"Weird Al" takes on Queen, Aerosmith and the Chili Peppers

"Alapalooza," the 1993 "Weird Al" Yankovic album, is not as good as its classic predecessor, "Off the Deep End," but it does not constitute a step backwards for the premier song satirist of our generation (or your generation if the sense of affinity that suggests bothers you). Doing a parody of "Achy Breaky Heart" is like trying to do a parody of the "National Enquirer," since the song was a joke in the first place. But "Jurassic Park" is a good effort, even if younger listeners have no idea what is being made fun of on the music side of the equation, and it is not a real "Weird Al" album if there is not something about food, which we get this time around when Yankovic turns an Aerosmith song into "Livin' in the Fridge." However, taking on the Red Hot Chili Peppers with "Bedrock Anthem" is probably the high point of "Alapalooza," earning bonus points for having Alan Reed and Mel Blanc's voices on the cut. Both of these reflect the attention to detail where the goal remains to sound as much like the original on the musical side while the warped lyrics are sung in the unique style of "Weird Al" even with Rick Derringer no longer around as producer and Yankovic doing the task himself. My minor complain with "Alapalooza" is that the polka medley this time around consists of a single song, Queen's epic "Bohemian Rhapsody." While the result is cute, it is really not that much of a reach from the original and misses the pure joy of a true "Weird Al" medley. The title is a good one and even works with the album cover parody, which is a bit simplistic but appropriate. Tally up the damages and you have a solid second level Yankovic collection of satirical songs.

Meritorious study of the Al-asaurus yankovicus rex

After Steven Spielberg gave us Jurassic Park, with the familiar yellow T-Rex skull logo, another kind of dinosaur was being discovered in the States. The scientific name for it is Al-asaurus yankovicus rex, and from the carbon-dating, it appears to have specialized in song send-ups of popular songs, wearing silly Hawaiian shirts, and having a mane of brown curly hair. Its natural habitat: Alapalooza.

Or is that "Jurassic Park" after Donna Summer's rendition of Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park", complete with dinosaur roars and screams of fear, mixed with the disco strings? Great line: "I'm afraid those things will harm me/because they sure don't act like Barney/and they think I'm their dinner not their friend."

A hard-rock guitar with Al-asaurus' voice like a shrill hair metal singer comes in with "Young, Dumb, & Ugly" about the annoying things they do, like squeezing the toothpaste from the middle and drinking milk from the carton. And they name spells trouble, T-R-U-B-E-L. Yeah, right.

"Yabba dabba yabba dabba dabba doo now" instead of "Give it away give it away give it away give it away now." Al spoofs the Chili Peppers by turning "Give It Away" into a song about the Flintstones, although the intro is taken from "Under The Bridge." There's even some dialogue from the cartoon included.

"Frank's 2000" TV"? That's Al's ne plus ultra of someone who really worships the boob tube.

A million thanks to Al for sending up Billy Ray Cyrus. "Achy Breaky Song" That song deserved a drubbing, and he lists some artists and groups that are high on le musique du fromage list, such as ABBA, the Bee Gees, New Kids on The Block, Tiffany, and Vanilla Ice, that it'd be better to play. Fair enough, but those artists sound more talented than Billy Ray. So,"don't play that song, that 'Achy Breaky Song'/the most annoying song I know/and if you play that song, that 'Achy Breaky Song'/I might blow up my radio." Full of silly lip music and belches.

The nightmare and infuriating effects of a "Traffic Jam", whose guitar and keyboards seem inspired by Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" is next. Things to remember--make sure your car has AC, make sure you have a working radio, and don't eat bran muffins.

"Talk Soup" trashes TV talk shows like Donahue, Geraldo, and Sally Jesse about all these people who have to "tell the whole world about it" because they are "an anorexic codependent bingo addict" or a "stripper without a chin."

"Livin' In The Fridge" sends up Aerosmith's "Living On The Edge" and is about the usual leftover food that might have become a science project or needs to be carbon-dated.

"She Never Told Me She Was A Mime" is about a guy whose girlfriend doesn't talk, acts like Marcel Marceau, etc. and who gets ostracized by friends and family as a result.

"Harvey The Wonder Hamster" is a tiny snippet of a song that actually has no humor value--why include it? "Waffle King", about someone who finds the perfect waffle recipe, and whose ego becomes inflated as a result. There's a vocal rhythm section, similar to the Art of Noise's "Paranoimia."

No polka medley here, but there is "Bohemian Polka", where the differing tempos and melodies of the original might as well be a medley of sorts. Obviously in response to the revival of the Queen song in Wayne's World. Included are silly sound effects accompanying certain lines, like a gunshots or spitting.

Archaeological evidence proves that Al-asaurus yankovicus rex was adaptable to the pop culture environment and able to make do with send-ups during a period where there was hardly any big hits worth sending up.

Very funny!

This album is not as good as Off the Deep End, but it is still very funny. Jurassic Park is great, as are the other parodies on the album. Where Al might fall a little short of the mark for this album would be the originals. They are still very funny, but they could be better. Overall, this album is very good.