Al in the Box

Weird Al Yankovic

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 4
• ASIN: B000000U8F
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,310,490 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

These 4 discs present 50 songs from modern rock's most unique and prolific parodist, Weird Al Yankovic. The set is not spiked with outtakes, rarities, or live versions, so fans who already own the majority of Yankovic's catalog will likely want to shy away from this collection, unless they merely live to give money to Weird Al. In his own inimitable fashion, Weird Al skewers almost every major pop-culture trend and puffed-up, pompous pop star. The rest of the songs are celebratorily wacky ditties, the workings of a splendidly talented--and mildly twisted--imagination. --James Conde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Definitive Record, February 2, 2000

By	Mr BJ Bateson (Birmingham, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Permanent Record (Audio CD)

Weird Al's utterly hilarious music spans a decade and a half, and this box set does justice to his three major musical styles - the parodies, the funny originals, and the immortal polkas. The parodies range in imitative quality from the early accordion-played "My Bologna" (the Knack's "My Sharona" to the quality imitation "Addicted to Spuds" (Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love") and "Headline News" (the Crash Test Dummies "Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm") which are almost indistinguishable from the real thing, bar Al's zany lyrics of course. They're not all about food: "Smells Like Nirvana" parodies the incomprehensible lyrics in "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Ricky" is a "Mickey"-take of Toni Basil centred around "I Love Lucy". Of the original songs, the best are those where Al mercilessly brings together a happy style with depressing lyrics, such as "Happy Birthday" or "Trigger Happy". The polkas are what made Weird Al famous. No-one has lived until they've heard "Smoke On The Water", "Losing My Religion" or "Hey Joe" played polka. A top-notch album which brings home everything Weird Al's ever had to offer.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for novice Weird Al fans., September 28, 2004

By	Travis R. Wilson "Travis Rhett Wilson" (Corona, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Permanent Record (Audio CD)

About seven years ago I might have given this package 5 stars. This box set was great in its heyday, but I'm afraid it is severely outdated now. I think it's time for a new one. Weird Al Yankovic is definitely famous enough to warrant a second box set. Hell, Led Zeppelin has two box sets. Why shouldn't Al?

This only covers Al's career from early 1980, to about 1993 or thereabouts. Nothing from "Bad Hair Day, Running With Scissors," or "Poodle Hat" is included, not to mention his latter-day film theme songs like "Spy Hard," or "Polkamon." If you are one of those people who lives in the past, though, or one of those misguided fools who thinks Al should have retired some time back in 1989, then this is the perfect purchase for you. It has a couple of rarities that can't be heard anywhere else, like Al's original accordion version of "My Bologna," and "Headline News" the parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies, which was written specially for this box set. The brief bio booklet that comes with the set is pretty cool too. It was written by Dr. Demento, and it chronicles Al's youth, college days as an architecture major, and his rise to fame. Overall, this is a great buy for the casual fan, but if you are like me and you are obsessed, I suggest you do like I did and just buy all of the CDs.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect Summary Of Weird Al's Career, June 15, 1999

By	Robert Price ([e-mail]) (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews

If you're a die hard Weird Al fan, you probably already own all these songs in some format. But for those of you who love Weird Al but don't want to buy all his cds, get this, and you won't be disappointed. This includes the best material from every album of his up to Alapalooza. I laugh every time I listen to this, and I think you will too. I highly suggest this underappreciated box set.