Zoom (The Knack album)
Encyclopedia
Zoom an album released by The Knack
in 1998. It marked a second comeback attempt by The Knack, after their attempted comeback in 1991 with Serious Fun
fizzled. Terry Bozzio
served as the drummer on the album in place of The Knack's original drummer Bruce Gary
. The album received positive reviews, including one that described it as the The Knack's best effort since their debut album. The album was re-released several years later as Re-Zoom with three bonus tracks.
. Writing in the Hartford Courant, Roger Catlin noted similarities between the opening song "Pop Is Dead", The Beatles
' "And Your Bird Can Sing
", and The Who
's Tommy; he also noted similarities between the album's second song "Can I Borrow a Kiss" and the classic song "Needles and Pins." He commented that while the album initially seems "to be on a track to produce a classic in '60s rock emulation along the lines of Flaming Groovies' Shake Some Action, some of the later tracks "disappoint." Author John Borack called the album "a stunning effort" and called it his favorite album of the year. Trouser Press
referred to the album as "a good, solid effort" that "isn't at all bad as slick, commercial Beatlesque power pop goes" but also noted that "the Knack is firmly caught in a dead zone between nostalgia, irrelevance and scorn."
The lyrics to the song "Can I Borrow a Kiss" were based on an incident from when songwriter Doug Fieger
visited Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco as a teenager, and a girl asked if she could borrow a kiss. Fieger noted that that kind of thing didn't happen in his hometown of Oak Park, Michigan
. The song "Terry & Julie Step Out" is based on The Kinks
' song "Waterloo Sunset
".
. Allmusic critic Steve Mason called Re-Zoom "probably the best Knack album since 1979's Get the Knack, with at least a few fine examples of pure L.A.-style power pop and a psychedelic closing ballad." Mason also noted that although the songs on the album did not have misogynist lyrics like earlier The Knack songs, the lyrics are "still rather smug," and that lead singer Doug Fieger
sings "with a self-satisfaction unwarranted by his flagrantly derivative musical sense." The additional tracks included covers of Badfinger
's "No Matter What" and Elvis Costello
's "Girls Talk."
15. "No Matter What" (Pete Ham) - 2:54
16. "Girls Talk" (Elvis Costello
) - 3:26
17. Untitled instrumental track - 4:01
The Knack
The Knack was an American New Wave rock quartet based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international number one hit in 1979.-Founding :...
in 1998. It marked a second comeback attempt by The Knack, after their attempted comeback in 1991 with Serious Fun
Serious Fun (The Knack album)
Serious Fun is an album by power pop/new wave band The Knack released by Charisma Records on January 16, 1991. It was their fourth record- a comeback after a decade long separation- and was accompanied by a public reunion and tour...
fizzled. Terry Bozzio
Terry Bozzio
Terry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.-Biography:Terry Bozzio was born December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw The Beatles premier performance on The Ed...
served as the drummer on the album in place of The Knack's original drummer Bruce Gary
Bruce Gary
Bruce Gary was best known as the drummer for the music group The Knack. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards as a stage performer, producer, and recording artist....
. The album received positive reviews, including one that described it as the The Knack's best effort since their debut album. The album was re-released several years later as Re-Zoom with three bonus tracks.
Critical reception
Allmusic critic Steve Erlewine praised the album as the "best album the maligned power-pop band has recorded since their debut," Get The KnackGet the Knack
Get Knack is the debut album by The Knack, released in June 1979. The album was the fasting-selling debut album on Capitol Records since Meet the Beatles in 1964. It went platinum in just two months and spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
. Writing in the Hartford Courant, Roger Catlin noted similarities between the opening song "Pop Is Dead", The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "And Your Bird Can Sing
And Your Bird Can Sing
"And Your Bird Can Sing" is a song by The Beatles, released on their 1966 album Revolver in the United Kingdom and on Yesterday...and Today in the United States. The songwriting credit is Lennon–McCartney, though the song was written primarily by John Lennon, with contributions by George Harrison...
", and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's Tommy; he also noted similarities between the album's second song "Can I Borrow a Kiss" and the classic song "Needles and Pins." He commented that while the album initially seems "to be on a track to produce a classic in '60s rock emulation along the lines of Flaming Groovies' Shake Some Action, some of the later tracks "disappoint." Author John Borack called the album "a stunning effort" and called it his favorite album of the year. Trouser Press
Trouser Press
Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...
referred to the album as "a good, solid effort" that "isn't at all bad as slick, commercial Beatlesque power pop goes" but also noted that "the Knack is firmly caught in a dead zone between nostalgia, irrelevance and scorn."
The lyrics to the song "Can I Borrow a Kiss" were based on an incident from when songwriter Doug Fieger
Doug Fieger
Douglas Lars "Doug" Fieger was an American singer-songwriter-musician. He was the lead singer of the power pop band The Knack, and co-wrote "My Sharona", the biggest hit song of 1979 in the USA, with lead guitarist, Berton Averre.-Life and career:Fieger's father was Jewish, and his mother of...
visited Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco as a teenager, and a girl asked if she could borrow a kiss. Fieger noted that that kind of thing didn't happen in his hometown of Oak Park, Michigan
Oak Park, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,793 people, 11,104 households, and 7,595 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,863.8 persons per square mile . There were 11,370 housing units at an average density of 2,263.9 per square mile...
. The song "Terry & Julie Step Out" is based on The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
' song "Waterloo Sunset
Waterloo Sunset
Waterloo Sunset is a song by British rock band The Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album Something Else by The Kinks...
".
Re-Zoom
After the rights reverted back to the band from its original label, The Knack re-released the album with additional tracks in 2003 under the title Re-Zoom. This release followed the band's next unsuccessful comeback with the album Normal as the Next GuyNormal as the Next Guy
Normal as the Next Guy is an album released by The Knack in 2001. It marks the 4th comeback attempt by the band after its second album, ...But the Little Girls Understand, failed to achieve the success of the band's debut album...
. Allmusic critic Steve Mason called Re-Zoom "probably the best Knack album since 1979's Get the Knack, with at least a few fine examples of pure L.A.-style power pop and a psychedelic closing ballad." Mason also noted that although the songs on the album did not have misogynist lyrics like earlier The Knack songs, the lyrics are "still rather smug," and that lead singer Doug Fieger
Doug Fieger
Douglas Lars "Doug" Fieger was an American singer-songwriter-musician. He was the lead singer of the power pop band The Knack, and co-wrote "My Sharona", the biggest hit song of 1979 in the USA, with lead guitarist, Berton Averre.-Life and career:Fieger's father was Jewish, and his mother of...
sings "with a self-satisfaction unwarranted by his flagrantly derivative musical sense." The additional tracks included covers of Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
's "No Matter What" and Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
's "Girls Talk."
Zoom track listing
- "Pop Is Dead" (Berton AverreBerton AverreBerton Averre is the guitarist with the Los Angeles rock band The Knack. They had a #6 UK/#1 US hit with "My Sharona", which sold 10 million copies in the US...
, Doug FiegerDoug FiegerDouglas Lars "Doug" Fieger was an American singer-songwriter-musician. He was the lead singer of the power pop band The Knack, and co-wrote "My Sharona", the biggest hit song of 1979 in the USA, with lead guitarist, Berton Averre.-Life and career:Fieger's father was Jewish, and his mother of...
) - 3:47 - "Can I Borrow a Kiss" (Berton Averre, Doug Fieger) - 4:03
- "Smilin'" (Berton Averre, Doug Fieger) - 4:03
- "Ambition" (Doug Fieger, Stan Lynch) - 4:28
- "Mister Magazine" (Doug Fieger) - 4:02
- "Everything I Do" (Melissa Connell, Doug Fieger) - 3:50
- "Love Is All There Is" (Doug Fieger) - 4:13
- "Terry & Julie Step Out" (Benton Averre, Doug Fieger) - 3:33
- "Harder on You" (Benton Averre, Prescott NilesPrescott NilesPrescott Niles is an American rock bassist. He is best known as bassist with The Knack, who had a #1 US/#6 UK hit with My Sharona.-References:...
) - 3:05 - "You Gotta Be There" (Doug Fieger) - 3:22
- "Good Enough" (Benton Averre, Doug Fieger) - 4:49
- "In Blue Tonight" (Doug Fieger) - 3:48
- "Tomorrow" (Benton Averre, Doug Fieger, Prescott Niles) - 4:27
- "(All in The) All in All" (Doug Fieger, Oliver Leiber) - 5:13
Re-Zoom track listing
As for the original album, with three additional tracks:15. "No Matter What" (Pete Ham) - 2:54
16. "Girls Talk" (Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
) - 3:26
17. Untitled instrumental track - 4:01