It's a shame that the late
Doug Fieger and his band
The Knack are today remembered, if at all, more for the rock-snob backlash that greeted their instant success than for their music. They've been permanently tagged as one-hit-wonders thanks to the staggering success of their debut single, the legendary
you-know-who:
(See? You don't even need to see
her name.)
Now, I haven't listened to a note of any of their albums after the debut,
Get the Knack, and I'm making no grand claims of eternal genius here. But one listen to that fantastic debut LP tells you this was no one-hit-wonder act. Ignore the infamous Beatle-baiting cover photos and marvel at how it's
packed with snappy, witty, tightly played, catchy-as-hell tunes. (I count "Oh Tara" as a particular favorite. I mean, how was
that not a #1 single?) The thing just kills from beginning to end, sounding as fresh today as it did to my virgin ears in the summer of '79.
So they didn't become the next
Cheap Trick. So sue 'em!
Get the Knack remains a flat-out
great album; the fact that it portended no further greatness doesn't diminish its own inherent greatness one bit. Maybe poor Mr. Fieger took some comfort in witnessing similarly steep quality/popularity dropoffs suffered in later years by The Strokes, the Hives, the Arctic Monkeys and a thousand other anointed power-pop "saviors."
Anyway, this zippy WLIR-FM soundboard show -- by far the best-quality Knack bootleg -- captures them promoting their third album, by which time the rock press and most listeners had long written them off as has-beens. Listen and judge for yourself. But remember: one listen to rock radio in 2010 should remind you that writing a great power-pop song, not to mention a whole album's worth, is no piece of cake.
THE KNACK
Venue unknown - Long Island, NY - December 10, 1981 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD
Working on getting into these guys, the Gabriel era that is. Never been a big fan. It's a process.
