Parody Of: Mickey [Toni Basil]

As A Parody:

Comments on the Original:

As An Original Al Idea: Al's first TV song and only duet.

Lyrics: The household story of Lucy and Ricky in a nutshell: namely their quirkiness.

Lyrical Comments: Lots of VERY clever lines in here- I don't think there is one dull line in here.

Al's Vocal Performance: Perfectly nails down Ricky Ricardo's singing voice! What an impersonator!

Mix: Not as sophisticated as the original- maybe it's the accordian 3-piece band as opposed to the added synthesizers that Toni Basil used. Not saying that the mix is bad, just different. Oh and yes, that accordian sounds great! Only real problem is with the bass tho- it's juuuust a bit too loud in the mix- sorta drowns out the drums in certain areas.

Background Vocals: That would be Tress macNeille's part and she does an excellent job of capturing the essence of Lucy.

Title: Gotta Boogie

Style Parody Of: Disco

As A Style Parody:

Comments on the Style:

As An Original Al Idea: Ya know, to this day, I'm not *really* sure I know what this song is even about!! Is it a wart?

Lyrics: Not much lyrics.

Lyrical Comments: Is it about a wart? A callus? A... what?!

Al's Vocal Performance: Al's using the lower part of his vocals- nothing special- just showing that he *can* use 'em. He does have a sort of 'whispy' comical sense to his voice tho.

Mix: Apparently some sort of disco- the accordian should NOT have been used in this song. If this were a different song and different style- I would say 'yes, keep the accordian's part just as it is.'

Background Vocals: A bunch of female vocalists on reverb- nothing interesting about them. The only good part is when the whole crowd yells NO!!!!!!!!!!

Title: I Love Rocky Road

Parody Of: I Love Rock 'N Roll [Joan Jett and the Blackhearts]

As A Parody: He's definately got the bass and rhythm of it down to a "T".

Comments on the Original:

As An Original Al Idea: Al's second parody and again it's food.

Lyrics: Al becomes an ice cream nut- namely a Rocky Road nut (no pun intended).

Lyrical Comments: Some of the lines pile upon each other as sentences that don't seem to tie together but the flow of the song does a goo job of masking this to the untrained ear. But despite this sort of 'listing' of sentences, there are VERY clever and even punny lines in this song.

Al's Vocal Performance: Where oh where is his voice going? He sounds like he's trying to restrain an extreme anount of over-excitement while having dry mouth. At the same time, there is an obvious straining of the voice so it sounds a bit scratchy as well. There's also that "comedian's Singing Voice" on top of all that. Weird huh?

Mix: The accordian shines as the dominant instrument (drums next) and does a very mellow and smooth flow.

Background Vocals: The background singers seem to mimic Al in their vocal styling- except it sorta sounds like a bunch of people at a pep rally. Maybe that was the point all along?

Title: Buckingham Blues

Parody Of: Jack and Diane [John "Cougar" Melloncamp]

As A Parody:

Comments on the Original:

Style Parody Of: Blues

As A Style Parody:

Comments on the Style:

As An Original Al Idea: This is the second time on this album that Al has done a song about a married couple (and famous at that), only this couple is real!

Lyrics: Al makes observations about the life of the married couple.

Lyrical Comments: Nothing really stands out- other than that this was originally supposed to be a parody of "Jack And Diane"- if you listen to them consecutively, you'll find that a couple of lines match up in common words or themes.

Al's Vocal Performance: ARGH!!!!!This is the all-time WORST vocal performance of Al's that I have ever heard (and that includes all of his later albums). Take Al's Rocky Road performance and add more scratchiness with more bass. It's almost unbearable! Bad call Al! Very bad...

Mix:

Background Vocals:

Title: Happy Birthday

As An Original Al Idea: Al makes his own birthday anthem.

Lyrics: Every single line is chock full of strange things that you normally wouldn't think about or do on your birthday. This is a very strange but very likeable song.

Lyrical Comments: Now this is a VERY funny song! One of my favorites. If you can sucessfully sing this song without evensomuch as cracking a smile...well then...you must not be normal.

Al's Vocal Performance: Another vocal failure. This is getting hard to listen to...

Mix: Accordian, guitar and drums make a strong base and the bass (hehe- almost missed that pun) makes the melody infectious. You can't help even moving around in your seat- this song is wonderful!

Background Vocals: The band is heard in the back. Sounds more like they're talking but their voices do have a bit of a cherring punch to them.

Title: Stop Draggin' My Car Around

Parody Of: Stop Draggin' My Heart Around [Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers featuring Stevie Nicks]

As A Parody:

Comments on the Original:

As An Original Al Idea: Poor Al, car's really got some problems. Poor car, Al's really got some problems.

Lyrics: Al's towing bill is going sky-high! Al is not being very responsible wiht his car and as a result- Mr. Car, meet Mr. Tow Truck.

Lyrical Comments: Very well done song. One thing tho, I wish he'd kept the original second verse rather repeating this disco thing.

Al's Vocal Performance: Once again, not exactly the most wonderful thing in the world.

Mix: The accordian is the second most brilliant thing about this song, first being the lyrics!

Background Vocals:

Title: My Bologna

Parody Of: My Sharona [The Knack]

As A Parody: Al's Very First Parody!!

Comments on the Original:

As An Original Al Idea: Al's first food song- eat it up!

Lyrics: It's basically about a guy who loves bologna: what he does with it and expressing his love for it.

Lyrical Comments: nothing that strikes as exceptionally funny, but the "eat too much and throw up" part being part of the love affair does make for a funny idea!

Al's Vocal Performance: Teh original version of the song showed a much better vocal performance by Al. This version follows the previous tracks in showing someone who need singing lessons- fast. Nice burp tho!

Mix: Version 2 of the original bathroom accordian-only recording. Although the added instruments help the song sound like the original My Sharona- the original My Bologna has a certain charm that this version cannot surpass.

Background Vocals: Girls are added on the "WOO!" and they go just a bit too high on that. hey girls, what were ya sniffing just now? Pixie Sticks?

Title: The Check's In The Mail

As An Original Al Idea: Some smooth talker smooth-talkin' his way around business.

Lyrics: Another 'listing' structure. Not much to tie it all together.

Lyrical Comments: Very weak lyrics. Best parts are the reversal "leave a message with my girl or have lunch with your machine", smooth-talkin' "aw trust me", and Al's cute-and-amused laugh at the end. even worse about the character is that ever sentence he utters is a cliché.

Al's Vocal Performance: Not as bad as most of the album so far. Nice tenor.

Mix: I love the arrangement! Accordian, spoons, mandolin...it's the music that saves this song. Although the accordian does sound a bit muddled for some reason- all of the individual notes sound too much alike. Hmm.

Background Vocals: All Al's and all sound like the voice he's singing the lead with. Not the best way to create harmony but definately *a* way.

Title: Another One Rides The Bus

Parody Of: Another One Bites The Dust [Queen]

As A Parody:

Comments on the Original:

As An Original Al Idea: The setting is a crowded bus- Lord help me!

Lyrics: One of the best, considering that it is 100% lising. This is a well-done listing tho.

Lyrical Comments: Ah yes! One of the crown jewels of Al's career! And it deserves all of the praise it gets!

Al's Vocal Performance:

Mix: This is the original, raw, improvised version of the song. Thrown together (except for the accordian and lyrics) in just a coulp of minutes, this proves that contrary to what Al thinks- yes, he CAN do improv!

Background Vocals: Some guy who happened to be in the studio does the bass background vocal.

Title: I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead

As An Original Al Idea: Al is being original in every way possible. He's just being himself.

Lyrics: Al is an individual who is not influenced by mainstream ideas. That's what draws me to both him and especially this song because I'm the same way myself! I know, I'm biased here.

Lyrical Comments: Listing again- but is able totie themtogether so it isn't as bothersome. These are some of the best lyrics he's ever produced in his whole career! This one's a classic.

Al's Vocal Performance: He's improved by a lot- actually makes his voice flow with all the rawness in his voice. Much improved!

Mix: Now THIS is what I've come to expect from Al! The accordian's finest hour is this song and the other instruments provide accompanyment as if it were all destined to be that way.

Background Vocals: Very nice harmonies! He's got it all straightened out now! Al, the band, and those girls (whoever they are) actually have come together in several different near-continuous harmonies throughout the song.

Title: Such A Groovy Guy

As An Original Al Idea: A Self-absorbed self-everything pompous guy wallows in hinself.

Lyrics: Smooth listing almost blends completely away.

Lyrical Comments: Only 2 things make this song funny: 1. the fact that Al is NOTHING like this character, and 2. the second verse

Al's Vocal Performance: Al slipped back into that gross voice again- this go 'round (for extra fun) it sounds like he's got something stuck in his throat.

Mix: Accordian sounds good at the beginning then it gets lost. Impressive as a bass instrument.

Background Vocals: Dangit! It's those girls again! Al may be in need of some vocal instruction but at least he has more vocal frequency and personality range than they do!

Title: Mr. Frump In The Iron Lung

As An Original Al Idea: This is the first song that Al ever wrote.

Lyrics: Ah, Al has decided to tell us another story- one about his best friend.

Lyrical Comments: Everything's honky-dory until the guy dies. The lyrics aren't the funny part- it's that iron lung sound!!

Al's Vocal Performance: Al has finally decided to use his very nice tenor voice- still a bit of that comical choking, but much inmproved nonetheless.

Mix: All we got is the accordian, an 'iron lung' sound, sticks, and Al's voice. So much is done with so little, especially when you consider that this is Al's first album. All tracks sound equally balanced- no one track (except for maybe vocals) seem to stick out. Well done.

Background Vocals: none