Rock & Roll Is Good for You: The Fieger/Averre Demos (2012)
Rock & Roll Is Good for You: The Fieger/Averre Demos is an album by The Knack which was released on September 11, 2012.[1] It includes demo recordings made by Doug Fieger and Berton Averre made between 1973 and 1975.[2] Most of the songs are performed by just Fieger and Averre, both singing and playing guitar, but some songs include the full band.[2] Two of the songs, "Good Girls Don't" and "That's What the Little Girls Do," were released in more polished form on the Knack's debut album, Get the Knack.[1] Other songs whose demos appear on Rock & Roll Is Good for You later provided elements for other Knack songs.[1][2][3] For example, "Corporation Shuffle (Daddy Turns the Volume Down)," described by Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "a nifty bit of fuzzy, snarky rock & roll in the vein of the Move," provided the basis for "Terry & Julie Step Out," a song from the 1998 album Zoom.[1][2]
Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praises the "pop craftsmanship" shown by Fieger and Averre on the album.[2] He also notes that "the best moments are the noisiest" but that the quieter moments are fine too.[2] He also states that the songs on the album demonstrate that the Knack had the ability to be "more than a one-hit wonder."[2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Doug Fieger, except where noted