"Weird Al" Yankovic was never one to take the Billboard by storm. In the 80's he only had six hits peak on the Hot 100, and only one of those reached the top twenty. That would be Eat It, which landed at number twelve in 1984. In comparison, his next best single(s) charted at sixty-two, being both King Of Suede (1984), and Like A Surgeon (1985).
Despite this, he was the gold standard for comedy artists. To the point that musicians measured whether they had made it or not by whether or not he parodied their music. With it came that highly sought after "Al Bump", a boost in sales to the original singles / albums for the musician(s) being spoofed.
Throughout the 80's, he releases six studio albums, most of which I've already covered; his self-titled debut from 1983, the follow up, 1984's In 3-D, his third album, Dare To Be Stupid (1985), and the studio / soundtrack, UHF which ended the decade in 1989. While I was a massive fan during those years, I honestly grew to have a love / hate relationship with him, entering a period where I felt his work was lazy, something that anyone could essentially do. Though in retrospect, I think it ultimately came down to the tunes no longer being relatable to me, being from eras I didn't follow. I've since then rekindled my appreciation for him, which leads us to today (and tomorrow), where I'll finally be wrapping up his 80's discography.
.jpg)
Polka Party! is an album I've heard more times than I can remember. What's odd is that I recall when it was released it being my least favorite at the time of everything he'd done. However, in playing through it today, I can't find one song that I don't like. With that said, the original compositions are far superior, in my opinion, to the parodies.
I can't help but wonder if my current appreciation is because I've broadened my own horizons of 80's music since, and the parodies are now easy to pick up on. Or maybe I've always liked it this much and just forgot.
What I do know is that Al Yankovic's entire 80's discography has made it to my vinyl wall. You know, or perhaps don't, the albums I've bought because I consider them perfect, and hung them on the wall in my toy room.
Polka Party! would become his first album to not receive any sales certifications and considered a commercial failure. It's further remains his lowest selling career spanning record to date. At the time, Yankovic hadn't experienced anything but improved peaks, and felt his career was virtually over. However, with the release of 1988's Even Worse, he'd learn the lesson that careers have peaks and valleys, and that one failure doesn't mean success isn't around the corner.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment