Live from the Rock 'N' Roll Fun House

Recorded live in Long Beach, California on August 18, 2001.
Personnel: Berton Averre (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Doug Fieger (vocals); David Henderson (drums).
Audio Mixer: Richard Bosworth.
Liner Note Authors: Prescott Niles; Lee Lodyga; Berton Averre.
Photographer: Jason Federici.
If you were the right age at the time of the Knack's debut album, you remember the giddy rush equal parts hype and heart that--for a few precious moments--made it feel like the new Beatles had arrived. No band but the original Fab Four could live up to that, of course, and the Knack's flame slowly died down after burning briefly and brightly. Their eventual reunion delighted the faithful, and this, their first live album, should hearten anyone with fond memories of those halcyon new wave days. Doug and the boys are still unrepentant power poppers, who lead off the disc with the heavily ironic "Pop is Dead" while simultaneously churning out infectiously poppy riffs and harmonies. The band tackles old favorites like "(She's So) Selfish" and the iconic "My Sharona" with as much sharpness and verve as ever, but perhaps more impressive is the energy they bring to more recent songs, which brim with just as much angular vitality.