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...But the Little Girls Understand

The Knack - ...But the Little Girls Understand Audio CD

A fair review of the The Knack "...But the Little Girls Understand" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Knack reviews here, or go back to the The Knack tabs.

Band: The Knack
Title: ...But the Little Girls Understand
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-05-07
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Baby Talks Dirty 2: I Want Ya 3: Tell Me You're Mine 4: Mr. Handleman 5: Can't Put a Price on Love 6: Hold on Tight and Don't Let Go 7: Hard Way 8: It's You 9: End of the Game 10: Feeling I Get 11: (Havin' A) Rave Up 12: How Can Love Hurt So Much 13: Soul Kitchen [Live][#][*] - The Knack, Ray Manzarek 14: Alabama Song/Whiskey Bar [Live][#][*] - The Knack, Ray Manzarek 15: Revenge [Rehearsal][#][*] 16: Daughter of the Law [#][*]

Lots of energy but the songs go no where
The band plays with energy but the songs are just not that good. After their excellent debut album, the Knack releasd "But the Little Girls Understand". Aside from Baby Talks Dirty which is catchy but sounds a lot like My Sharona, the other songs are mostly uninspiring. The reissued version from 2002 includes two live tracks with Ray Manzarek from the Doors. Ray does his thing with the Knack playing backing up and the songs plod along and bring nothing refreshing to this album. All in all, a disappointing release from a very talented and fun band. BnB Beatles Depot.

A solid sophmore release
It's pretty much more of the same. Their initial release, "Get the Knack," far overshadows everything else they recorded, but if you liked "My Sharona" and "Good Girls Don't" you'll probably enjoy this release, too.

The Knack and How to lose it
Recorded at the same breakneck pace as the debut (a mere two weeks, and only 8 months after "Get the Knack"), this time, the expediency doesn't benefit. While Doug Feiger may boast that "But The Little Girls Understand" was made up of the songs originally slated to be "Get The Knack's" second half of a double album, there is no escaping the fact that these songs are lesser than those of the debut. If "Get The Knack" was a sugary eclair with a tart filling, "But The Little Girls Understand" was the same eclair after the creamy filling had gone rancid.

The problems are evident as soon as "Baby Talks Dirty" kicks in. Essentially the "My Sharona" riff inverted with yet another lyric about slutty girls, it was still catchy and propulsive enough to hit the top 20. I can't fault the band for trying, as the songs are slavish to style. The Beatles dominate, but so does Buddy Holly pop ("Having A Rave Up"), to even covering an obscurity from The Kinks ("The Hard Way"). The songs that seem to push the envelope are even weirder. "Mr Handleman" sports an island riff as the protagonist offers to pimp out his wife.

The backlash had already been in force, and "But The Little Girls Understand" fed the fires. Lacking the cohesion of the debut and, frankly, all that many memorable songs, The Knack was already shooting themselves in the feet. It took them two years after this to create the sophisticated "Round Trip," but this was the seal of doom for The Knack. They were already getting into substance problems, media disasters (they were a notoriously prickly interview on the occasion they even did speak to media), and both Feiger and producer Mike Chapman were not too fond of each other by the album's completion.

It's a shame, because the bonus material on "But The Little Girls Understand" showcases why The Knack were such a sought-after group in the label-bidding wars. Ray Manzarek of The Doors is featured jamming on a pair of live cuts, "Soul Kitchen" and "The Alabama Song/Whiskey Bar. " They swing though each with verve, and the Del Shannon tribute "Daughter Of The Law" sounds like a great lost single. The Knack had it, lost it, and never got it back.

Get the Knack again
As a result, the first two albums tended to be close reflections of each other, and substantial development of the band's sound was not expected before the third release. In the world of 20th century rock music, bands usually had about two albums worth of material worked up from club work by the time they landed a recording contract. Music critics who knew this perfectly well still gave the Knack a hard time for the close duplication in this album of the band's initial, explosively successful "Get the Knack. " Well, they gave the Knack a hard time about just about everything, and hounded the band to a premature (and thankfully temporary) extinction. Little known until now was just how closely related the songs of "But the Little Girls Understand" were to those of "Get the Knack. " Doug Fieger and company originally proposed to Capitol Records a double album debut (!), nothing less than a concept album of suburban 70s teenage angst. The executives predictably balked at the idea, and the Knack sliced their concept into two separate discs, releasing them a mere eight months apart. The two albums should be seen as a single, marvelous moment in rock history, and a fine extended set of raw power pop.

It is understandable that "But the Little Girls Understand" did not get quite an even share of tight little masterpieces that the Knack packed into their debut. But it holds up remarkably well, flying forward at full throttle from the opening track, the top-40 hit "Baby Talks Dirty," through a dozen focused statements of desire, frustration, and fatalism. If one accepts the frequent comparison of the Knack to the early Beatles, then it is to the earliest Beatles of the Hamburg scene, blistering out tracks with a speed-enhanced fury. As for criticisms of the limitations of formula and musicianship -- that's rock'n'roll, man, and the Knack knew this genre far better than most.

I think one of the main reasons "But the Little Girls Understand" leaves the listener a little disappointed in the end is a misstep in deciding how the album should end. Someone made the decision to show off the band's ability to imitate a number of varied rock styles, including the fine Spectoresque "The Feeling I Get," the rockabilly "Havin' a Rave Up," and the fully orchestrated ballad, "How Can Love Hurt So Much. " The latter two tracks are not really up to snuff, and a better solution is sitting right there among the bonus material on this CD: an incredible six minute opus called "Revenge" that has to rank among the most perfect encapsulations of the rock ethos ever put on tape. If this had been the closing track on the album, I think it would have been a much stronger finale. In addition to "Revenge," the bonus material on this CD release includes another lost early effort, "Daughter of the Law," and two live tracks from before the band hit it big, with guest Ray Manzarek of the Doors (Knack bassist Prescott Niles had worked in a post-Doors band with Manzarek).

The Knack began to falter after "But the Little Girls Understand," and broke up after only one more release, regrouping off and on over the years since and putting out three more albums, alas without high-powered drummer Brucy Gary, whose recent passing is much lamented. Of these later releases, only 1998's "Zoom" recaptures all that made the Knack the quintessential power pop band. Look for the touched-up re-release "Re-Zoom" out this year.

Could rightly be called "Get theKnack - II"

According to Doug, "we had about two dozen, and picked the what we thought were the best twelve for the debut". Reviewer Robert Bryan is correct in saying "The Knack had enough songs for a 2 record debut".

In fact, "Baby Talks Dirty" was one of the very first songs Doug had written in the early 70s, but never got around to recording.
"My Sharona" came along much later, and was basically a more risqu� reworking of "Baby Talks", not the other way around as many mistakingly believe.
Comparing the two songs, I actually like Baby Talks *better*.

My recommendation: get both albums, combine the songs, and treat the collection as "Get the Knack", the way the band had initially intended.
In this light, you get the complete musical picture of The Knack circa 1978. Enjoy!
.

You can see a complete list of all The Knack discography, or go back to the The Knack tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.