...But the Little Girls Understand

May 2025 ...But the Little Girls Understand studio the Knack Little_Girls_Understand.jpg February 15, 1980 December 1979 MCA-Whitney, Glendale, California Power pop Capitol Mike Chapman Get the Knack 1979 Round Trip 1981 studio Baby Talks Dirty January 1980 Can't Put a Price on Love March 1980 I Want Ya 1980 It's You 1980 How Can Love Hurt So Much 1980 Mr. Handleman 1980 ...But the Little Girls Understand is the second studio album by power pop/new wave group the Knack, released by Capitol Records in February 1980. The album reached the number 15 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1980. The singles "Baby Talks Dirty" and "Can't Put a Price on Love" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 38 and No. 62, respectively. The song "Mr. Handleman" was released as a single in some countries, such as New Zealand.Mr. Handleman https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Knack&titel=Mr%2E+Handleman&cat=s charts.nz 2011-10-09 Guitarist Berton Averre has stated that "Mr. Handleman" was the first song he and lead singer Doug Fieger wrote together.http://www.bertonaverre.com/Berton_Averre/Q_%26_A/Entries/2007/1/15_Mr._Handleman.html Mr. Handleman? Averre, B. 2007-01-15 February 4, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140222010735/http://www.bertonaverre.com/Berton_Averre/Q_%26_A/Entries/2007/1/15_Mr._Handleman.html 2014-02-22 dead The RIAA certified the album as Gold on April 14, 1980.https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH RIAA April 14, 2010 Gold and Platinum - Search Overview The album's title is a reference to blues musician Willie Dixon's song "Back Door Man",Allmusic album r11108 yes ...But the Little Girls Understand - Overview April 14, 2010 Chris Woodstra which has the lyrics: "I'm a back door man. The men don't know, but the little girls understand."http://www.lyricstime.com/willie-dixon-back-door-man-lyrics.html April 14, 2010 LyricsTime.com Willie Dixon - Back Door Man Lyrics https://web.archive.org/web/20100602091928/http://www.lyricstime.com/willie-dixon-back-door-man-lyrics.html 2010-06-02 dead Recording was done at MCA-Whitney Studios in Glendale,Riegel Richard April 1980 Knuking The Knack Inside Their Own Reactor https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/knuking-the-knack-inside-their-own-reactor Creem June 13, 2019 Rock's Backpages subscription where Mike Chapman—credited as "Commander" Chapman—produced the album. Chapman also wrote a comedic description of the album in the liner notes, including the line "The songs are an assortment of feelings expressed redundantly as only the Knack can. This record is very dear to me and my bank manager." Band members Berton Averre and Doug Fieger wrote all of the songs except for "The Hard Way" which was written by Ray Davies and recorded by the Kinks on their album Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975).song t1899812 yes AllMusic The Hard Way April 15, 2010The Hard Way http://www.allmusic.com/song/the-hard-way-t2362599 March 26, 2012 Gilliam, R. AllMusic Reception AllMusic 3 5 Record Mirror 2 5Knackered Westwood Chris 15 March 1980 Record Mirror 21 Robert Christgau C−http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2073&name=The+Knack Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide Robert Christgau robertchristgau.com Robert Christgau 2011-07-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20110606084345/http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2073&name=The+Knack 6 June 2011 live The album was a commercial disappointment, failing to match the immense commercial success of the band's 1979 debut Get the Knack. The album did, however, sell well enough to hit the No. 15 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1980, propelled by the singles "Baby Talks Dirty" and "Can't Put a Price on Love" which both charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 38 and No. 62, respectively. The RIAA certified the album as Gold on April 14, 1980, about two months after its release. Capitol Records released an expanded version of the album with bonus tracks in 2002.AllMusic album r587018 yes ...But the Little Girls Understand (Bonus Tracks) - Overview April 14, 2010 Chris Woodstra Critic Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone, known for his utter disdain for most artists of the era,Suttle, Tim. "New Book Rips U2's Bono as a Lap-dog for Neo-liberals".Patheos. May 9, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013. wrote a scathing review, commenting: The music can't redeem the lyrics–not only because such dehumanization is irredeemable, but also because the music is lame. Indeed, the Knack are the most nefarious sort of hacks. They're terribly competent and they have a seemingly inexhaustible storehouse of clichés... the Knack's greatest achievement is to make hard-rock clichés sound completely gutless... Fieger's puling vocals suggest that, for him, the ultimate agony would be to imagine that somewhere in the world there exists a woman who might find him sexually unattractive. Compared to Doug Fieger, Rod Stewart is a paragon of sexual humility.April 3, 1980 https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theknack/albums/album/105362/review/5943082/but_the_little_girls_understand https://web.archive.org/web/20070106080427/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theknack/albums/album/105362/review/5943082/but_the_little_girls_understand dead January 6, 2007 Rolling Stone April 14, 2010 ...But the Little Girls Understand Dave Marsh Dave Marsh Specifically addressing some of the songs on the album, Marsh wrote "In Fieger's lyrics, women are literally commodities whose chief purpose is to be brutalized. The kid in 'Baby Talks Dirty' is a foul-mouthed windup doll, and in 'Mr. Handleman,' the tame calypso that's the new LP's catchiest number, the protagonist is pimping for his wife–a situation the group views with dispassion, if not outright approbation." He further wrote "All of Fieger's lyrics finally boil down to one sentiment: f*ck- me, honey. (When he's feeling ambitious, he writes something like 'Can't Put a Price on Love,' which translates: f*ck me for free, babe.)" Trouser Press remarked that the band "replicated the sound" of their debut album, and described "Baby Talks Dirty" as "anemic" and an "inferior replicant of 'My Sharona' (minus the thunderous hook)."http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=knack Knack Trouser Press 2011-07-18 Robbins, Ira Sandlin, Michael Trouser Press also remarked on the bad taste of some of the album's lyrics, giving "Mr. Handleman's" wife-pimping lyrics as an example. In a generally negative review, Robert Christgau stated that "little girls prefer catchy, punchy second-hand songs to varied, indecisive thirdhand ones. In fact, so do critics."Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide: The Knack http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2073&name=The+Knack Christgau, R. Robert Christgau robertchristgau.com 2011-07-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20110606084345/http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2073&name=The+Knack 6 June 2011 live On the other hand, critic Chris Woodstra of AllMusic has retrospectively given a positive opinion. He called the album "a good time for those who don't take rock & roll too seriously." Critic Steve "Spaz" Schnee of AllMusic has also stated that ...But the Little Girls Understand is "unfairly dismissed as an inferior rehash of the debut".album r11109 yes Round Trip - Overview April 9, 2010 AllMusic Steve "Spaz" Schnee The album's front cover features Sharona Alperin, girlfriend of Doug Fieger, the young woman who had inspired the band's hit "My Sharona". Track listing Original release...But the Little Girls Understand The Knack 1980 Album liner notes Capitol Side one Baby Talks Dirty Doug Fieger Berton Averre 3:46 I Want Ya Fieger 2:40 Tell Me You're Mine Fieger 3:54 Mr. Handleman Fieger Averre 3:23 Can't Put a Price on Love Fieger Averre 4:43 Hold on Tight and Don't Let Go Fieger 3:50 Side two The Hard Way" Ray Davies 2:13 It's You Fieger Averre 2:09 End of the Game Fieger 2:03 The Feeling I Get Fieger 3:11 (Havin' a) Rave Up Fieger Averre 1:46 How Can Love Hurt So Much Fieger 3:50 Chart positions Album YearChartPosition1980Billboard 200151980Kent Music Report (Australia)Kent David David Kent (historian) Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 illustrated Australian Chart Book St Ives, N.S.W. 1993 0-646-11917-6 6932 Certifications Canada album The Knack But The Little Girls Understand Platinum 1980 1980 United States album The Knack But The Little Girls Understand Gold yes Personnel Personnel taken from ...But the Little Girls Understand liner notes....But the Little Girls Understand The Knack 1980 Album liner notes Capitol The Knack Doug Fieger – vocals, rhythm guitar Berton Averre – lead guitar Prescott Niles – bass Bruce Gary – drums Production Mike Chapman – production, liner notes Lenise Bent – engineering Peter Coleman – engineering, mix down engineering References External links ...But the Little Girls Understand at Rhapsody.com The Knack website Category:1980 albums Category:Albums produced by Mike Chapman Category:The Knack albums Category:Capitol Records albums