Customer Reviews

But the Little Girls Understand

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Knack pick up right where they left off with "Get the Knack". This release is PACKED with great tunes including the BEST version ever released of "the hard way" (even better then the original KINKS version).

The only problem with this release is that it gets off to a false start. "baby talks dirty" (track #1) is the worst song on the album and you get the feeling that it was thrown together quickly and placed in the first slot with hopes that it would become a "sharona" clone. "baby" has the beat... but suffers from horrible lyrics.

Once you get past the first track you'll have a wonderful listening experience!

"I want ya".... Ultra Cool Power-Pop!
"Tell Me You're Mine"..... Great tune!
"Mr. Handleman".... A bit weak.
"The Hard Way"... This should have been track #1!
"It's You"... Wonderful pop!
"End Of The Game"... nice!
"The Feeling I Get"... What an Awesome song!
"(Havin'A) Rave Up"... The Knack do Rock'a Billy!
"How Can Love Hurt So Much"... What a wondeful pop song!

Out of the extra's, "daughter of the law" is an outstanding tune that should have originally been included on the old LP! "Revenge" is also a very cool song with lyrics that are a bit bleak... but it sure sounds great!

The Knack never fully received the respect they deserved from critics and that's truly a shame. Those who bash them and say "one hit wonder" really just don't get it and never will. If the Knack were not successful you would probably be reading high praise calling them unsung power-pop legends! It's funny, when I listen to many of the not-so-successful heroes of power-pop it's ussually very easy to see why they didn't succeed, few had the ability to deliver a full album of this quality. The only problem here is that the Knack were TOO DAMN GOOD and that made a lot of people mad. When I think of the Knack, I think of a group that kept the flame of REAL rock 'n roll alive and helped to usher in a flood of NEW talent. Thank god for the Knack and long live Rock 'N Roll!

-JM

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Review Update:
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In August of 2006, Knack drummer Bruce Gary died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 54. Gary was a well respected drummer in the industry, playing with artists such as George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills, Jack Bruce, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Randy Meisner, Robby Kreiger and many others. Fans of the Knack will never forget him! Our sincere condolences to Bruce Gary's family!

Doug Fieger, the Knack's lead vocalist and primary song writer, lost his long battle with cancer on Valentine's Day (2-14-2010). Doug was a brilliant pop song writer, coming up with some of the finest PowerPop tunes of all time. You will be missed Doug!

-JM

The Knack is one of the great undervalued rock and roll bands out there. People who knock them as cheap bubble gum pop obviously haven't listed to everything this band has to offer. "Get the Knack" sold milliions and started a Beatlemania- like frenzy back in 1979, but the bands star faded shortly thereafter. The great music, though, didn't stop coming. "...But the Little Girls Understand" is a phenomenal record that was often overlooked in the backlash of critical disdain for the band. Songs like "I Want Ya" are power pop gems that only come around once in a while. The real crowd pleaser here is "(Havin' a) Rave Up". Years before the Stray Cats brought the swingin' '40's and '50's back to our airwaves, the Knack was blowing eardrums with this tune. The bonus tracks are cool here and show the bands versatility on songs with Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Anyway, pick up this record, turn it up really loud and I think you'll figure out what I'm talking about here. Don't be surprised if you can't these songs out of your head for weeks!

I wasn't around in 1980, so I have no idea why one of the biggest bands in the world essentially disappeared a year later. And I can't figure it out from this album either. It doesn't sound like trite garbage. It has some very enjoyable songs on it (my personal favorite is "The Feeling I Get.") It doesn't have any songs I would call great, which is why it doesn't get five stars, but it consists of all good songs. I can take or leave the bonus tracks. Daughter of the Law is pretty good. Yes, Get The Knack is better than this, but they are both worth your time and money.

While not as good as "Get the Knack", still a great album if you are a fan (everyone should be). Love "Mr. Handleman" and their cover of The Kinks, "Hard Way". This album should have been big! They got hosed Tommy, they got hosed!

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

The second effort from The Knack may not be as good as the first one, but it's a good very album anyway. "Baby talks dirty", "I want ya", "Hold on tight and don't let go", and two wonderful songs: the Stonesque "Can't put a price on love", and the romantic tune "How can love hurt so much", make this album another "must have" that is worth the price. Definitely, The Knack issued two excellent 'easy-listening Rock' albums that you may not miss in your 70s Rock collection!

I just purchased this cd and have listened to it quite extensively over the last several days. It is much better than my perception of it had been!
I originally purchased this album in 1980 when it was released. It didn't get the play Get The Knack did from radio, jukeboxes, or even my stereo system. Two years later The Knack was history and when CDs displaced vinyl shortly thereafter '...but the little girls understand' basically disappeared. My twenty five year old recollection was that the first half of the LP was memorable, but the second half was not up to par. I really enjoyed 'Baby Talks Dirty' when it came out as a short-lived single and I remember 'I Want Ya' as being as good if not better than that. Over the years I was able to get my fix of Baby Talks Dirty on a greatest hits compilation, but the rest of the songs were just a memory.
Most songs on this disc have the patented Knack-style you expect.
Others show the band's variety and seem to pay homage to their musical roots. Beyond the obligatory Beatle comparisons, there is 'The Feeling I Get' a Beach Boy-like tune. 'Daughter Of The Law' (a previously unreleased track) conjures up the 60s and could fit nicely in an Austin Powers soundtrack! 'Rave Up' is a Stray Cats song before the Stray Cats even existed! And the guitars in 'Revenge' (a rehearsal recording also previously unreleased) lets you know why Curt Kobain mentioned The Knack as one of his musical influences. The live Doors songs with Ray Manzarek on keyboards is a great addition too. Recorded at the Troubador in '78 before the band's ascension they seem to be original recordings and not touched up.
If you like Get The Knack, this is a worthy addition. Throw your hesitancy aside quicker than I did and buy this. If you only like the song My Sharona, then you're on your own.

Um, if you like the knack then Baby Talks Dirty and Mr. Handleman are right up there with the rest of the great songs....Not to be tossed aside....WTF ?

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. It's pretty much more of the same.

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. 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. 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.