Serious Fun (The Knack album)
Serious Fun | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 16, 1991 | |||
Genre | Power pop | |||
Label | Charisma | |||
Producer | Don Was | |||
The Knack chronology | ||||
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Singles from Serious Fun | ||||
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Serious Fun is the fourth album by
Overview
The album was released by Charisma Records on January 16, 1991. Musician Don Was,[1] a member of the group Was (Not Was),[3] produced the album. He was a friend of Knack frontman Doug Fieger since high school.[1]
The Knack split up in 1981 just a few weeks after the release of
A deluxe CD reissue complete with
The songs "I Want Love," "Rocket O' Love" and "One Day at a Time" were incorporated into the
Classic Rock History critic Skip Anderson rated "Rocket O' Love" as the Knack's 5th best song, particularly praising the guitar riff and noting a resemblance to Foghat.[12]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [13] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [14] |
Musician | (Unfavorable)[15] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
Musician panned the album, stating that "Anyone who believes the musical legacy of the '70s is nothing to be ashamed of might want to reconsider after hearing this one."[17] Critic Stewart Mason of AllMusic gave a mixed review. He remarked that even though "the songs are neat little packages of appropriately crunchy guitar hooks and harmonies", still "Serious Fun doesn't manage to be quite as much fun as it could be."[1] Critic William Ruhlmann, also with AllMusic, commented that "it's hard to imagine anyone other than die-hard Knack fans expressing any interest in it."[5] Walter Allread panned the album as uninspired, stating that it consisted of "12 new tunes that succeed only at making you want to hear 'My Sharona' again," but also conceded that "One Day at a Time" might have some radio success.[18] The Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album "lumbering arena-rock."[16]
Track listing
All songs are by Berton Averre and Doug Fieger except where noted.[1]
Original release
- "Rocket O' Love" [3:10]
- "I Want Love" [4:02] (Berton Averre, Doug Fieger, Prescott Niles, Pat Torpey)
- "Serious Fun" [4:32]
- "One Day at a Time" [4:25]
- "River of Sighs" [5:30]
- "Let's Get Lost" [4:10]
- "Can Tickle" [0:40]
- "Shine" [3:52]
- "Won't Let Go/Aces & Eights" [4:55]
- "Body Talk" [4:24] (Berton Averre, Doug Fieger, Prescott Niles, Pat Torpey)
- "(I'll Be Your) Mau Mau" [3:52]
- "Doin' the Dog" [3:45]
New release
All songs are by Berton Averre/Doug Fieger except where noted.[5]
- Rocket O' Love [3:10]
- I Want Love [4:02] (Written by Berton Averre/Doug Fieger/Prescott Niles/Pat Torpey)
- Serious Fun [4:32]
- One Day at a Time [4:25]
- River of Sighs [5:30]
- Let's Get Lost [4:10]
- Can Tickle [0:40]
- Shine [3:52]
- Won't Let Go/Aces & Eights [4:55]
- Body Talk [4:24] (Written by Berton Averre/Doug Fieger/Prescott Niles/Pat Torpey)
- (I'll Be Your) Mau Mau [3:52]
- Doin' the Dog [3:45]
- Down w/the Blond (Pts. I & II) [7:14]
- The Spinning Song [3:43]
- Nowhere to Run [3:56] (Written by Holland–Dozier–Holland)
- A Prayer [4:15]
Personnel
- Doug Fieger – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Berton Averre – lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
- Prescott Niles – bass
- Billy Ward – drums
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Mason, Stewart. "Serious Fun – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- Rolling Stone. Archived from the originalon November 24, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Don Was". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- ^ Schnee, Steve "Spaz". "Round Trip – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Ruhlmann, William. "Serious Fun (Bonus Tracks) – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- ^ See image
- ^ "Getting the Knack". The Knack. Archived from the original on September 30, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ a b "Gonzo Goes On the Record With The Knack's "Criminally Underrated" Lead Guitarist, Berton Averre". Ringside Report. November 15, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
- ^ "Knack Merchandise". knack.com. 2006. Archived from the original on August 1, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|publisher=
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Retrospective: The Best of the Knack – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Very Best of the Knack – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
- ^ Anderson, Skip. "Top 10 songs from the Knack". Classic Rock History. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 887.
- ^ "The Knack US - Serious Fun CD Album". cduniverse.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
- ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 404–405.
- ^ "Knack Serious Fun CD". cduniverse.com. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|publisher=
- The News and Courier. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
External links
- Serious Fun at Rhapsody.com
- The Knack website