EVEN WORSE – "Weird Al" Yankovic

This is the last mainstream Al CD that I bought, because I only found it on Queen Street in 2004! (I remember getting it back to the youth hostel and having to borrow Tiger's walkman one evening to listen to it – thanks Tiger!)

It's Al's fifth album from his heyday back in 1988, and it's a little shorter than usual, sadly missing the usual polka medley.

That's not to knock it though. There are plenty of good tracks on here, a few of which I found I knew even before I'd ever heard them. After all, a track with a title like I Think I'm A Clone Now gives you a pretty realistic idea of how half the chorus will go. I also have to admit that, once I'd quickly realised what (This Song's Just) Six Words Long was a parody of*, I had it going around my head for weeks, MONTHS before actually hearing it!

And then there are pleasant surprises like Lasagne, which unexpectedly turned out to be based on La Bamba. See what I mean? You can hear the opening seconds playing in your head already...

Al's lyrics were a bit crueller in those early years, as evidenced by tracks like The Good Old Days, but it's encouraging to note that in recent years he's progressed to picking less defenceless targets for his bite.

Even Worse? Weird Al started off great, and is still getting better...

*(Got My Mind) Set On You