Customer Reviews

The Fabulous Knickerbockers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The SUNDAZED label apparently owns the entire Knickerbockers catalogue, but as far as I can gather, this was the first compilation of said material they put out, back in 1989. It's still a great collection, although presumably it is obselete to a degree. These guys were *good*; they did the best Beatles impersonation (stylistically) around, and several of these tracks are illegally catchy. I'm stumped at the inclusion of the weaker (IMO) tracks from their mostly-covers album, though; I think their Kinks covers beat out Johnny B Goode any day...

The Knickerbockers shouldn't be overlooked as they have been for so long (perhaps it's a bit late for that!), and this compilation is a teriffic way for a new Knickerbockers fan to find out what this band was all about.
You get all the Beatle-sounding material: Lies, One Track Mind, Just One Girl, I Must Be Doing Something Right, and Stick With Me. Their other material shines just as brightly: They Ran for their Lives, High on Love, and My Feet are Off The Ground. Some weaker spots are here: Jerk Town, the Chuck Berry Medley, Money, however they can easily be looked at as a progression. The Beatles had the Anthology, right? Think of this as your own personal Knickerbockers Anthology.
I'll go four stars for this one, simply because it's the best Knickerbockers compilation out there - if you're looking for somewhere to start, start here.

The Knicks (NOT the pro b-ball team!!) were a pretty good hit during the British invasion days. Their song "Lies" charted quite well in the States, and I've lost count of the number of groups and artists who covered it. My personal favorite cover is by the the Ventures. Overall, this collection is about as good as it can get with the Knickerbockers. I've always liked them, so I feel obligated to give the CD 5 stars. Simple as that, eh, wot?

The Knickerbockers were an early 1960s rock band from New Jersey, whose biggest and best hit was the Beatles soundalike "Lies." Prior to the British Invasion, these guys specialized in Four Seasons-style vocals. After the Beatles hit America, however, the Knickerbockers rocked things up and this CD features several of their Beatlesque songs (along with their earlier material).

Unfortunately, despite the lead vocalist's uncanny John Lennon impersonation, the Knickerbockers' stabs at being the Beatles aren't very good. It probably seemed great at the time on AM radio, but listening to the songs today it's all too obvious that the awful production doesn't come anywhere near George Martin's and the musicianship is passionate but sometimes sloppy. It may sound mean-spirited to criticize the Knickerbockers for not being as good a band as the Beatles, but if it weren't for their Beatles imitation I can't imagine anyone remembering the Knickerbockers today.

Unless you're a Beatles completist, "Lies" is the only essential song here and it's available on better compilations such as "Nuggets."