Editing Get the Knack

{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox album
|name       = Get the Knack
|type       = studio
|artist     = [[The Knack]]
|cover      = Get The Knack album cover.JPG
|alt        =
|released   = {{start date|1979|06|11}}
|recorded   = April 1979
|venue      =
|studio     = The [[Record Plant]] (New York)
|genre      = {{flatlist|
*[[Power pop]]<ref name="Borack"/>
*[[New wave music|new wave]]<ref name="Paste"/>}}
|length     = {{Duration|m=40|s=58}}
|label      = [[Capitol Records]]
|producer   = [[Mike Chapman]]
|prev_title =
|prev_year  =
|next_title = [[...But the Little Girls Understand]]
|next_year  = 1980
|misc       = {{Singles
|name       = Get the Knack
|type       = studio
|single1    = [[My Sharona]]
|single1date= June 18, 1979<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.superseventies.com/1979_1singles.html | title="My Sharona" - the Knack }}</ref>
|single2    = [[Good Girls Don't]]
|single2date= August 1979
}}
}}
'''''Get the Knack''''' is the debut studio album by American [[power pop]] band [[The Knack]], released in June 1979. At the time, the album was one of the most successful debuts in history, selling over one million copies in less than two months and spending five weeks at number one on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart.

The lead single from the album, "[[My Sharona]]", was number one on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] for six weeks and number one on ''Billboard''{{'}}s Top Pop Singles of 1979 year-end chart. The follow-up single, "[[Good Girls Don't]]", reached number 11 on the Hot 100 and followed "My Sharona" to number one on the [[Canadian Singles Chart]]. In ''Billboard'' magazine's year-end charts, ''Get the Knack'' ranked at #16 for 1979,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |date=December 22, 1979 |title=Top Album Artists of the Year |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSQEAAAAMBAJ |journal=Billboard Magazine |volume=91 |pages=TIA-12 (insert)}}</ref> and #72 for 1980.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=December 20, 1980 |title=Number One Awards: Pop Albums |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GyUEAAAAMBAJ |journal=Billboard Magazine |volume=92 |pages=TIA-12 (insert)}}</ref>

==Background==
The Knack formed in [[Los Angeles]] in May 1978, and after shopping their demo tape to various record labels without success, the band began playing the local club circuit beginning in June, playing over 50 gigs in the next six months. The band quickly gained a following as word of mouth spread about their energetic shows and musicians such as [[Ray Manzarek]], [[Tom Petty]] and [[Bruce Springsteen]] came to their shows and joined the group on stage. By December, thirteen record labels, including some that previously rejected them, were offering recording contracts and the group signed with [[Capitol Records]] in January 1979.<ref name=mckenna>{{cite news|last=McKenna|first=Kristine|author-link=Kristine McKenna|title=The Knack and How to Do It|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 3, 1978|page=94}}</ref>

==Recording==
''Get the Knack'' was recorded in just two weeks at a cost of only $18,000, an extremely quick and inexpensive recording at a time when many established artists were spending months and several hundred thousand dollars to record an album. The album was produced by [[Mike Chapman]], who had written hits for [[The Sweet|Sweet]] in the early 1970s and most recently produced [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]]'s breakout album ''[[Parallel Lines]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=McCullaugh|first=Jim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT65|title=Knack Rides Charts with $18,000 Album|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=91|issue=31|date=August 4, 1979|accessdate=November 3, 2020|page=62}}</ref>

==Release and reception==
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="AllmusicReview">{{cite web|last=Woodstra|first=Chris|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/get-the-knack-mw0000203259|title=Get the Knack – The Knack|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=November 3, 2020}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Nelson|first=Chris|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-link=Christian Hoard|chapter=The Knack|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/462 462–63]}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Smash Hits]]''
|rev3score = 5/10<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Starr|first=Red|title=Albums|magazine=[[Smash Hits]]|volume=1|issue=18|date=August 9–22, 1979|page=25}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
|rev4score = B−<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv9-79.php|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide|work=[[The Village Voice]]|date=September 3, 1979|accessdate=July 3, 2011}}</ref>
}}
''Get the Knack'' was released in June 1979 and became an immediate success, thanks in part to an intense promotional campaign by Capitol Records. The Knack's image was largely influenced by [[the Beatles]]. The album cover imitates the Beatles' first Capitol LP, ''[[Meet the Beatles!]]'', and the back cover photo depicts a scene from the Beatles' film ''[[A Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night]]''. To complete the Beatle imagery, the 1960s Capitol rainbow label adorned the LP, a detail the band had written into its contract. The album obtained a gold [[RIAA certification|certification]] from the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) in just 13 days, becoming Capitol Records' fastest selling debut LP since ''Meet the Beatles!'' in 1964. In August, the album reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, where it remained for five weeks, and was certified platinum by the RIAA for one million copies sold. The lead single, "My Sharona", also met with immediate success, becoming Capitol's fastest selling debut single since the Beatles' "[[I Want to Hold Your Hand]]" and staying at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for six weeks.<ref name=atkinson>{{cite magazine|last=Atkinson|first=Terry|title=The Knack: yesterday...and today|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=October 18, 1979|pages=32, 35–37}}</ref>

A backlash against the Knack's overnight success formed among critics who found the band's image too contrived and their attitude too brash. [[San Francisco]] [[conceptual art]]ist Hugh Brown, who had designed [[the Clash]]'s ''[[Give 'Em Enough Rope]]'' album cover, started a "Knuke the Knack" campaign complete with T-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers. Some music writers began to criticize the band for what they perceived as arrogance, hype and a [[misogyny|misogynist]] attitude expressed in their songs.<ref name=hilburn>{{cite news|last=Hilburn|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Hilburn|title=A Knack on the Door for L.A. Rock|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=July 29, 1979|page=L1}}</ref><ref name=dissent>{{cite news|last=McKenna|first=Kristine|author-link=Kristine McKenna|title=Knack: A Dissenting View|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=July 29, 1979|page=L64}}</ref> The band's refusal to do interviews was also viewed negatively by the music press. One entertainment weekly, ''[[Cleveland Scene|Scene]]'' magazine, refused to publish a review of the Knack's concert in [[Cleveland]] due to what it called "attempts at censorship" by the band's management.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ed|title=Live Wire|work=[[Cleveland Scene|Scene]]|date=October 11–17, 1979}}</ref>

[[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' was critical of the album's misogynistic themes and remarked that if the Knack "felt this way about girls when they were unknowns, I shudder to think how they're reacting to groupies." However, Christgau countered critics who had dismissed the band on "purely technical terms", arguing that "if they're less engaging musically than, say, [[the Scruffs]], they have a lot more pop and power going for them than, say, [[the Real Kids]]."<ref name="Christgau"/> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' critic Dick Nusser was particularly complimentary of tracks such as "Let Me Out", "Maybe Tonight" and "That's What the Little Girls Do", while noting that the pleading song "Oh Tara" indicates that the Knack "aren't strict girl haters."<ref name=billboard>{{cite magazine|last=Nusser|first=Dick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT107|title=The Knack: Get the Knack|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=91|issue=30|date=July 28, 1979|accessdate=July 14, 2011|pages=52, 66}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In a retrospective review, [[AllMusic]] critic Chris Woodstra wrote that the Knack's attempt to "update the Beatles sound for the [[new wave music|new wave]] era" was "a good idea that was well executed", describing ''Get the Knack'' as "at once sleazy, sexist, hook-filled, and endlessly catchy – above all, it's a guilty pleasure and an exercise in simple fun."<ref name="AllmusicReview"/> ''[[Trouser Press]]'' noted the negative portrayal of the female protagonists of certain songs and singled out "Maybe Tonight" as "bottom-of-the-barrel sap", but praised "My Sharona", "Let Me Out" and "Frustrated" as "tight guitar pop."<ref name=trouser>{{cite web|last1=Robbins|first1=Ira|last2=Sandlin|first2=Michael|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=knack|title=Knack|work=[[Trouser Press]]|accessdate=July 18, 2011}}</ref> In 2016, ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' ranked ''Get the Knack'' at number 39 on its list of the 50 best new wave albums.<ref name="Paste">{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/new-wave/the-best-new-wave-albums/|title=The 50 Best New Wave Albums|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=September 8, 2016|accessdate=November 3, 2020}}</ref> [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] frontman [[Kurt Cobain]] listed ''Get the Knack'' as one of his 50 favorite recordings.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cross|first1=Charles R.|author-link1=Charles R. Cross|last2=Gaar|first2=Gillian G.|last3=Gendron|first3=Bob|last4=Martens|first4=Todd|last5=Yarm|first5=Mark|title=Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History|publisher=Voyageur Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-7603-4521-4|page=56}}</ref>

==Re-issues==
When the album was initially released on CD in 1989,<ref>{{cite web|title=CD Album - The Knack - ''Get The Knack'' - Capitol - USA|publisher=45worlds|url=http://www.45worlds.com/cdalbum/cd/cdp7918482|accessdate=April 25, 2017}}</ref> the song "(She's So) Selfish" had vocals different from the original release, with lyrics like "coming from the [[Methaqualone|quaalude]] scene" changed to "...lame'o scene". Capitol Records used a censored, alternate version of the track which was requested in certain countries.

The album was re-issued on CD in 2002 as a remastered version true to the original vinyl release. This version included bonus demos of "My Sharona" and "That's What the Little Girls Do", as well as a rehearsal take of "Maybe Tonight". It also included a cover of [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s ''[[Darkness on the Edge of Town]]'' outtake "Don't Look Back", which the Knack recorded in 1979 but was left off the ''Get the Knack'' LP, and a cover of [[Nick Lowe]]'s "[[I Knew the Bride]]".<ref>{{cite web|last=Woodstra|first=Chris|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/get-the-knack-bonus-tracks-mr0000763450|title=Get the Knack [Bonus Tracks] – The Knack|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=November 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Guterman|first=Jimmy|title=Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|year=2005|isbn=978-0-306-81397-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/runawayamericand00gute/page/109 109–110]}}</ref><ref name="Borack">{{cite book|last=Borack|first=John M.|author-link=John M. Borack|title=Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide|publisher=[[Not Lame Recordings]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-9797714-0-8|page=60}}</ref> A subsequent CD re-issue was remastered by Iconoclassic Records in 2011. Unlike the previous remaster, the 2011 release contains no dynamic range compression.

In April 2017, [[Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab]] released an audiophile version of the album on [[Super Audio CD#Technology|hybrid SACD]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicdirect.com/optical-disc/the-knack-get-the-knack-strictly-limited-to-2000-numbered-edition-hybrid-sacd|title=The Knack – Get The Knack (Numbered Hybrid SACD)|publisher=Music Direct|accessdate=April 25, 2017}}</ref> This release, like the 2002 Capitol and 2011 Iconoclassic versions, utilizes the original, un-censored mixes.

==Track listing==
{{tracklist
|headline     = Side one
|title1       = Let Me Out
|writer1      = [[Doug Fieger]], [[Berton Averre]]
|length1      = 2:20
|title2       = [[Your Number or Your Name]]
|writer2      = Fieger, Averre
|length2      = 2:57
|title3       = Oh Tara
|writer3      = Fieger
|length3      = 3:04
|title4       = [[(She's So) Selfish]]
|writer4      = Fieger, Averre
|length4      = 4:30
|title5       = Maybe Tonight
|writer5      = Fieger
|length5      = 4:00
|title6       = [[Good Girls Don't]]
|writer6      = Fieger
|length6      = 3:07
}}
{{Track listing
|headline     = Side two
|title7       = [[My Sharona]]
|writer7      = Fieger, Averre
|length7      = 4:52
|title8       = [[Heartbeat (Buddy Holly song)|Heartbeat]]
|writer8      = [[Bob Montgomery (musician)|Bob Montgomery]], [[Norman Petty]]
|length8      = 2:11
|title9       = Siamese Twins (The Monkey and Me)
|writer9      = Fieger, Averre
|length9      = 3:25
|title10      = Lucinda
|writer10     = Fieger, Averre
|length10     = 4:00
|title11      = That's What the Little Girls Do
|writer11     = Fieger
|length11     = 2:41
|title12      = [[Frustrated (The Knack song)|Frustrated]]
|writer12     = Fieger, Averre
|length12     = 3:51
|total_length = 40:58
}}

==Personnel==
'''The Knack'''
*[[Doug Fieger]] – [[lead vocals]], [[rhythm guitar]], [[harmonica]] on "[[Good Girls Don't]]"
*[[Berton Averre]] – [[lead guitar]], [[backing vocals]]
*[[Prescott Niles]] – [[bass guitar|bass]]
*[[Bruce Gary]] – [[drums]]

==Charts==
===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col"| Chart (1979–80)
!scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
!scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|publisher=Australian Chart Book|edition=illustrated|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=169}}</ref>
|style="text-align:center;"| 1
|-
{{Album chart|Canada|1|chartid=4411a|accessdate=November 3, 2020|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{Album chart|Netherlands|36|artist=The Knack|album=Get the Knack|accessdate=November 3, 2020|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{Album chart|Germany4|24|id=12871|artist=The Knack|album=Get the Knack|accessdate=November 3, 2020|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{Album chart|New Zealand|2|artist=The Knack|album=Get the Knack|accessdate=November 3, 2020|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{Album chart|Sweden|39|artist=The Knack|album=Get the Knack|accessdate=November 3, 2020|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{Album chart|UK2|65|date=19790729|accessdate=November 3, 2020|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|1|M|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1979-08-11|title=''Billboard'' 200|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=August 11, 1979|accessdate=November 3, 2020|rowheader=true}}
|}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" | Chart (1979)
! scope="col" | Position
|-
! scope="row" | New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/annual-albums/1979-12-31|title=Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart|publisher=[[Recorded Music New Zealand]]|access-date=January 28, 2022}}</ref>
| 34
|-
|Billboard Magazine (USA)<ref name=":0" />
|16
|}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Australia|artist=The Knack|title=Get the Knack|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=1979|certref=<ref name="aus79">{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-09-15.pdf|title=International Dateline - Australia|magazine=[[Cash Box magazine|Cash Box]]|via=World Radio History|page=57|date=September 15, 1979|access-date= December 1, 2021}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Canada|artist=The Knack|title=Get the Knack|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1979|accessdate=November 16, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=New Zealand|artist=The Knack|title=Get the Knack|award=Gold|id=1979-09-21|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|relyear=1979}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=The Knack|title=Get the Knack|award=Platinum|number=2|accessdate=November 4, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{The Knack}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:The Knack albums]]
[[Category:1979 debut albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Mike Chapman]]
[[Category:Capitol Records albums]]