|
}} ''"Weird Al" Yankovic'' is the eponymous debut album by American parodist Alfred "Weird Al" Yankovic. The album was the first of many produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Mostly recorded in March 1982, the album was released by Rock 'n Roll Records as an LP and on Compact Cassette in 1983. Consisting of five direct parodies and seven original songs, ''"Weird Al" Yankovic'' parodies pop and rock music of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and satirizes American culture and experiences of the same time period. Half of the album is made up of parodies, featuring jabs at Toni Basil, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, The Knack, and Queen. Yankovic's trademark instrument, the accordion, is used on all songs featured on the album. Fueled by the underground success of the singles "My Bologna" and "Another One Rides the Bus", the album charted at 139 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Critically, however the album received a lukewarm reception, with many reviewers feeling that Yankovic was a throw-away act, and someone who could not overcome the stigma of a novelty record. ==Production== After hearing Yankovic's parody of his song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", "I Love Rocky Road", songwriter Jake Hooker suggested to guitarist Rick Derringer that he would be the perfect producer for the burgeoning parodist. Agreeing, Derringer used his music industry prestige and convinced Cherokee Studios to record an album's worth of Yankovic's songs gratis, to be paid from sales revenue. Then, in March 1982, "Weird Al" Yankovic stepped into a professional recording studio for the first time and recorded nine of the songs for ''"Weird Al" Yankovic''. After encountering difficulty picking up a record label for the first-time album, Jay Levey (a Los Angeles artists' manager) provided KIQQ-FM with a copy of "I Love Rocky Road". Impressing the program director of the Top 40 station, he played it immediately; "I Love Rocky Road" was one of the most-requested songs by the next day. At the same time, Tad Dowd—head of the new record label, Rock 'n Roll Records—had been trying to convince parent company Scotti Brothers Records to sign the 22-year-old Yankovic. The positive furor over the KIQQ playtest provided Dowd with the leverage needed to convince Scotti Bros. to offer a contract for Yankovic's first album.〔 Scotti Brothers Records' contract planned an April 1983 release date for a twelve-track album: "I Love Rocky Road" and eight other tracks were already recorded, "Another One Rides the Bus" would be the original 1980 live recording from ''The Dr. Demento Show'', and the last two songs ("Ricky" and "Buckingham Blues") would be recorded at Scotti Brothers' own studios in Santa Monica, California.〔 To promote the album, Levy coordinated a three-week tour in late Summer 1983 across the United States' East Coast and Midwest for both Yankovic and Dr. Demento. Promoted as "An Evening of Dementia with Dr. Demento in Person Plus 'Weird Al' Yankovic", Demento opened with recorded hits and short comedy films from his show before introducing Yankovic and the band. During their three weeks, the tour played in several famous clubs, including Bottom Line in New York City.〔 The album cover for ''"Weird Al" Yankovic'' was designed by Brazilian artist Rogerio. The band chose Rogerio because of his "''MAD Magazine''-like drawing style." The cover art specifically features individual elements that correspond with each of the album's twelve songs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「"Weird Al" Yankovic (album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|