THE KNACK – Zoom [Expanded Edition remastered] (2015)

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US power pop / rockers THE KNACK blasted onto the music scene in the very late seventies with their #1 selling debut album Get The Knack, which featured their most popular single ‘My Sharona’. As quickly as the band’s career took off, they disbanded just as quickly in 1982 after failing to re-capture the success of their debut album.
After almost a decade, The Knack re-grouped to record and release the 1991 record Serious Fun. The band would find success with the re-discovery of their hit single ‘My Sharona’ featured in the 1994 Generation-X movie Reality Bites’. Building upon that success, The Knack re-entered the studio to record the album “Zoom” (1998) and “Normal As The Next Guy” (2001).
To celebrate the band’s final three albums, Omnivore Recordings is reissuing all on CD with bonus tracks.
This is the best, “Zoom [Expanded Edition remastered]“, featuring 5 bonus tracks – four of which are previously unreleased.

Seven years after the failed comeback Serious Fun, The Knack reunited with new drummer Terry Bozzio (of Frank Zappa and Missing Persons fame) in tow and recorded “Zoom”.
Sounding like a re-energized and de-glammy version of debut Get The Knack, “Zoom” is the best album the maligned power-pop band has recorded since their debut.

Doug Fieger’s songwriting is sharp and melodic and the band delivers the tunes with vigor. A few cuts are a little undistinguished, but there are more solid, memorable songs here than on most of their albums, and that alone makes it a successful comeback.

Despite of being originally released in 1998, “Zoom” has a clean, polished, fun rock sound amongst a grunge-filled musical period. The band’s energy and songwriting was at an all-time high as you find yourself rocking out to these classic sounding numbers.

While fans will enjoy re-discovering this really good album in remastered form, the bonus tracks are what they will be most excited about. Included on the expanded edition of “Zoom” is the song “She Says,” recorded for The Knack’s 1998 Greatest Hits release, but even more enjoyable for fans are the demo versions of three songs from the album.
The best of these is the raw sounding “Harder On You” as it has an urgency to its sound in the demo form. This Expanded Edition of “Zoom” closes with a previously unissued version of “My Sharona,” re-recorded with Terry Bozzio on drums.
A really great slice of power-pop / rock ‘n roll as it should be done.

01 – Pop Is Dead
02 – Can I Borrow a Kiss
03 – Smilin’
04 – Ambition
05 – Mister Magazine
06 – Everything I Do
07 – Love Is All There Is
08 – Terry & Julie Step Out
09 – Harder On You
10 – You Gotta Be There
11 – Good Enough
12 – In Blue Tonight
13 – Tomorrow
14 – (All in The) All in All
15 – She Says [bonus track]
16 – Mister Magazine (Demo) [bonus track]
17 – Harder On You (Demo) [bonus track]
18 – (All in The) All in All (Demo) [bonus track]

Doug Fieger – vocals, guitar
Berton Averre – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Prescott Niles – bass
Terry Bozzio – drums, percussion

BUY IT !
theseconddisc.com/release/zoom-expanded-edition/
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