The Food Album
The Food Album | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | June 22, 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1982–92 | |||
Genre | Comedy, pop | |||
Length | 30:57 | |||
Label | Rock 'n Roll Records Scotti Brothers Records | |||
Producer | Rick Derringer, "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||
"Weird Al" Yankovic chronology | ||||
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The Food Album is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter
The album was begrudgingly released by Yankovic, who felt that the compilation was unnecessary and merely a way for his record label to make money. Several food-related songs that Yankovic had recorded, such as "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch" and "Waffle King", were left off the record, although the former was due to personal preference, while the latter was due to scheduling issues.
The Food Album received mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom felt that the record was an enjoyable collection of songs, but that it was not an essential record to purchase. Despite the lukewarm reception, the record was
Production
Music
The music featured on The Food Album spans a decade, with the earliest songs being recorded in 1982, and the most recent song being recorded in 1992.
Notable for its absence is "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch", from Dare to Be Stupid (1985). According to Yankovic, this is due to the fact there is a "royalty ceiling" on the albums and he needed to pick one song to cut from the list in order to turn a profit on the album. "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch" was chosen due to Yankovic's personal dislike of the song, as his record label had forced him to record it in order to release Dare to Be Stupid back in 1985.[8] Also absent from the release is "Waffle King." The song had originally been recorded for Off the Deep End. However, Yankovic decided to swap "Waffle King" with "I Was Only Kidding"—a song he had actually recorded for his next album—at the last minute; this forced Yankovic to shelve "Waffle King" for the time being.[9] The song was later released on "Smells Like Nirvana" single, as well as Yankovic's eighth studio album, Alapalooza, which was released four months after The Food Album.[10][11]
Release
I don't mind putting out actual Greatest Hits albums every decade or so—I realize the value in that. I just have a problem when the record company tries to make a quick buck by putting out albums like Songs That Al Did In The Key Of F#.
"Weird Al" Yankovic, discussing why he was displeased with The Food Album[12]
The album was released by Scotti Brothers Records and was only begrudgingly approved by Yankovic. At the time, Scotti Brothers had insisted on putting out a new album by Yankovic in order to meet monetary projections at the time, despite the fact that no new album was ready (Alapalooza would not be released until later in the year). The label originally proposed a release entitled Al Unplugged, which would have featured studio remixes of previously released material, with the electronic instruments missing; the label also wanted the cover to feature Yankovic holding the cords of unplugged kitchen appliances. Yankovic did not enjoy this idea and convinced them to instead release The Food Album—"a concept [he] hated only slightly less"—but would later describe it as a "cheesy compilation" put out "against [his] better wishes and judgement."[13]
Artwork
The album artwork—which features a cartoon alien after it has eaten Yankovic—was created by Doug Lawrence, who is better known as "
Reception
Critical response
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [17] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [18] |
The Buffalo News | [19] |
Press-Telegram | (Negative)[20] |
The Food Album has received mixed reviews from most critics; many felt that while the album was amusing it was not an essential release.
Commercial performance
Upon release, The Food Album failed to chart; however, it sold steadily. On January 25, 2006—more than ten years after its release—the album was certified
Track listing
Track | Title | Length | Parody of | Description | Original Album |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Fat"[15] | 3:37 | "Bad" by Michael Jackson[15] | About a man's obesity that is blown out of proportion.[5] | Even Worse |
2 | " Lasagna"[15]
|
2:46 | "La Bamba"[15] as performed by Los Lobos | A song centered largely around Italians and Italian cuisine.[5]
|
Even Worse |
3 | "Addicted to Spuds"[15] | 3:50 | " Robert Palmer[15]
|
About a man's obsession for potatoes and potato-based dishes.[4] | Polka Party! |
4 | "I Love Rocky Road"[15] | 2:36 | "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" as performed by Joan Jett[15] | Narrator expresses his love towards the titular ice cream flavor.[22] | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
5 | " Spam "
|
3:23 | "Stand" by R.E.M.[15] | About the canned luncheon meat Spam.[6] | UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff
|
6 | "Eat It"[15] | 3:21 | "Beat It" by Michael Jackson[15] | About a parent's exasperating quest to get their picky child to eat right.[23] | "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D |
7 | "The White Stuff"[15] | 2:43 | "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on the Block[15] | A song wherein the singer expresses his love for the filling that appears between Oreo cookies.[7] | Off the Deep End |
8 | "My Bologna"[24] | 2:01 | "My Sharona" by The Knack | The narrator talks about his obsession with bologna sausage.[24] | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
9 | "Taco Grande"[15] | 3:44 | " Gerardo Mejía[15]
|
About a narrator's visit to a fictional Mexican restaurant. Cheech Marin does a brief Spanish monologue in the song.[7] | Off the Deep End |
10 | "The Rye or the Kaiser (Theme from Rocky XIII)"[15] | 3:37 | "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.[15] | About a washed-up Rocky Balboa, who now runs a deli and occasionally beats up on the liverwurst.[25] | "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D |
11 | "Eat It (Karaoke Version)"[15] | 3:21 | "Beat It", Michael Jackson | Karaoke version of "Eat It", included as a bonus track on the Japanese release.[26] | The Official Music of "Weird Al" Yankovic |
Certifications
Country | sales thresholds )
|
---|---|
United States | Gold[21] |
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f Yankovic, Alfred M. (December 2007). "Recording Dates". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
- ^ "Weird Al" Yankovic (liner). Alfred "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1983.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1984.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Polka Party! (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1986.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) 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. - ^ a b c Even Worse (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1987.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) 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. - ^ a b UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1989.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) Note: the original vinyl release of the album contained complete liner notes, which included lyrics and personnel. The CD re-issue, however, only features minimal liner notes. - ^ a b c Off the Deep End (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1992.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (December 1998). "'Ask Al' Q&As for December 1998". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (March–April 1999). "'Ask Al' Q&As for March/April, 1996". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ Smells Like Nirvana CD single (liner notes). "Weird Al" Yankovic. California, USA: Scotti Brothers Records. 1992.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Alapalooza (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1993.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (June 1999). "'Ask Al' Q&As for June, 1999". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. (February 1999). "'Ask Al' Q&As for February 1999". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ a b Yankovic, Alfred M. (May 1999). "'Ask Al' Q&As for May, 1999". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s The Food Album (liner). "Weird Al" Yankovic. Scotti Brothers Records. 1993.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b Rabin and Yankovic, p. 77
- ^ a b Loftus, Johnny. "The Food Album – Weird Al Yankovic". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone weird al yankovic alapalooza review.
- ^ a b c Violanti, Anthony (June 25, 1993). "Turn, Turn, Turner, the Singer Comes Full Circle to Show Her Mellow Side". The Buffalo News. Retrieved April 25, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ a b Grobaty, Tim (July 17, 1993). "A Yowling Good Night for Concerts". Press-Telegram. Retrieved April 25, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c "Gold & Platinum – Search Results: 'Weird Al' Yankovic". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ Rabin and Yankovic, p. 33
- ^ Mather, Marianne (February 20, 2011). "Story Time". Naperville Sun. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ a b Tarnow, Noah (July 16, 1998). "Don't Knock The Knack". Rolling Stone. New York City, USA.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (June 29, 2011). "Set List 'Weird Al' Yankovic". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ Yankovic, Alfred M. "'Weird Al' Yankovic: Rare Items – The Food Album". The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
Bibliography
- Rabin, Nathan; Yankovic, Alfred M. (September 25, 2012). Weird Al: The Book. Abrams Image. ISBN 9781419704352.