Pay the Devil (Ooo, Baby, Ooo)
"Pay the Devil (Ooo, Baby, Ooo)" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Knack | ||||
from the album Round Trip | ||||
B-side | "Lil' Cals Big Mistake" | |||
Released | 1981 | |||
Genre | Power pop | |||
Length | 3:52 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Berton Averre | |||
Producer(s) | Jack Douglas | |||
The Knack singles chronology | ||||
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"Pay the Devil (Ooo, Baby, Ooo)" is a song written by Berton Averre and first released by the Knack on their 1981 album Round Trip. It was also released as a single, and reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1][2] It continued the descending patterns of the Knack's singles from "My Sharona" which reached #1 to "Good Girls Don't" which reached #11 to "Baby Talks Dirty" which peaked at #38 to "Can't Put a Price on Love" which only reached #62.[1] However, it was the last Knack single to chart at all until "My Sharona" re-entered the charts at #91 in 1994 in the wake of its appearance in the soundtrack of Reality Bites.[3] "Pay the Devil" was later included on Knack compilation albums The Retrospective: The Best of the Knack and Very Best of the Knack.[4][5]
Lyrics & music
Although lead singer Doug Fieger wrote or co-wrote most of the Knack's songs, lead guitarist Berton Averre received the sole writing credit for "Pay the Devil."[6] Fieger claimed that it was "a very personal song" of Averre's.[6] Fieger interpreted the song as "whatever you may want, there's always a price to pay."[6] Rolling Stone critic David Fricke interprets the song as possibly containing an apology for some of the band's earlier mistakes in lines such as:[7]
- Everybody's got to read the reviews
- ... even you
- Got to learn to give the devil his due
Fricke describes the music of "Pay the Devil" as
Single release
Round Trip contained an eclectic collection of songs, and it was not obvious which song should be the lead single.
Critical reception
References
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ISBN 9780789446138.
- ^ "Hot 100 Singles Get The Knack Again". Billboard. April 16, 1994. p. 102.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ ISBN 9780595370078.
- ^ a b c Fricke, D. (December 10, 1981). "Round Trip". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ a b c d McLaughlin, M. & Sharp, K. (2004). Getting the Knack. Passport Productions.
- ^ Orange Coast Magazine. p. 83.
- ^ "The Knack–Round Trip". Billboard. October 24, 2012. p. 76.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 24, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 31, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
- ^ Robbins, I. & Sandlin, M. "The Knack". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Anderson, Skip. "Top 10 songs from the Knack". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-01-24.