It was 1968 -- the summer of love -- and at age 14, with a set of raging hormones just waiting to explode, Fieger headed to San Francisco.

"God, that was something," he recalls with a laugh that's still laced with a teen-age, mischievous tone. "A school chum and his family had moved out to Santa Clara in the summer of '67, and he called me saying, 'You gotta come out here!'"

That winter, the lanky teen-ager, with a goal firmly planted in mind, worked at Marty's Delicatessen in the Green-Eight Shopping Center. His parents made a promise -- if he raised the money for airfare, he could spend the summer of '68 in San Francisco with his friend.

"Little did they know," Fieger says, "that this kid was basically a juvenile delinquent, and his parents really didn't care what we did. We ran wild all summer. We'd hitchhike to San Francisco and crash at the hippie pads, go to be-ins and clubs, panhandle money, it was amazing."

It was at a be-in that Fieger, complete with a set of shiny braces on his teeth, met a 16-year-old girl who stared him down, sat next to him, inching closer, looked him straight in the eyes and asked, "Can I borrow a kiss?"

"I thought, my God, this doesn't happen in Oak Park, Michigan."

His group's first album, Get the Knack, propelled the quartet to instant international stardom with such testosterone-laden songs as "Good Girls Don't," "Frustrated," "That's What the Little Girls Do" and "Lucinda." Then there was "My Sharona," the band's colossal hit single which sold more than 10 million copies and became the most popular song of 1979.

Fieger's ability to create simplistic pop melodies with an uplifting, infectious beat generated comparisons to the Fab Four. His sense of confidence -- or arrogance -- made him an occasional media punching bag, much like his older brother Geoffrey, now the Democratic candidate for Michigan governor.

In a career spanning only six albums, two are greatest-hits compilations.

Two decades after the release of Get the Knack, the band now emerges with Zoom, a 14-track collection of fascinating pop trinkets, swirled with likable charm and destined to propel them up the charts once again.

"It took us less than two weeks to record and a little less than two weeks to mix," Fieger says. "We recorded everything in three days, then we did background vocals for a little over a week, then a few guitar and keyboard overdubs. All the vocals are live. I think two songs took two takes."

Zoom is yet another Knack comeback, which began with the resurrection of "My Sharona," off the Reality Bites soundtrack in 1994. The band hit the road with a quick tour, which to Fieger just wasn't complete.

"It was a bit of a surprise that the reaction was so strong," he says. "The single started charting again and we went on tour, but we only had a couple of new songs. I really don't want to tour as a nostalgia band; we're a rock band, and I desperately wanted to release some new material."

Now with more than a dozen new tracks in hand, the Knack, complete with former Missing Persons drummer Terry Bozzio pounding the beat, began their current tour last week.

If radio and fan support continue to generate interest, they'll go on. Their current single, "Can I Borrow a Kiss?" is producing some excitement.

Fieger is cautiously optimistic. He still talks with the childlike intensity and belief, which have always played a major role in his work.

"I just want to play," he says. "I know this might sound trite, but I really didn't have the chance to enjoy our success in the past. Now we're out there playing our hearts out. We're having a ball."

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