The Knack - Normal As the Next Guy [Expanded Edition] (2015)

You just can't keep a good rock band down--or the Knack, for that matter. Depending on who's keeping score, this release marks either the third or fourth comeback attempt for the band whose debut album (and its inescapable hit, "My Sharona") did for L.A. new wave and power pop what Velveeta did for cheese. While Kurt Cobain once compared his Nirvana favorably with the Knack (ironically, we hope), he couldn't have meant the tired, nostalgia-besotted outfit displayed on this 2001 release. At least give Doug Fieger and company credit for realizing they can no longer pull off the leering subject matter that was once their stock in trade; unfortunately, they've also trashed most of their once enviable pop-savvy in the bargain. What's left is third-rate R&B á la Joe Walsh ("Les Girls"), faux-edginess (the title track, but bonus points for rhyming "Chris Rock" with "Jacques Chirac"), country caricature ("Spiritual Pursuit"), even some Steely Dan jazz-pop pretensions ("Dance of Romance"). While Fieger's sweet voice still ably carries the midtempo numbers, it's all too telling that the album's most accomplished track is guitarist Berton Averre's slavish Beach Boys/Brian Wilson tribute, "The Man on the Beach." Riding the coattails of "My Sharona"'s enduring appeal (and repeated soundtrack appearances), the Knack seems unable to discern the difference between the truly timeless and the cheaply sentimental. --Jerry McCulley.