"Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits is a compilation album of parody and original songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs from his first five studio albums, all of which were released in the 1980s. "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, with Heather Phrase of AllMusic noting that it provided a good overview of the early part of Yankovic's career. Despite this, the album failed to chart upon release, and ranks as one of Yankovic's lowest-selling records.
| "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | October 18, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1983–1988 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:59 | |||
| Label | ||||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic chronology | ||||
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Production
editMusic
editThe music featured on the album span Yankovic's release in the 1980s, with the earliest songs being recorded in 1983, and the most recent song being recorded in 1988.[1] Yankovic's 1983 debut album is represented solely by "Ricky".[1][2] Both "Eat It" and "I Lost on Jeopardy" were taken from Yankovic's 1984 release "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D.[1][3] Yankovic's third album, Dare to Be Stupid has three songs featured: "Like a Surgeon", the eponymous "Dare to Be Stupid", and "One More Minute".[1][4] "Living with a Hernia" and "Addicted to Spuds" were culled from the 1986 album Polka Party!.[1][5] Finally, Yankovic's then-recent studio album Even Worse is represented by "Fat" and "Lasagna".[1][6]
Reception
editCritical response
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [7] |
| Amazon.com | (Positive)[8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |   [9] |
Heather Phares of AllMusic noted that, "though [the album] only covers the first half of "Weird Al" Yankovic's career, it nevertheless features nearly all of his best work".[7] She highlighted "Eat It", "Fat", and "I Lost on Jeopardy" as the album's stand-out tracks, and concluded that the release "is still the most consistent and concise album in his catalog, and a great introduction to his very special brand of musical humor."[7] Fred Cisternia of Amazon.com gave the album a relatively positive review, writing that, "If you want to take a funhouse mirror trip back to the 1980s, Greatest Hits is a good way to do it."[8] Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard, in The Rolling Stone Album Guide, awarded the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, denoting that the album averaged between good and excellent.[9]
Commercial performance
editThe record was released on October 18, 1988, and upon its release failed to chart. As of January 1997, the album was one of Yankovic's least-selling records, although it ranked above several other albums such as Yankovic's second greatest hits compilation, The Food Album, the soundtrack album to his 1989 film UHF, The TV Album, and the Permanent Record box set in terms of sales.[10]
Track listing
edit- "Fat" (orig. Michael Jackson, arr. Yankovic)[11] – 3:37
- Parody of "Bad" by Michael Jackson;[12] the spoof discusses a man's obesity, which is blown out of proportion.[6] From the 1988 album Even Worse.[13]
- "Eat It" (orig. Michael Jackson, arr. "Weird Al" Yankovic)[11] – 3:21
- Parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson;[12] a song about a parent's exasperating quest to get their picky child to eat.[14] From the 1984 album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D.[13]
- "Like a Surgeon" (orig. Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly, arr. Yankovic)[11] – 3:32
- Parody of "Like a Virgin" by Madonna;[12] the song is about an incompetent surgeon performing surgery.[4] From the 1985 album Dare to Be Stupid.[13]
- "Ricky" (orig. Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn, arr. Yankovic)[11] – 2:36
- Parody of "Mickey" by Toni Basil;[12] this is an ode to I Love Lucy with Yankovic playing the part of Ricky and Tress MacNeille as Lucy.[15] From the 1983 album "Weird Al" Yankovic.[13]
- "Addicted to Spuds" (orig. Robert Palmer, arr. Yankovic)[11] – 3:50
- "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer;[12] a song about a man's obsession for potatoes and potato-based dishes.[5] From the 1986 album Polka Party!.[13]
- "Living with a Hernia" (orig. Dan Hartman, Charlie Midnight, arr. Yankovic)[11] – 3:20
- Parody of "Living in America" by James Brown;[12] the song discusses various types of hernias.[5] From the 1986 album Polka Party!.[13]
- "Dare to Be Stupid" (Yankovic)[11] – 3:25
- "Lasagna" (arr. "Weird Al" Yankovic)[11] – 2:46
- "I Lost on Jeopardy" (orig. Greg Kihn, Steve Wright, arr. Yankovic)[11] – 3:28
- "One More Minute" (Yankovic)[11] – 4:04
- Style parody of Elvis Presley-like Doo-wop;[17] the song describes the myriad tortures that the singer would sooner endure than spending "one more minute" with his ex-girlfriend.[4] From the 1985 album Dare to Be Stupid.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f Yankovic, Alfred (December 2007). "Recording Dates". WeirdAl.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic (liner). Scotti Brothers Records. 1983.
- ^ "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D - "Weird Al" Yankovic (liner). Scotti Brothers Records. 1984.
- ^ a b c d "Weird Al" Yankovic (1985). Dare to Be Stupid (liner). Scotti Bros. Records.
- ^ a b c "Weird Al" Yankovic (1986). Polka Party! (liner). Scotti Brothers Records. Note: the original vinyl and CD release of the album contained complete liner notes, which included lyrics. The 1991 re-issue, however, does not feature liner notes as a cost saving mechanism.
- ^ a b c Even Worse - "Weird Al" Yankovic (liner). Scotti Brothers Records. 1987. Note: the original vinyl and CD release of the album contained complete liner notes, which included lyrics. The 1991 re-issue, however, does not feature liner notes as a cost saving mechanism.
- ^ a b c Phares, Heather. "Greatest Hits – 'Weird Al' Yankovic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Cisterna, Fred (1999). "Weird Al Yankovic – Greatest Hits, Volume 1". Amazon. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 893. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone weird al yankovic alapalooza review.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred (June 1999). "'Ask Al' Q&As for June, 1999". WeirdAl.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2006. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greatest Hits - "Weird Al" Yankovic (liner). Scotti Brothers Records. 1988.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Yankovic, Alfred. "Parodies & Polkas". WeirdAl.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Permanent Record: Al in the Box (liner). California, United States: Scotti Brothers Records.
- ^ Mather, Marianne (February 20, 2011). "Story Time". Naperville Sun. Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ Brian, Raftery (September 22, 2008). "Weird Al: Forefather of the YouTube Spoof". Wired. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred (January 2000). "'Ask Al' Q&As for January 2000". WeirdAl.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Jay Levey, "Weird Al" Yankovic (2003). 'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection (Media notes). Volcano Entertainment. 82876-53727-9.