REVIEW: "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC/Alapalooza (USA 1993) · 6:10pm Jul 23rd, 2014
ALAPALOOZA
"WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC
Recorded in USA
1993
Scotti Bros.
Producer: "Weird Al"
Engineer/Mixer: Tony Papa
Asst. Engineers: Colin Sauers, Jamie Dell
Vocals (Lead & Background), Accordion, Keyboards: "Weird Al"
Guitars, Bajo, Mandolin, Vocals (Background): Jim West
Bass Guitar, Vocals (Background): Steve Jay
Drums, Percussion: Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz
Keyboards: Ruben Valtierra
Keyboards, Orchestral Arrangements, Programming (Trk. I): Brad Buxer
Trumpet: Warren Luening
Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone: Joel Peskin
Tuba: Tommy Johnson
Vocals (Background): Julia Waters, Maxine Waters
Dinosaur Sound Effects Supplier: Sandy Berman
Hands: "Musical Mike" Kieffer
Fred Flintstone's Voice (supplied by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc.): Alan Reed
Barney Rubble/Dino's Voice (supplied by Hanna Barbera Cartoons, Inc): Mel Blanc
Mastered by Bernie Grundman, Bernie Grundman Mastering, Los Angeles, Calif.
Manager for "Weird Al": Jay Levey c/o Imaginary Entertainment, Los Angeles, Calif.
"Talk Soup" Executive Producer: Spencer Proffer
Art Direction: Doug Haverty
Design: Command A Studios, Inc.
"Yankosaurus" and Other Dinosaur Imagery Designed by David Peters
Design of Alapalooza Logo: David Westwood
Inside Photographer: Rocky Schenck
Fan Club Information: Close Personal Friends of Al, 8033 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 90046 (Send S.A.S.E. for Info)
Additional Notes: "All songwriting proceeds from 'Achy Breaky Song' will be donated to the United Cerebral Palsy Association."
Stock No. 72392 75415-2/4*Musicassette was an old term for audio cassette; it was mainly used as a term for the pre-recorded material on the format in Europe.
**Miley Cyrus' stardom
One of our great comedians of the late 20th Century, "Weird Al" Yankovic has made a career out of entertaining the public via music video spoof, lampooning everybody in the industry who had a top 40 hit, from Michael Jackson to Madonna to Coolio (mini-controversially) to even Lady Gaga. He's maintained an incredible power in the industry over the years, the secret to longevity of which lays strictly into what he is: As much as he was a terrific parodist who could even point out things about the spoofed songs in certain things he parodied, most of all, "Weird Al" was a kind, generous man who made parodies that maintained a family-friendly atmosphere and never entered directions of mean-spiritedness, insensitivity, or even racism.
In his contribution to the music of '93, Yankovic keeps that atmosphere going and going and going. While I do own such a contribution, it is on musicassette*.
TRACK LISTING:
CTPA1. JURASSIC PARK: 1993 obviously was the Year of the Spielberg: in that year, Steven Spielberg created two long-running animated television programs for Saturday mornings (some of you obviously know the names of such cartoons), and directed two really big movies: Schindler's List (1993 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture) and Jurassic Park (highest-grossing film for 4 years). The storyline of the truly amazing latter film inspired this hilarious kick-off spoof, of a 1968 No. 2 hit by an unlikely singer (Richard Harris, an Irish actor), MacARTHUR PARK.
CTPA2. YOUNG, DUMB & UGLY: Yeah, some Heavy Metal bands seem to come out that way. This is a style spoof of a Heavy Metal band: AC/DC.
CTPA3. BEDROCK ANTHEM: All rise for this, a fun Flintstones-centered parody of UNDER THE BRIDGE and GIVE IT AWAY.
CTPA4. FRANK'S 2000" TV: Sharp-witted spoof of early R.E.M. songs tells of a man with an unusually large television set.
CTPA5. ACHY BREAKY SONG: Billy Ray Cyrus' ACHY BREAKY HEART was overplayed to its deathbed so much that it was in desperate need of a parody. A parody, of course, that is so neatly and hilariously done by "Weird Al", Years later, the song the latter was parodying on this track was included on Blender Magazine's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever", and then on AOL's list of "100 Worst Songs of All Time", with the hilarious description:
CTPA6. TRAFFIC JAM: Anybody who has ever experienced a serious problem trying to use a car to go from one place to another will most certainly relate to this tune.
CTPB1: TALK SOUP: A fun mockery of the early 1990s off-beat qualities of daytime talk shows. E! sort of forced him into writing the song as the theme for the show of the same name, which was airing on E! around the same time:
Well, to put it bluntly, [E!] kind of jerked me around. The producers of the show approached me, asking me to do a new theme song for the show. I wrote the lyrics (which they approved) and then recorded the song (which they said they "loved"). And then they never used it. Go figure.
CTPB2: LIVIN' IN THE FRIDGE: Spoof of Aerosmith is an enjoyable tackle of what might happen if you encounter expired food in your refrigerator.
CTPB3: SHE NEVER TOLD ME SHE WAS A MIME: Original song, a take of a man's wife, who turns out to be...who else?
CTPB4: HARVEY THE WONDER HAMSTER: After receiving numerous requests for Al's inclusion of the 21 second song (from one of the appearances he had on Al TV) on one of his LPs, he finally got around to it. And it was most deserving and introductory inclusions: When "Weird Al" got his own short-lived CBS-TV Saturday morning children's program in 1997, he included Harvey as a regular character.
CTPB5: WAFFLE KING: Have you ever had dreams of becoming the KING OF THE WORLD just for making waffles? The guy narrating the song had, apparently.
CTPB6: BOHEMIAN POLKA: A neatly done wrap-up track to this album. It is a polka version of one of Queen's most famous songs, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. At the time of when the album was made, the original 1975 recording of the song (from Queen's LP A Night At The Opera), went to No. 2 on the U.S. pop charts (that was in advance for having itself been included in the 1992 Paramount film Wayne's World), higher than its original U.S. pop chart peak of No. 9 (1976).
