Is The Knack a One Hit Wonder?
Over musket fire and some sort of 175 proof “Apple Pie” stuff this weekend, BrownNeckGaitor and I started arguing about whether The Knack was a one-hit wonder. I contend that My Sharona is all they have. In fact, I would say that they were the Chumbawumba of their time. As BNG returned small arms fire and commented on the “supple buttocks” of the soldier in front of him, he took grave issue with my characterization. So, let’s settle this like real men that don’t have a Thunderdome available to them. A TAH Poll off.
First, he contends this is their better song:
I put it to you, Greg – isn’t this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we’re not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!
Sorry, got lost there, ok, vote:
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Category: Politics
ran across a digitizer a while back which functions like a digital version of a tape deck, records independent of a computer and can take music straight from tape or album to CD. Praying it holds out long enough… sampling rate seems pretty decent.
Yep, Sgt. Peppers -also first albums from Moby Grape, Love, Grateful Dead, Great Society, Yardbirds, Cream, and a bunch more – first album purchased was “I Want Candy” by the Strangeloves.
David: what, no Steppenwolf? (smile)
First and second… Hoyt Axton’s great “The Pusher”, John Kay vocals…. that the best ya got? I was an idiot – I bought all KINDS of crap, sometimes just for the cover (Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies.) The Band? Great Society (predecessor to Jefferson Airplane)? Quickseilver Messenger Service? Fever Tree? Flock?
The only album jacket that I remember is Carly Simon’s “No Secrets”. I think that cover has influenced me through my adult years, such as they are.
David: just curious. Believe I have those as well (know I have the first, think I also got the second).
I also have some . . . mistakes in the collection.
Have to admit I didn’t discover how damn good “The Band” was until fairly recently. Was into harder-edged stuff while younger, and at the time wrote them off as being “too country”. Live and learn.
Carly Simon certainly was a looker at 27, wasn’t she? (smile)
Jonn – remember them well.
Hondo – think they planted the seed for a lifelong love affair with country rock fusion… studio Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia Band, Graham Parsons, Flyng Burrito Brothers, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and on into Southern rock.
Have never forgiven Joan Baez for “Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (well, and for anything else that c*nt ever did) –
I trust you enjoyed the cameo in “Shooter”?
David: have to admit I’ve never seen “Shooter” (don’t watch many films).
RIP, Richard, Rick, and Levon.
The great looking ones for me, Gracie Slick and Joan Baez. Summertime Blues was covered by many singers. The earliest I have been able to is Big Mamma Thorton IIRC early 50s. Joe
I saw The Band at Riverside Park in Springfield Mass in like 1988. They were playing off teh back of a truck, and were so drunk they were actually passing the bottle into the crowd. As a result, I was hammered too.
@57 & 58 Speaking of the movie “Shooter”… sound track at the end is “Nasty Letter” by Otis Taylor. Good tune!
Hondo – Reason I brought up “Shooter” – Levon Helm has a long cameo in it.
TSO – saw a similar Velvet underground gig in St. Louis in the late ’60s; band was obviously seriously wasted.
600 miles drive tomorrow, let’s just say after this conversation the musical choices just changed.
Ok, if this is reminiscence time, Donovan and “Sunshine Superman”, only because I was making out with a Marine in the back seat of his Firebird and the moon was full.
Janis did not do psychedelic, but you simply cannot beat her doing “Mercedes Benz” a cappella, or Big Maybelle doing “Candy”.
David: Helms also had long – and excellent – roles in “The Right Stuff” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter”. Here’s a sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPrFjNRKKiI
Take a copy of “Northern Lights – Southern Cross” with you for the trip – or one of their greatest hits compliations. “Acadian Driftwood” alone is worth taking the disc.
@54 Jonn, the Linda Rondstadt “Hasten Down the Wind” was pretty good for me a well…plus that off the shoulder white peasant blouse in her Rolling Stone interview were great….
@59 Joe, bet you would never have predicted Gracie Slick would end up about the size of a UH-1 “Slick”….she was a cutie and is now sporting her own zip code….
@65 Uh, VOV…Grace Slick is 73 years old. The flowers don’t stay fresh forever.
Pinto, I am aware nothing stays fresh forever, just wasn’t aware the petals grew large enough to blot out the sun before they check out….
One hit or a two hit wonder? Sure beats a NO HIT WONDER…and here we are discussing them… 35 years later.
First it needs more cowbells! But it’s got a good beat and I can dance to it. Dick…I’ll give it an 89.
I think the Knack’s cover of Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat” was really nice. I was in college when that album came out and I just about wore out the cassette. I have not listened to it in some time – I’ll have to listen again and see if I like their sound as much as I used to. At least visually if not musically, I think they were trying to emulate the Beatles more than anyone. Of course there’s no comparison between those two groups musically, but I still thought the Knack had a good sound.
Anybody other than me remember the Sonics? With songs like “The WItch”, “Psycho”, “Strychnine”, and “He’s Waiting”, they were punk before punk existed. Jerry Roslie was (is) one of the best rock vocalists ever, in my opinion.
Speaking of the Dead, what was the first thing the Grateful Dead fan said as he accidentally sobered up during a show?
“Man, these guys suck!”
I’m a HUGE Band fan. I first heard them on the soundtrack to “The Big Chill.” It led to a further exploration of their music. My favorite track from them is “Chest Fever,” one of the best night time cruising songs EVER.
A bit more contemporary but I have my old Heavy Metal soundtrack. Not a bad song on it.
72- amen
PintoNag – there were a coupla pseudo-psychedelic cuts on Big Brother’s Cheap Thrills… then, too, I think their lead guitarist was so bad I have never been sure if that atonalo crap was intentional or not.
I was shocked to see Hondo’s reference to Slade. Who knew!
Y’know, back in the ’60s our sh*t was so hip and all the old folks’ stuff sucked – well, that ’60s stuff is now relatively older than flapper music was then. Difference is, WE think it’s relevant. Run along, kiddies, it’s just the old farts (and with a nod to PintoNag and possibly exPH2) fartesses reminiscing with the last of the crumbling brain cells we have….
@73, I still have ALL my Beatles albums, my Jacques Loussier Jazz Bach Trio, Brubeck, Roberta Flack, The Lovin’ Spoonful and one Creedence Clearwater Revival. And I keep harking back to “Eve of Destruction” on occasion, and “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. And, in spite of my old fartess status, I still like Frank Sinatra’s best songs, especially “Love’s Been Good to Me” and his rendering of Gerswhin brothers’ “The Man I Love”. And Patsy Cline. I’m just shameless about it all.
How does this post have 75 comments?
LebbenB: Chest Fever is indeed excellent, live or studio. Have to say it’s probably my 3rd or 4th favorite Band tune, though. For me, tops is a toss-up between The Weight and Acadian Driftwood. Chest Fever is in a toss-up for 3rd with Life is a Carnival (love the Allain Toussaint horn arrangements on that one).
Cuz it’s a good post, especially comment #74
Dave: yep, weer all crazee now. (smile)
TSO: music simply . . . connects. Sometimes with a gentle tug, and sometimes with a punch to the gut – but it connects like few other things on this earth.
TSO, you started us doing something that we love to do.
Best aria ever from “La Boheme” – Renata Tebaldi as Mimi singing “Si mi chiamano Mimi”.
jeessus chrise…
@76. I really like “Life is a Carnival,” too. Toussaint’s horn arrangement along with the lyrical imagery of the song always reminds me of a Chagall paining.
I hear the uncensored version of “Good Girls Don’t” at Moe’s Southwest Grill every once in a while. Sure puts a different spin on the song!!
David @ 12:03 – “On The Road Again”? Whither “Going Up The Country”? That is the only Canned Heat song you hear outside of specialized circles nowadays (and probably since at least 1975).
Sliick’s face looks like 60 miles of bad off-roading. Okay Flame me , I am also a big Cher fan(always throught that she would be a great torch singer. Any of the Texas rock bands. SRV, ZZ and Pantera to name a few. Joe
@86 – Joe, did you never catch Cher when she was a torch singer on the “Sonny & Cher Show”? She was great. She sometimes sang old songs from the 1940s that no one else was singing.
Ex that is where my idea came from. Generally 2 or 3 songs in her albums are the torch variety. Joe
Joe – just wondered about it.
I hear the opening riff from the live version (13-minute plus) of Frampton’s “Do You Feel Like We Do” and I’m rolling out the keg.
“Good Girls Don’t” is a much better song than “My Sharona”. I remember both songs on the radio. I bought their greatest hist CD from Amazon just for GGD. There are a few other songs that are pretty decent. Good band, too bad their publicist was such a douche. He suggested that the band shy away from giving interviews which made them seem aloof to the media. The resulting backlash killed the band’s future. BTW Sweet wasn’t a psychedelic band; they were glam rockers.
TSO, 75 posts? I bet if we got together face to face with this crowd we could spend the entire day talking about music instead of anything related to the military…unless it was how music affected our service….lots of music lovers here, as Hondo says music connects us all…I play piano, and sometimes when I am playing or listening to something I really like, the music feels like it just washes over me and changes my outlook….
@92. We used to crank it LOUD prior to going outside the wire. Usually classic Metallica or Pantera…Something to get us in the mood, so to speak.
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