Customer Reviews

Weird Al Yankovic

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On Weird Al's first album, his send-ups do not duplicate the instrumentation of the originals, but rather rely on his accordion and some silly rude noise sounds. However, he does skewer pop culture icons and celebrities, and he does sing about food a lot, as seen by two song parodies here. No, this is one of two studio albums where there are no polka medleys, Even Worse being the other one. What's also noticeable and good about his albums is that as a satirist, he's in tune with what's going on and anyone listening to his albums will think, "Oh yeah, I remember that happening." or "Gosh, that's when this happened?" and link Weird Al's album to celebrity or other events in America and elsewhere.

"Ricky," a parody of Toni Basil's cheerleader number "Mickey," is Al's take on I Love Lucy, a conversation between Lucy and Ricky. The voice of Lucy is by Tress MacNeille, a scratchy Cyndi Lauper meets Donald Duck, and adds to the humorous quality here. She even sings "Oh Ricky, what a pity, don't you understand. that everyday's a rerun and the laughter's always canned." Al of course sings Ricky's lines.

"Gotta Boogie" is a dance floor burner which has hand claps and accordion, and after repeating the title several times, he says in full, "Gotta boogie on my finger and I can't shake it off." Of this problematic object, he says "I can't take it off, I can't flick it off, I sure ain't gonna lick it off."

The next song parody features an accordion and with silly lip music playing throughout, and it's about Weird Al's favourite flavor of ice cream. I presume Joan Jett has a good sense of humour when Al sent up her best known song, with this chorus: "I Love Rocky Road/so won't you go and buy half a gallon baby/I love rocky road/so have another triple scoop with me." He's such an ice cream junkie, he says "Just lock me up in the freezer and throw away the key."

"Buckingham Blues" is about "Chuck and Diane, a couple of British kids from the palace of Buckingham." Guess who? Al does a rough blues voice that sends up George Thorogood and James Brown. He even screams "got my mojo workin'" for good measure.

"Happy Birthday" sports a fast punkish sound (with accordion, I know), and Rick Derringer's guitar. He wishes happy birthday while talking about disastrous things happening around in the meantime: "the monkeys in the Pentagon are gonna cook our goose, their fingers are on the button, all they need's an excuse" Wacky and crazy!

"Stop Draggin' My Car Around"--hmm, bet Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty didn't sing this one, but maybe they drove the tow truck that keeps getting Al's car. No, of course not.

"Ooh my little hungry one, hungry one, open up a package of my bologna" An accordion and guitar food song, "My Bologna" sends up the Knack's "My Sharona" "Never gonna stop/eat it up/such a tasty snack/I always eat too much/then throw up... my my my..." Tho thilly!

How about a song comprising of the cliched lies used to fob off people? That's what "The Check's In The Mail" is, including golden oldies such as "we'll get back to you soon", "you're beautiful", "my girl will call your girl", or "would I lie to you?"

There's just an accordion, drums, and lip music in "Another One Rides The Bus", about a torturous experience on a crowded smelly bus. I played this backwards and I thought I heard "It's fun to smoke bologna, bologna..." Oh wait, that was the previous parody. Never mind.

"I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" is a playful slap against fads-of-the-month, such as organic food, Perrier, and 8-tracks (remember those?). Jon Schwartz does a nice guitar solo, and does a banjo and uke here. However, I had to purse my lips when I heard something against vegetarianism. "Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung" may be offensive to those sensitive about handicapped people, but it's basically how sometimes, silence can be golden, in terms of no arguments, politics, lies, and the like.

Al really sounds fresh and quite loony in his debut and if one notices the animated cover, there are elements of his songs in it, such as Mr. Frump, bologna, and a TV with I Love Lucy on. A great album, produced by that rock and roll hoochie coo man, Rick Derringer, who also does guitar here. Aw, trust me, would I lie to you? And I'll get back to you real soon. My girl will call your girl. Just kidding.

After all the albums ha has released, my fave is still the 1983 self titled ALbum. Another One Rides the Bus, I thought that was the funniest thing I had ever heard, that was when I was five, back in `83. I still think it is a riot of laughs 16 years later. I Love Rocky Road is another classic, along with its' video, as with Ricky, too.

For my money, this is Al's best. People rip his originals a lot but I find them funnier than his parodies most of the time because he has free rein to make his lyrics as insane as he wants (which is often quite extreme). As far as the songs go:

Ricky: You gotta love this, except for that annoying Lucy singing. To fully appreciate it, however, you need to see the video and Al's facial expressions as he portrays Ricky Ricardo (especially preparing for his club performance).

Gotta Boogie: People rip this one to shreds but I love it. The first time I heard it I was unfortunately driving on the highway, and when he first sang the entire opening line I almost crashed! It's totally unexpected and completely insane, the entire song. Who hasn't had such an experience?

I Love Rocky Road: Decent, notable for Al's skilled accordian (as are most songs in his early career). I prefer this to the original but I don't like the original very much...still, I enjoy this from time to time.

Buckingham Blues: Instantly forgettable.

Happy Birthday: Fantastic song, this. Al doesn't seem to mind that his voice is sliding all over the place as he screams the lyrics, but that just makes it all the funnier. You can't help but get wound up listening to this song, despite it's gloomy prospects for humanity (they are accurate, though, aren't they?).

Stop Dragging My Car Around: I haven't heard the original of this but how could it get better? The only complaint is Al's vocals, for one of the only times in his career, gets rather annoying after about four lines.

My Balogna: Ups the tempo of the original with fabulous results, Al's first parody (I think it was originally from the late 70s) brilliantly skewers My Sharona (I dare you not to laugh at the burp at the end of the accordian solo).

The Check's In The Mail: Not great...listenable when you have the time.

Another One Rides the Bus: I don't think I've ever heard a more underproduced song, but it is absolutely hilarious. Like "Happy Birthday," Al lets his voice do whatever it wants as he sings over instrumentation stripped down to his accordian, some horns, and a guy banging on a box in the place of proper purcussion.

I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead: A great song about Al's (then-current) outlook on life, and why not live like this? It is funny now to hear him skewer vegetarianism (right on!) when now he is a vegan...I wonder if he regrets this song now?

I'm Such a Groovy Guy: Judging by the reviews, this song can make you laugh or make you annoyed depending on whether or not you get that he is KIDDING. I think it's safe to assume he is, and his vocals are priceless.

Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung: People like it, but I just don't get it.

Final assessment: buy this album instantly. It's the perfect prelude to Weird Al's great career (in addition you should get his video collection).

This CD is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. The best tracks are "happy birthday" and "Mr.Frump in the Iron Lung." This CD is early and even present Al at his best.

From Ricky to Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung, we're served an excellent collection of parodies and originals. Al has some of his best material on here: My Bologna, Another One Rides The Bus, and Stop Draggin' My Car Around will live on! Two thumbs up and a leg behind the head for Weird Al!!!

I mean Where does Al get the ideas to make up such odd songs. For example, another one rides the bus, and his concerts are just blasts. I hope he comes to Toronto again,and he comes out with another album I guess that I could say that I am a huge fan, I have every album, and I even know the theme song to the Wierd Al Show. That's how much of a fan I am

This is a must have for any Weird Al fan. It contains his earliest work of parodies and originals. The parodies are wonderful and can be listened to again and again, unlike some of his later works. The originals are so funny, that you'll laugh out loud everytime you hear them. Please do yourself a favor and get this CD. It's a great intro to novelty music, which has been largely ignored by the current music industry (thanks MTV!). Additional note: the cover of this album is a tribute to the novelty music artists that Al admires.

Although it's not quite as good as some of his newer Al-Bums, this one was good enough to make him famous. There are some excellent tracks, like Ricky, Gotta Boogie, The Check's In The Mail, and Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung. You'll also want to listen to Happy Birthday and Stop Draggin' My Car Around, which aren't excellent, but still had me rolling on the floor laughing. I could do without Such A Groovy Guy and Another One Rides The Bus, but many people really like them, so you'll have to use your own judgement. What sets this Al-Bum apart from the others is that Al uses his accordion in just about every track, so that you get to hear some brilliant accordion work. Whether you're new to Al, or have all of his other Al-Bums, you'll want to add this to your collection.

If you are as much of a WA fan as I am, then you already have this cd. For those of you new to WA, there is no better place to start your collection than with this cd. This is where this funny man honed his skills into the superstar he is today.

I think that this is weird al's best album. I love the acorrdion on it.My favorite song is "Another One Rides The Bus." Weird Al is the best!