Get the Knack

Get the Knack is the debut album by American rock band the Knack, released in June 1979. At the time, the album was one of the most successful debuts in history, selling over one million copies in less than two months and spending five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Get the Knack
Studio album by
The Knack
ReleasedJune 11, 1979 (1979-06-11)
RecordedApril 1979
Genre
Length40:58
LabelCapitol
ProducerMike Chapman
The Knack chronology
Get the Knack
(1979)		 ...But the Little Girls Understand
(1980)
Singles from Get the Knack
  1. "My Sharona"
    Released: June 18, 1979[3]
  2. "Good Girls Don't"
    Released: August 1979

The lead single from the album, "My Sharona", was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and number one on Billboard's Top Pop Singles of 1979 year-end chart. The follow-up single, "Good Girls Don't", reached number 11 on the Hot 100 and followed "My Sharona" to number one on the Canadian Singles Chart. In Billboard magazine's year-end charts, Get the Knack ranked at #16 for 1979,[4] and #72 for 1980.[5]

Background

The Knack formed in Los Angeles in May 1978, and after shopping their demo tape to various record labels without success, the band began playing the local club circuit beginning in June, playing over 50 gigs in the next six months. The band quickly gained a following as word of mouth spread about their energetic shows and musicians such as Ray Manzarek, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen came to their shows and joined the group on stage. By December, thirteen record labels, including some that previously rejected them, were offering recording contracts and the group signed with Capitol Records in January 1979.[6]

Recording

Get the Knack was recorded in just two weeks at a cost of only $18,000, an extremely quick and inexpensive recording at a time when many established artists were spending months and several hundred thousand dollars to record an album. The album was produced by Mike Chapman, who had written hits for Sweet in the early 1970s and most recently produced Blondie's breakout album Parallel Lines.[7]

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Smash Hits5/10[10]
The Village VoiceB−[11]

Get the Knack was released in June 1979 and became an immediate success, thanks in part to an intense promotional campaign by Capitol Records. The Knack's image was largely influenced by the Beatles. The album cover imitates the Beatles' first Capitol LP Meet the Beatles!, and the back cover photo depicts a scene from the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night. To complete the Beatle imagery, the 1960s Capitol rainbow label adorned the LP, a detail the band had written into its contract. The album obtained a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in just 13 days, becoming Capitol Records' fastest selling debut LP since Meet the Beatles! in 1964. In August, the album reached number one on the Billboard 200, where it remained for five weeks, and was certified platinum by the RIAA for one million copies sold. The lead single, "My Sharona", also met with immediate success, becoming Capitol's fastest selling debut single since the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and staying at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.[12]

A negative backlash against the Knack's overnight success formed among critics who found the band's image too contrived and their attitude too brash. San Francisco conceptual artist Hugh Brown, who had designed the Clash's Give 'Em Enough Rope album cover, started a "Knuke the Knack" campaign complete with T-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers. Some music writers began to criticize the band for what they perceived as arrogance, hype and a misogynist attitude expressed in their songs.[13][14] The band's refusal to do interviews was also viewed negatively by the music press. One entertainment weekly, Scene magazine, refused to publish a review of the Knack's concert in Cleveland due to what it called "attempts at censorship" by the band's management.[15]

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice was critical of the album's misogynistic themes and remarked that if the Knack "felt this way about girls when they were unknowns, I shudder to think how they're reacting to groupies." However, Christgau countered critics who had dismissed the band on "purely technical terms", arguing that "if they're less engaging musically than, say, the Scruffs, they have a lot more pop and power going for them than, say, the Real Kids."[11] Billboard critic Dick Nusser was particularly complimentary of tracks such as "Let Me Out", "Maybe Tonight" and "That's What the Little Girls Do", while noting that the pleading song "Oh Tara" indicates that the Knack "aren't strict girl haters."[16]

Legacy

In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Chris Woodstra wrote that the Knack's attempt to "update the Beatles sound for the new wave era" was "a good idea that was well executed", describing Get the Knack as "at once sleazy, sexist, hook-filled, and endlessly catchy – above all, it's a guilty pleasure and an exercise in simple fun."[8] Trouser Press noted the negative portrayal of the female protagonists of certain songs and singled out "Maybe Tonight" as "bottom-of-the-barrel sap", but praised "My Sharona", "Let Me Out" and "Frustrated" as "tight guitar pop."[17] In 2016, Paste ranked Get the Knack at number 39 on its list of the 50 best new wave albums.[1] Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain listed Get the Knack as one of his 50 favorite recordings.[18]

Re-issues

When the album was initially released on CD in 1989,[19] the song "(She's So) Selfish" had vocals different from the original release, with lyrics like "coming from the quaalude scene" changed to "...lame'o scene". Capitol Records used a censored, alternate version of the track which was requested in certain countries.

The album was re-issued on CD in 2002 as a remastered version true to the original vinyl release. This version included bonus demos of "My Sharona" and "That's What the Little Girls Do", as well as a rehearsal take of "Maybe Tonight". It also included a cover of Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake "Don't Look Back", which the Knack recorded in 1979 but was left off the Get the Knack LP, and a cover of Nick Lowe's "I Knew the Bride".[20][21][2] A subsequent CD re-issue was remastered by Iconoclassic Records in 2011. Unlike the previous remaster, the 2011 release contains no dynamic range compression.

In April 2017, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released an audiophile version of the album on hybrid SACD.[22] This release, like the 2002 Capitol and 2011 Iconoclassic versions, utilizes the original, un-censored mixes.

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Let Me Out" (Doug Fieger, Berton Averre) – 2:20
  2. "Your Number or Your Name" (Fieger, Averre) – 2:57
  3. "Oh Tara" (Fieger) – 3:04
  4. "(She's So) Selfish" (Fieger, Averre) – 4:30
  5. "Maybe Tonight" (Fieger) – 4:00
  6. "Good Girls Don't" (Fieger) – 3:07

Side two

  1. "My Sharona" (Fieger, Averre) – 4:52
  2. "Heartbeat" (Bob Montgomery, Norman Petty) – 2:11
  3. "Siamese Twins (The Monkey and Me)" (Fieger, Averre) – 3:25
  4. "Lucinda" (Fieger, Averre) – 4:00
  5. "That's What the Little Girls Do" (Fieger) – 2:41
  6. "Frustrated" (Fieger, Averre) – 3:51

Personnel

The Knack

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[23] 1
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[24] 1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 36
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 39
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 65
US Billboard 200[30] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1979) Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[31] 34
Billboard Magazine (USA)[4] 16

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[32] Gold 20,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[33] 4× Platinum 400,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[34] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[35] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "The 50 Best New Wave Albums". Paste. September 8, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  2. Borack, John M. (2007). Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide. Not Lame Recordings. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-9797714-0-8.
  3. https://www.superseventies.com/1979_1singles.html
  4. "Top Album Artists of the Year". Billboard Magazine. 91: TIA-12 (insert). December 22, 1979.
  5. "Number One Awards: Pop Albums". Billboard Magazine. 92: TIA-12 (insert). December 20, 1980.
  6. McKenna, Kristine (December 3, 1978). "The Knack and How to Do It". Los Angeles Times. p. P94.
  7. McCullaugh, Jim (August 4, 1979). "Knack Rides Charts with $18,000 Album". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 31. p. 62. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  8. Woodstra, Chris. "Get the Knack – The Knack". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  9. Nelson, Chris (2004). "The Knack". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 462–63. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. Starr, Red (August 9–22, 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 18. p. 25.
  11. Christgau, Robert (September 3, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
  12. Atkinson, Terry (October 18, 1979). "The Knack: yesterday...and today". Rolling Stone. pp. 32, 35–37.
  13. Hilburn, Robert (July 29, 1979). "A Knack on the Door for L.A. Rock". Los Angeles Times. p. L1.
  14. McKenna, Kristine (July 29, 1979). "Knack: A Dissenting View". Los Angeles Times. p. L64.
  15. Ed (October 11–17, 1979). "Live Wire". Scene.
  16. Nusser, Dick (July 28, 1979). "The Knack: Get the Knack". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 30. pp. 52, 66. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  17. Robbins, Ira; Sandlin, Michael. "Knack". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
  18. Cross, Charles R.; Gaar, Gillian G.; Gendron, Bob; Martens, Todd; Yarm, Mark (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. Voyageur Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.
  19. "CD Album - The Knack - Get The Knack - Capitol - USA". 45worlds. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  20. Woodstra, Chris. "Get the Knack [Bonus Tracks] – The Knack". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  21. Guterman, Jimmy (2005). Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen. Da Capo Press. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-306-81397-9.
  22. "The Knack – Get The Knack (Numbered Hybrid SACD)". Music Direct. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  23. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). Australian Chart Book. p. 169. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  24. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4411a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  25. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Knack – Get the Knack" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  26. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Knack – Get the Knack" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  27. "Charts.nz – The Knack – Get the Knack". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  28. "Swedishcharts.com – The Knack – Get the Knack". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  29. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  30. "Billboard 200". Billboard. August 11, 1979. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  31. "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  32. "International Dateline - Australia" (PDF). Cash Box. September 15, 1979. p. 57. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  33. "Canadian album certifications – The Knack – Get the Knack". Music Canada. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  34. "New Zealand album certifications – The Knack – Get the Knack". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  35. "American album certifications – The Knack – Get the Knack". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
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