1. Couch Potato- I thought Al nailed the Eminem style down very nicely. Comparing the original song with the parody is like comparing apples and oranges. I wish the opening instrumental had been there. Otherwise, I think it's one of his best (those who become fans 10 years down the line probably won't get it, though).
Rating: 9.50/10 Poodles
2. Hardware Store- It took time, but this song finally grew on me. The electric pace of the song makes it enjoyable. This is one song that isn't overly fantastic, but doesn't have too many flaws.
Rating: 8.5/10 Poodles
3. Trash Day- "It's so bad the roaches wear slippers..." These are the type of lines that make
Trash Day the song it is: FUNNY! However, Al sometimes sounds a tad too whiny during the chorus (especially the first time around).
Rating: 8.5/10 Poodles
4. Party at the Leper Colony- So what if it's using too many puns? The song is very funny (or punny, I should say) and clever. But sometimes the music makes me think too much about SNL than about poor old Stu.
Rating: 8.5/10 Poodles
5. Angry White Boy Polka- This one varies from song to song used in the polka. But when you hear
My Way and
The Real Slim Shady done at polka speed, it makes up for any lack-luster verses.
Rating: 8.0/10 Poodles
6. Wanna B Ur Lovr- I'm not an Al Gal, nor do I ever plan to be one, but I do love this song. At first I hated it, but once I saw it live, though, then I began to appreciate the thought put into it. Very funny lyrics, even if most of them are cheesy pick-up lines. Too bad you either love or hate this song.
Rating: 9.25/10 Poodles
7. A Complicated Song- It's almost unfunny how funny this song is. While at first it may seem random, the song slowly runs on a strange but very funny story line. Al hits the mark again, even if it's hard to follow.
Rating: 8.75/10 Poodles
8. Why Does This Always Happen to Me?- This is the first song I'll prefer to skip on the CD. It's not the sometimes politically incorrect events Al tries to make funny (believe me, I've heard worse), but mainly because Al seems to revert to some of his whiny, older songs from
"Weird Al" Yankovic (not all of them are this way, but some are). It's too much like his older, "why is the world so cruel?" songs.
Rating: 6.25/10 Poodles
9. Ode to a Super Hero- I found this song to be mediocre. There are some very funny lines, but otherwise it feels as though he's trying to capture the magic of
The Saga Begins, and falls short.
Rating: 7.5/10 Poodles
10. Bob- This song is more clever than it is funny, which is not a bad thing. Al accomplished an incredible feat by making a cohesive song out of palindromes. Al deserves all the praise in the world for this song. However, as far as being funny, there isn't anything that causes one to laugh out loud all that often.
Rating: 8.25/10 Poodles
11. eBay- Despite being a parody of a song that's almost as old as RWS, it's still done incredibly well. I can't stop laughing when utters the line, "(Wanna buy) a Kleenex used by Dr. Dre."
Rating: 8.50/10 Poodles.
12. A Genius in France- I'll skip this song the most, and even when I decide to listen to it, I don't really like it. First off, I've never really heard the works of Frank Zappa, so I'm at a loss when it comes to the musical style. Secondly, it feels as though Al is reaching back for the magic of
Albuquerque: making the last song as a looney epic, but it doesn't even come close to
Albuquerque's charm. A couple of good lines, but
way overrated, IMHO.
Rating: 5.75/Poodles
There. I'm finished. I did what I thought was a non-biased review. Just because I love Al doesn't mean I think everything he does is the greatest ever. But
Poodle Hat is still an incredible ALbum, and is vastly underrated by the music world.
Final Score: 8.75/10 Poodles
"Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them."-Adlai Stevenson