This is it people. The legend. Weird Al at his best. Al is notorious for doing food-based parodies and finally in 1993 he graced us with the presence of this collective masterpiece - just don't try to masticate the disc. Al has done several greatest hits albums and at least one other compilation but out of all of them, this is my favorite. This album undoubtadly shows his skill in the field of edible music. For this one review I'm going back to my old track-by-track style for many reasons. I'm pretty excited about this so I'm just gonna go ahead and get started.
The album begins appropriately with the classic Michael Jackson parody Fat. This song, while very good, is much better if you can see the video. The part before the song where Al is being harassed by some fellow fat gang members is hilarious. But the song itself is not without it's charm. The song has a good beat and lyrics/vocals are perfect for this record - there couldn't have been a better song to open it either. Fat basically gives an overview of the entire album. Following that is one of my personal favorites...Lasagna, parody of the popular tune La Bamba. Some stereotypical Italian music opens it up before Al's ridiculous vocals increase thefunny level by about x100. The entire song is about Italian food but Al rips it apart sufficiently. A great accordian solo is featured as well as an acoustic solo. Good stuff.
And of course who could be without Addicted to Spuds (Addicted to Love parody). It has a great 80's rock sound to it. Often times the guitar gets drowned out by the over-bearing bass, but it's all good. The lyrics deal with something we could all relate to - a potato obsession. "You take a trip to Idaho just to watch potatos grow..." Oh man, I love this. One hardass guitar solo tops it all off. Next we come to the excellent I Love Rock N' Roll parody I Love Rocky Road. This is another 80's type rock song but Al manipulates the whoopy cushion (don't actually know what it is) type sounds flawlessly, not to mention some notable accordian shredding. The lyrics, as I'm sure you all expected, are all about how he loves Rocky Road so much. I've been there. Al has the innate ability to be hilarious but still look hardcore at the same time. Well, this a good showing of that.
I'm sure you've all been waiting for the legendary Spam. Somehow I'm skeptical that REM liked this. But this song is quite educational. "The tab is there to open the can, the can is there to hold in the spam..." dude, no way! What the hell was I thinking this whole time? As Al rattles off the 100+ uses of Spam we should all be taking notes (don't forget to check the expiraion date). The music itself actually flows pretty well. Good rhythms and one whacky guitar solo...can't say I use effects like that. Since I've just been informed that the UHF Soundtrack is out of print, this is the only way to get Spam. It's worth it to be the entire album. Once again Al destroys Michael Jackson with the track Eat It - another funny yet hardass Al. I'm sure we're all familiar with this famous pop song so I won't go on and on about the music. The lyrics are all about forcing someone to eat. Classic. The masterful guitar solo only helps his cause. Like the other Jackson parody, the video accents the music perfectly.
And then we get to The White Stuff. All you sick minded bastards can leave right now. Not that white stuff. Al thoroughly insults The Right Stuff with this ballad about an Orio addiction and all the self-destructive effects...or rather the stuff in the middle of an Orio (you get the idea). While the lyrics are quite funny as always, this one of my least favorite songs on the album. And proceeding we come to one of Al's oldest songs, My Bologna. I think you can figure out what this is a parody of. This would have to be the most polka-oriented song on the album due to the accordian-laden melodies. A true classic and landmark in Al's career. The music by itself is enough to make one burst out in fits of hilarious laughter.
With only two songs left we could've expected nothing less than Taco Grande. While Al tears away any dignity left in Rico Suave as well as all Mexican food, this is another favorite of mine. The heavy Latin beats set the mood while Al's deceptively deep voice in the beginning makes you think that this may a serious song...righghghght. Once Al's hilariously out of place voacls voice start I laughed for twenty minutes after hearing this. The traditional lady's man who can't get enough Mexican will really love this. The entire song is worth listening to. God this stuff is genious. To wrap up this record we have The Theme From Rocky XIII (The Rye or the Kaiser) Al manages to artfully take down the Rocky series and Eye of the Tiger in three and a half minutes. Only this guy could write a 3:45 song about bread. There are other accounts, such as ordering fod in restaurants and the champ throwing away his gloves and eggs, but in the end it's all about the Rye or the Kaiser. Good song. Not the best on the album, but it's up there, Very good indeed.
To conc...
Granted, I am not a Weird Al expert. I've heard virtually all of his stuff but I actually own less than half. But along with Running With Scissors this is one of my favorite WAY works ever. The perfect collection. This is suitable for anyone - whether they're just getting into Al's stuff or have loved him for years. Just get this now. Unfortunately, Al doesn't do as many (he still does quite few, though) food parodies as he used to, but this stands the test of time since I've had this for about five years.
Recommended tracks:
Lasagna
I Love Rocky Road
Spam
Taco Grande
Final Rating - 4/5
I should hope that all Al enthusiasts own this already. Anyone with a sense of humor could appreciate this, though. Enjoy.
