"Weird Al" Yankovic Reviews

[Muldernscully]

I didn't see a review thread for this album like I did for the other albums, so I guess I'll start one.

1. Ricky
Ricky is a great song. I hear Mickey on the "oldies" station from time to time. I loved watching 'I Love Lucy' re-runs as a kid, and still do whenever I can catch them. I give Ricky 4 out of 5 stars.

2. Gotta Boogie
At first I was repulsed by "Gotta Boogie", but I have since learned to like it. It's a nice play on words although it's a bit immature. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

3. I Love Rocky Road
I love this song. It's easily my favorite from WAY. 5 out of 5 stars.

4. Buckingham Blues
Buckingham Blues is one of Al's more dated songs. If you weren't familiar with Chuck and Di in the 80's, then you probably won't care for it that much. I like the song although it's chuck-full of rich person stereotypes that probably aren't half true. It's fun though to hear Al's perceptions of British royalty. Buckingham Blues is a decent song overall. Nothing spectacular but not to be dismissed. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

5. Happy Birthday
Very fun song. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

6. Stop Draggin' My Car Around
The original is a very difficult song to listen to. Al's parody is easier to listen to, simply because the lyrics are funny, of course. All in all, it's an okay song. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

7. My Bologna
My Bologna is a cool song. I haven't had bologna since I was a kid though. I prefer most sandwich meats over bologna. Still love it. 4 out of 5 stars.

8. The Check's In the Mail
I've never really paid attention to the lyrics of this song. After having more closely read the lyrics to the song, I have a greater appreciation for it. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

9. Another One Rides the Bus
Awesome song by Al. Short, fast, and simple. 5 out of 5 stars.

10. I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead
This is an okay song. It doesn't do much for me. A little bit hectic and frenetic. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

11. Such A Groovy Guy
Yeah, I don't really care for this song. I don't know. Maybe it sounds a little too 70sish to me? You know, with the groovy and all. Anyway, a 2 out of 5 stars from me.

12. Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung
When I first heard MFITIL many years ago, I did not like it. But now since I have the song, it has grown on me. It's simple and sweet. It's not extraordinary but it's bearable and pleasant. 3 out of 5 stars.

This is a very good album for Al. When I first got it, I felt it was dated and didn't care much for it. However, it was really grown on me over the years. It averages out to a 3.5 out of 5.

[Waffle King]

1. Ricky. Pretty much the first thing I ever saw from Al. Ironically, I never knew it was him playing Ricky Ricardo in the video until years later. Great job by Tress MacNeille as well.

2 I Love Rocky Road. One of Al's greatest accordion rockers!

3.Another One Rides the Bus. One of the funniest on the album!

4.My Bologna. I still laugh at how Al says "I always eat too much and throw up"

5. Stop Draggin' My Car Around. This is another song (like GJWHL) where the vocal styling Al uses is half the humor in the song. On a personal note,I remember my little sister saying the sound that follows the opening riff (Also used frequently in ILRR) sounded like "A Sheep pooping" which I found hilarious for whatever reason, and stays with me every time I hear the song to this day.

6.The Check's In the Mail. I've always gotten a kick out of this one. I find the slick talking,unruffled when threatened character to be pretty funny.

7.Gotta Boogie.Not sure it's quite a classic,but I gotta say,this one is hilarious. "I sure ain't gonna lick it off-So I guess I'm gonna have to learn to live with it!"

8.Buckingham Blues. I always enjoy Al doing the blues. This one kinda pales to Generic Blues,plus it's dated and all. But still pretty good.

9.Happy Birthday. Probably nothing special,but a fun little ditty.

10.I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead. This one and the following song are fairly interchangeable. I guess I'd give this one the edge in music.

11. Such A Groovy Guy. While I'd say the previous song was a bit more fun musically,this one is probably the funnier of the two.

12.Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung. This song used to depress me as a little kid,since Mr Frump dies! Now, I find it kinda amusing,but it's still probably the weakest track on the album.

[Yankomaniac]

Thought I already reviewed this at one point but I could be mistaken. Since their did not seem to be a thread for it and it is one of my favorites here it is:

1. Ricky - Love the video to this song and it's a great parody. I find Tress' voice pretty annoying sometimes too, I won't lie. 90% of the time I start at track two when I put this album on but that is also because I like it with the video and I watch The Compleat Al frequently so I see it a lot.\

2. Gotta Boogie - This song is funniest the first time you get the joke I guess. I love the bass line, does it for me every time. Hilariously catchy. 9/10

3. I Love Rocky Road - Joan Jett should be proud, this parody could not have been better. Video is sweet and I love all the killer band shots in the ice cream parlor, makes you want ice cream. Keiffer's toot solo is classic too. 10/10

4. Buckingham Blues - Wow, this is some killer blues riffage by Rick Derringer everyone should take note of. Great lyrics and one of my favorite cuts from the whole album. 10/10

5. Happy Birthday - Greatest birthday song ever written, yes, I said it. Fascinating lyrics with a good punk feel. Al's accordion solo is pretty descent and so is Rick's guitar solo. Prime stuff. 10/10

6. Stop Draggin' My Car Around - Funny as hell, I still laugh nearly every time. This accordion solo is mesmerizing, one of the best. Good tone on the guitar too, love it way more than Ricky but agree it would not have worked as a lead parody. 10/10

7. My Bologna - Absolute comedic gold. Well, it's pretty darn great. Some of the funniest food lyrics in my opinion and was awesome seeing it live a couple times.

8. The Check's In the Mail - Awesome tune, very catchy. Excellent mandolin solo in there and I dig the lyrics quite a bit too. 9/10

9. Another One Rides The Bus - Come on, it's Another One Rides The Bus. The one that cracked the code. 10/10

10. I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead - Probably the greatest track on the album. Great credo to live by, live life to the fullest. Like the guest guitar solo and the drum fills with the hi-hat sound great. This has to be done again one day!! 10/10

11. Such A Groovy Guy - Good song, don't have anything against it but sometimes I end the album after track 10. The lyrics are catchy and funny though and that's all they were going for here. It's groovy that's for sure. 8/10

12. Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung - Nice little ditty. 7/10

No overall rating, you can pretty much see what that would be!

[weirdalrocks]

I've really been inactive on here over the years and I haven't posted since 2012, but since I'm feeling motivated to revisit all of his albums and I feel like I might be posting on here more frequently even though I don't know how long that's going to last. Anyways, on to the review.

1. Ricky - A pretty funny parody. While I've only seen clips of the show and never saw a full episode of I Love Lucy, I will say that the parody of the show is pretty dead-on especially the Lucy impression. It's not the best song on the album, but it's still a good way to start it. 8/10

2. Gotta Boogie - It's decent. I too used to think this song was more disgusting than funny and before that I thought the song referred to dancing, but now I think it's amusing. Nothing hilarious, but it still makes me laugh. 7/10

3. I Love Rocky Road - This is another one of these parodies that aren't particularly great, but they are a good start on how Al's parodies have evolved since then. It's still a funny and clever parody of I Love Rock and Roll and it still makes me laugh despite the fact that I've listened to it so many times. 8/10

4. Buckingham Blues - It's a decent song and the music is really cool, but it doesn't do a whole lot for me on a comedic standpoint. Don't get me wrong it's still funny, but the humor hasn't aged too well. 7/10

5. Happy Birthday - The first great song off of this album. I generally hate birthday songs especially the traditional Happy Birthday song which has no effort put into it at all and the ones they sing at restaurants are obnoxious. This song however is an exception. I just love the dark humor in this song and I think this song is even more hilarious than when I first listened to the album. 10/10

6. Stop Draggin' My Car Around - Not perfect, but it's still a hilarious song and the way Al sings this song makes it even funnier. 9/10

7. My Bologna - I don't think it's that great of a song, but it's still funny and it's pretty important as it's the one that started it all. I prefer the album version over the original though. 8/10

8. The Check's in the Mail - One of my favorite songs on the album. Pure comedic gold. 10/10

9. Another One Rides the Bus - While it's nowhere near as good as Another One Bites the Dust, I do think this is the best parody of the album and possibly my favorite song of the album too. The lyrics are great, but the sound effects are where this song really shines especially that "yeah" sound effect. 10/10

10. I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead - It's OK. The song has it's funny lyrics, but I just don't think it's uproariously funny. It's just a middle of the road song that is easily forgettable. 6/10

11. Such a Groovy Guy - Another underwhelming song for the album and it just feels like filler. Really the only funny thing about this song is the second verse. The song is just very generic, the chorus is very repetitive and it's one of Al's most forgettable songs. 5/10

12. Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung - Fortunately, this album ends on a solid note. I used to find this song very depressing, but now I see the humor in it. While it is a one-joke song, I think it's executed very well. 8/10

So yeah, this is a pretty good album. Not his best album by a long shot, but it's a pretty good start from how he evolved into a great parody musician. I like how all the songs in this album have him playing the accordion and there are a few gems in this album. There is a slight decrease in quality near the end of the album, but it manages to redeem itself with Mr. Frump. Not a great album, but I still like it and it's the one that started it all. 8/10

[Yankomaniac]

Don't see how more people don't love I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead a hell of a lot more! That and the rest of the amazing musical attributes in Al's music, that are often not even heard or admired because people are expecting a big joke, or comedic line that sums of the whole point of the song. If they don't find it they say "well, that doesn't do anything for me" and kind of forget about the best part.

[YankoSwag 8888]

I'm going to re-review all the albums, because some of my opinions have changed about them since last year.

Favourite Song: Buckingham Blues
Favourite Original: Buckingham Blues
Favourite Parody: Another One Rides The Bus
Funniest Song: I Love Rocky Road
Least Favourite Song: The Check's In The Mail

7/10

[iancook]

I just purchased Squeeze Box and am binge listening to the albums, so I'm posting some reviews.

First off, I was first made aware of Al when the radio started playing "Eat It" on the radio when I was about 9 or 10 years old, so I completely missed this album. I grew up in rural Georgia, so I wasn't in an environment where stuff like Weird Al was common. I think I first heard this album when I found it at a record store or maybe my aunt bought it for me at a yard sale a couple of years later. Anyway, I was still young and didn't quite get some of the songs, but as the years have gone by, my appreciation for the album grew.

1. Ricky: I never watched "I Love Lucy" growing up because my parents weren't fans so I didn't quite get the humor. Though, I was familiar with the original song and enjoyed it well enough. You can really tell that Al is a big fan of Lucy though, and the lyrics show. Overall I like this tune. 8/10.
2. Gotta Boogie: I guess boogers are great fun for 10 - 12 year olds. HAHA. I missed the whole disco phase obviously so I didn't quite get what the song was going for but I found the song funny and the song didn't age well for me due to the juvenile humourishness of the song, but overall I appreciate what he's doing. 6/10
3.I love Rocky Road: Great song, who thought Ice Cream could be funny? 9/10
4. Buckingham Blues: Even though I've never been familiar with British Royalty I've always found this song amusing, and the more I learned about the subject, the funnier the song got. The best parts of the song are funny regardless of what you know about royalty because the humor is in stereotyping the rich. lol. 6/10
5. Happy Birthday: Probably my most favorite song on the album. Fast-paced and fun. I like to play this song on my birthday, though I don't usually eat broccoli or drink beer. I like the quick poor recording quality of the song because I think it adds something to the overall feeling of the song. 10/10
6. Stop Draggin my car around: I guess I have always found this song kind of slow and not some of his best work. The original song is pretty boring as well. All I can say is meh. 4/10
7. My Bologna: Don't have much to say about this one. It's a fun song. I'd be curious to see what My Bologna would sound like if he made a better produced version of the song. In the book that comes with Squeeze Box, Al muses about re-recording this whole album. I'd love to hear that. 8/10
8. Checks in the mail: Another good song that only got funnier as I got older and started to get a better understanding of the lyrics. 7/10
9. Another One Rides the Bus: This may be my favorite song on the album, as it's just fun and some of the lyrics still make me laugh. It really paints a great picture of a crowded bus. 10/10
10. I'll be mellow when I'm dead: I think this song is more fun than it has any right to be. I forget about it but once I hear it I remember how good it is. I have it on the list of songs I want played at my funeral, or at least at the wake. 8/10
11. Such a Groovy guy: Kind of a forgettable song. I can't even think of any lyrics from it right now. 3/10
12. Mr. Frump In the Iron Lung: I remember when I first heard this song, I had no idea what an iron lung was and had to ask my mom. This song is equal parts disturbing and funny. 8/10

Overall, this is a great first album but it's not my favorite of his.