’ll have to give it a re-listen. Sharona hooked me when I first heard it, and i bought the album, but IIRC it didn’t stick with me. Just sorta faded like the Romantics or any number of other pop groups.

During that summer, I was operating a parper compactor with only a top-40 radio - seemed like the only 2 songs played were My Sharona and Heart of Glass!

At the time I was focussing more on Elvis/Stiff, Pretenders, Talking Heads…

Well they certainly don’t display it in “My Sharona.”

Yeah, that’s basically what I know of it: that it was essentially a Tom Scholz solo project. It’s really a technically amazing album, with reasonably catchy songs, and I can’t imagine what it would have been like to hear it for the first time when it came out. It must have sounded (audio quality-wise) so different than everything else at the time.

Don Draper, you have got to be kidding. That guitar solo is amazing and definitely hard to play.

I think “Get the Knack” is one of the few great start to finish albums out there. IIRC, the criticism I heard was about how most of the songs were about trying to get sex with under age girls, such as “Good Girl’s Don’t”.

ObSimpsons: “That song is a pop culture footnote!”

Wow. No comment.

Yeah, and if you know the Sharona story, it does get a little skeevy there, too. But with my two daughters in the house, 3 1/2 and 1 1/2, I have to listen to that song pretty much damn near every day, multiple times a day, because they love it so. There is something so primordially catchy about that song. It’s funny, because with my older daughter’s limited playlist, there’s only two bands with male singers on it that she likes: The Knack (with “My Sharona”) and Twisted Sister (with “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.”) The rest of her playlist is Bangles, Go-Gos, Sleater-Kinney, St. Vincent, Bikini Kill, and the original Powerpuff Girls theme. She seems to be very beat/rhythm-driven from the songs she likes, which is how I am, too.

I wasn’t a fan of The Knack but I didn’t hate them. “My Sharona” was the song that delivered the mortal blow to disco and for that I am eternally grateful.

Hmm - that is some good guitar work. And definitely catchy tunes. Maybe the lyrics were a little stupid, even for pop.

Funny how I could be a HUGE fan of something as pop as Rockpile, but was somewhat dismissive of this album.

Yep! I was a senior in high school when this came out and I was sick to death of glam, slick, over-produced disco schtick. Fly, robin, fly? Really?

I’ve got this on my kindle and will be getting the knack this afternoon.

I can tell you. Cranked waaay up on a Sansui Quadraphonic blasting out of huge, 18" JBL Studio monitors.

Incredible! :cool:

Made me laugh out loud, twice. They/you might like Aserejé.
About skeeviness, the leering grin of that guy on the cover doesn’t help matters.
I just had a fresh listen to the My Sharona solo. It’s good but it’s not that hard.
The Cars are from around the same period. They were more successful because they were better all around, IMO.

I can’t speak to how hard it is, and I don’t really care. (My favorite guitar solo is probably not at all technically difficult—“Marquee Moon” solo, but it is perfect.) It’s fucking tasty, though. Gorgeous solo. And, seriously, one of the most iconic rick solos in history. It’s dfinitely got to be top twenty if not top ten.

ETA: Oh, god, not the Ketchup song. I have just about erased it from my memory. Damn you. And, yeah, the Cars were good, too.

Haha! You know the words are nonsense, right?

My Sharona was on the radio in my last years in high school. One of the teachers hated it (“What the hell is that?”) which confirmed its greatness, in our minds.

Had no idea about the nonsense lyrics, but I remember that being huge back in, what, 2001 plus or minus a couple years? I just remember living in Budapest at the time and it being one of the marquee concerts.

Yeah, it’s gibberish. It’s said that they’re aping Rapper’s Delight.

I’ve just listened to Marquee Moon for the first time. Ten-minute track, long solo starts at about 5:00. Very good stuff. The solo sounds very original. The My Sharona solo is good too, but it’s more or less a series of riffs (ideas in circulation). I’m not trying to put it down and agree that it’s one of the greats (top 50, I’d say). Elliot Easton (The Cars) is another who sounded original. This relates to what I said upthread about it being a hard time to be original in rock.

Hah! I always thought it was reminiscent of Rappers Delight. I thought it was just me.

Television is one of those groups with a big rep that I never appreciated back then. Should prolly give them another listen.

The Cars 1st album was pretty strong start to finish. But man - were they boring live. I saw them back up - I forget who - in Springfield IL. The headliner was more traditional rock - I’m thinking someone like Pat Travers or Rory Gallagher. And the crowd had NO IDEA what to make of these skinny black clad guys posing and jerking around! :smiley:

I’ve just seen that it’s actually just the chorus. There are apparently lyrics in several languages.

Anyway, what I’ve said about The Knack isn’t exactly on topic as it has more to do with my preferences.