The KNACK: Baby Talks Dirty 7″ + End Of The Game. Check video

Description

7″ Capitol Cl16125
1980

“Baby Talks Dirty” is a 1980 Top 40 single written by Doug Fieger and Berton Averre from the Knack’s second album.

Whereas the Knack’s first single, “My Sharona” reached #1 in the U.S., and its follow-up from their debut album Get the Knack, “Good Girls Don’t” reached #11, “Baby Talks Dirty” only reached #30 in Cash Box and #38 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending just 2 weeks in the Top 40. The song did better in Canada, where it reached #13. It also reached #40 in New Zealand.

Music and lyrics
Part of the song’s lack of success has been attributed to its similarity to “My Sharona”. Author Tim English called “Baby Talks Dirty” “a transparent ‘My Sharona’ rewrite.” Anne Sharp of The Michigan Daily pointed out similarities between “My Sharona” and “Baby Talks Dirty” with respect to “vocal arrangements,” “guitar licks” and “subject matter, i.e., a sexually ardent young female.” The Sydney Morning Herald also pointed out that “Baby Talks Dirty” “sounds for all the world like ‘My Sharona.'” Jim Sullivan of the Bangor Daily News noted the songs’ “structural similarity” and referred to “Baby Talks Dirty” as “My Sharona Mach II.”

“Baby Talks Dirty” was also given by critics as a prime example of the group’s misogyny, where the girl in the song wants the singer to hurt her and “loves a real neat beating.” n his review of …But the Little Girls Understand, Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh referred to the protagonist as “a foul-mouthed windup doll.” The Associated Press stated that the song “contained enough orgasmic sounds to fill the next Sharon Stone movie.” Cash Box said that the song has “the same infectious staccato guitar rock groove as on ‘My Sharona,’ as well as the thundering drum rolls” but warned that “the lyrical content is imbued with sexual connotation, so preview before playing.” Classic Rock History critic Skip Anderson rated it as the Knack’s 3rd best song despite noting the resemblance to “My Sharona”.

Although Fieger believed that “Baby Talks Dirty” was an “honest song” that could have been successful, other members of the band acknowledged reservations with the lyrics.

Chart performance
Chart (1979) Peak position
Canadian RPM Singles Chart 13
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 30
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 38
New Zealand Singles Chart 40

“End of the Game”
The B-side of the “Baby Talks Dirty” single was “End of the Game,” which was also a song from …But the Little Girls Understand, and was written by Fieger. “End of the Game” was written well before …But the Little Girls Understand and was included in the band’s live set even before their first album Get the Knack. Live performances of “End of the Game” were included on the live LaserDisc of the Knack’s 1979 concert at Carnegie Hall, The Knack Live at Carnegie Hall, and on a live CD of the band’s 1978 concert in Los Angeles, Havin’ a Rave Up. Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone claimed that the song was based on cliches from early Fleetwood Mac. The Sydney Morning Herald claimed that the song is “has shades of the Everly Brothers.” Allmusic critic Mark Deming stated that the live version of “End of the Game” has “a joyous force nearly any act would envy.”