Even Worse Polka?

[TMBJon]

You're probably right that that's why he didn't press the issue, but actually Al was planning to do an all one artist polka for this album and could not get the approval. There is some uncertainty over whether it would have been a U2 or Led Zeppelin polka.

[anthontherun]

I still have trouble buying the U2 theory because by 1988 the band had only three U.S. top 10 singles to their name. Of course, the caveat is that, going by that criteria, Led Zeppelin had only one ("Whole Lotta Love"). But of course, songs like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Kashmir" are all pretty instantly recognizable to any music listener even if they were never released as singles.

[Killingsworth]

I'm gonna say it was the Led Zeppelin polka for sure and maybe less for the U2 polka he was planning. It's already been stated that Plant, Page and Co. wouldn't license Al any of their songs. The U2 things was just an off-handed comment form Bermuda. Maybe they were planning that one, but they scrapped it soon after they realized how little material they'd have to work with.

Also, the "Polka Party! failure" theory has a little bit of credence to it now, I would say. In the Dr. Demento Even Worse interview someone posted days ago, Al mentions he didn't want to have too much accordion on this album and only relegated it to "Lasagna" rather than another polka medley because he didn't want to start some kind of "accordion backlash" like the disco backlash of the early '80s. That may have been a joking reference to how Al went into this album after the dismal sales of "Polka Party!"

[Muldernscully]

This has been a very informative thread. Thanks, everyone. Curiosity (mostly) satisfied!

[Yankomaniac]

Surprised they didn't do a Who polka, or a Beatles polka since they did the Stones and were considering Zeppelin and U2. I'd certainly take a U2 polka last out of any of these.

[TMBJon]

The Beatles rarely licensed their music for anything until very recently so I'm sure that wasn't ever going to happen, however if asked in 1988 I bet The Who would Sell Out.

[Yankomaniac]

Yeah, specially with PT and RD doing their solo stuff at that time. That would have been so awesome too.

[TMBJon]

Would be pretty weird to have a Who polka without My Generation though.

[Heds]

Lasagne was kind of the Even Worse polka.
While it's kind of got a Italian tune for it, I've always thought of it to be the polka.

ACCORDIONS FOREVER!

[Genius in Maine]

Would be pretty weird to have a Who polka without My Generation though.

The only way I could see a Who polka without "My Generation" would be a single-song or single-album polka (were the songs on "Who's Next" already being licensed out to death in 1988?)