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Post by unomusette on Apr 10, 2016 19:49:19 GMT
I'm among the herd who only know The Knack for My Sharona and Good Girls Don't. They were much shouted about when they came out but I never took that much interest - there was a fair amount of similar-sounding stuff around at the time as New Wave was just emerging from Punk. Plus I was more into ELO and more classic/prog/folk. This shall be put right here. I've reviewed the songs where the vids were available, there weren't a lot but here goes: "Let Me Out" - Lively, pub rock sort of song, does the job and doesn't outstay its welcome. "Oh Tara" - Very American college-y sounding, if you know what I mean, not exactly Beach Boys but to my ears it's most definitely from over the pond. Catchy though, and a good example of the genre. "End of the Game" - This is great, very playful and full of life with some nifty vocals and guitar work. Sounds like they had a lot of fun recording it. "I Want Ya" - Typical of the sort of song I'd expect to hear from my limited knowledge of the band, it's short, snappy and doesn't mess about. "Your Number or Your Name" - More of the same, good but not outstanding for me. Watched some of the documentary, hearing "My Sharona" again I'd say was superior to most of the songs above. I also got to hear a few more extracts from their other songs so was able to gain a bit more of an overview. Someone says in the documentary that they were an "awesome rock and roll band" and I think that's accurate because they were really good at short, tight, catchy rock songs with no frills and lots of attitude. It's not completely up my street and I'd not choose to listen to lots of it at once, but if you're in the mood there aren't many bands who do it better. They put me in mind of The Ramones, who never deviated much from what they did best and quite rightly endeared themselves to their legions of fans. I'd give the collection 6 out of 10, thanks for sharing jrmugz
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Post by jrmugz on Apr 11, 2016 1:05:48 GMT
... i read an article a while back on the bbc on these guys, the documentary didn't really talk much about the 27 year old singer and 16 year old school girl Sharona but there must have been fall out around that. ... Yeah, my attitude of The Knack, and why I can enjoy them is I don't give a rip about anything to do about Sharona except the cool guitar jamming in the song, and I see them as an art project of keeping alive the great rock and roll sound of the sixties, etc. That's all I expect from them, and why I can focus on the good clean songs, and nothing but the good clean songs, and again to me, they're second to none for that. But yeah, my understanding is he was nine years older than her, 25 and 16. Is pretty sleazy for sure, ha ha. Jim
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Post by jrmugz on Apr 11, 2016 1:17:11 GMT
... Someone says in the documentary that they were an "awesome rock and roll band" and I think that's accurate because they were really good at short, tight, catchy rock songs with no frills and lots of attitude. ... They put me in mind of The Ramones, who never deviated much from what they did best and quite rightly endeared themselves to their legions of fans. I'd give the collection 6 out of 10, thanks for sharing jrmugz Seems like a good summary, though they did branch out to hard rock on the "Serious Fun" album, they actually had a hit song called "Rocket of Love" on it. Again, I just don't care enough about their suggestive songs, so didn't post that one. For me, "Oh Tara" is my "My Sharona". I think that song is way better of a rhythm, and the guitar solo in it is magic enough, that it does rival "My Sharona" for that too, it's an amazing beautiful guitar solo in "Oh Tara". Another very magic guitar solo is in the song "Africa", very long, layered, and melodic. Well, glad you enjoyed the few tracks you were able to play! Seems like the consensus is that whether a fan or not, we can concur they were certainly a good band. Jim
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Post by queenofthehours on May 17, 2016 18:43:09 GMT
1. Can't Put a Price on Love – Slower than I’d imagined any Knack tracks to be. But I really like this. Great guitar. 2. Let Me Out – This is how I imagined the band to sound. Fast and fun. Love the drums. Backing vocals remind me a little of ELO.
3. Oh Tara – My favourite so far. Reminds me of a less camp version of Queen.
4. Sweet Dreams – I’m not sure what this reminds me of. A little ELO, a little Idle Race, a little Lennon. Many things. Like it lots.
5. One Day at a Time – I’m liking this one a lot too. The more I hear it the more I love it. It’s very well written and played.
6. You Gotta Be There – This one doesn’t want to play for me . Same with 7. Love Is All There Is 8. Everything I Do 9. Pop is Dead and 10. Ambition.
11. Just Wait and See – This is a jolly joyful rock number. I like it. 12. Africa – At first I thought it was going to be the Toto song! I like how the drums start it off.
13. Another Lousy Day in Paradise – Another good pop tune. So far there have been no bad songs, more importantly there have been no boring songs .
14. Don't Look Back – Funny this should be a Bruce number, I’ve been reminded of him a few times during these songs.
15. Disillusion Town - This sound a little different to the rest. Darker? Least fave so far methinks.
16. Normal as the Next Guy - Great intro, the guitar and drums work well together.
17. Man on the Beach - This has a very Beach Boys feel and it feels quite natural for this band. Very nice 18. World of My Own - I love hoe this starts with acoustic guitar. Haven't heard much, if any, acoustic on these tracks yet.
19. Seven Days of Heaven - The guitar here at the start reminds me of George Harrison, in act the whole song sounds as if it could have been a Nelson Wilbury number.
20. End of the Game - This track is exactly what I would have expected of the Knack from the little I knew of them at the start.
21. I Want Ya - Another great pop tune - this is perfect. 22. You're Number or Your Name - This sounds like I've heard it before but I know I haven't. Maybe it's because it's one of those pop songs that's universal.
I'm glad I listened to this selection. all I knew of the Knack before was 'My Sharona' but these tracks have learnt me two things - 1, all their tracks are as good as The Big Song 2, I didn't know the band had written so much, I thought they had a limited collection, perhaps limited to one album only as many one hit wonders do. I need to hear more now! The docu is great, I'll have to watch it a few times.
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Post by jrmugz on May 20, 2016 11:48:02 GMT
... I'm glad I listened to this selection. all I knew of the Knack before was 'My Sharona' but these tracks have learnt me two things - 1, all their tracks are as good as The Big Song 2, I didn't know the band had written so much, I thought they had a limited collection, perhaps limited to one album only as many one hit wonders do. I need to hear more now! The docu is great, I'll have to watch it a few times. Awesomundo, qoth; loved your review, and glad you are as fond of the songs as I am! I agree, they were an incredible band with great songs overshadowed by "My Sharona", and the fact that for whatever dynamics, they were not the in-thing anymore once they fell from grace, however and why-ever that was. It is interesting in the documentary how Doug Feiger comes right out and says that if they did stay on top, he would have certainly been dead from drugs, so interesting how it seems a higher force sometimes works out all things for good. But in the meantime, I kept track of just the songs, and they always had some great ones whenever they would eek out a new album. I emailed you the "Zoom" tracks (6-10) that wouldn't play, would love to hear your thoughts on those here! Again, really enjoyed reading all of your thoughts on the songs, and glad someone appreciates them like I do. Jim
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