Al’s REAL comeback album. Al had been out of the spotlight for about 3 years when this album was released. UHF (both the album and film) tanked, music in America was changing so that there really weren’t any big targets Al could parody for a while, he hadn’t been on tour since 1987 (and even that was opening for the Monkees), and Al was considering dusting off his architecture degree and getting a real job. Then, along came Nirvana…and soon after, came Al’s best album and his return to the top!
Chicken Pot Pie (Live & Let Die by Wings) and Snack All Night (Black & White by Michael Jackson) were rejects from this album, but were still performed live
Most of the originals on this album were written/recorded in 1990 and then shelved for 2 years, as well as I Can’t Watch This, The White Stuff, Taco Grande and The Plumbing Song (which were already dated when the album was released). Al didn’t think that any of those songs were good enough to be a lead single, and he didn’t want to release an album until he had something really big that would sell CDs.
Waffle King (style parody of Peter Gabriel) was one of those 1990 songs, and was used as a b-side for the Smells Like Nirvana single, and then got put on Alapalooza. If it showed up on OTDE, I doubt I would still consider it Al’s perfect album.
This album is, IMHO, Al’s best work to date. Every single track is strong (especially if you are a kid of the late 80s/early 90s), it had Al’s best polka medley, and some excellent originals. SLN was one of his biggest parodies ever, and while I love it too, the rest of the album stands up to it as well.
Cradle of Love, Tom’s Diner, Love Shack, Pump Up The Jam, Losing My Religion, You’re Unbelievable, Do Me, Enter Sandman, Humpty Dance, Cherry Pie, Miss You Much, I Touch Myself, Dr Feelgood, Ice Ice Baby
‘You know, I even think it’s kinda cute the way/You poison my coffee just a little each day’
But…yeah, that’s my favourite song on the album. Smells Like Nirvana a close second. The other parodies are weak (doesn’t help that the songs they’re parodying aren’t particularly great), and the polkas are never the best songs on the album. The other originals aren’t too bad, and I Was Only Kidding challenges YDLMA and SLN.
This is the first album I feel comfortable voting for the polka. The other songs are strong, but the first thing that started playing in my head when I looked at this list was Polka Your Eyes Out.
I reversed that. I voted for “Smells Like Nirvana” (I think it’s the first parody I’ve voted for in these polls) with “You Don’t Love Me Any More” as a close second. I think the deciding factor was that “You Don’t Love Me Any More” reminds me of “One More Minute” which I felt was a better song.
“When I was Your Age” is not only one of my favorite songs off of the album, it’s also one of my favorite songs period. Hilarious lyrics and a hard rock beat; what’s not to love? And I’ve encountered plenty of people with that mentality in real life.
My second is “I Was Only Kidding”. Sadly, at the time of this post, no-one has voted for it.
Absolutely Al’s best album. I was about 14 when it came out and it captivated me for months.
Again, this was a toss-up between “Trigger Happy” and “When I Was Your Age”, but the latter wins out for being just a fantastic Don Henley parody. “Trigger Happy” was later bested by “Pancreas”.
Trigger Happy edges out I Was Only Kidding and You Don’t Love Me Anymore. I disagree that this is Al’s best album to this point - some of the parodies are stinkers, and Airline Amy is just banal. I vastly prefer In 3D. I also consider Alapalooza, his next album, to be his all-time weakest.
I’ve been digitizing my CD collection this week, and so I’ve got these things fresh in my mind…
First Weird Al thread I decided to participate in. This is the first album I hear of Al. My older brother bought it (he might have had another one before this?)
It’s a tough call. I can hear similarities too, but it doesn’t evoke Don Henley at all. Actual Miles is possibly my most favorite album (I know, it’s a best-of), and it just doesn’t sound like Dirty Laundry or any of the others save for the keyboard in the background. Weird Al is usually a lot stronger with his style parodies than that.
It’s entirely possible he’s parodying someone else’s style (I want to say Alice Cooper, but probably not) and it happens to be close to Don Henley. When I hear Skipper Dan, I swore up and down it was a style homage to Jonathan Coulton, only to find out later it was intended to parody Weezer.
Al, I know you’re reading this. You are sitting on a goldmine with When I Was Your Age, and it should be a staple of your live set.
There was a rumor that Airline Amy was going to be in his set for the Running With Scissors tour, but his new label forced him to drop it, thinking that he would lose his audience during the performance. It’s definitely the weakest song on this otherwise excellent album, but has some great lines like “This is my new mission, gotta get you in an upright locked position”
Really? I listened to it a few times before making post #17, and I really didn’t find it interesting at all. I could barely care enough to follow the lyrics.