Yakko's World

I came across the third compilation of songs from the TV series Animaniacs on cassette in HMV in Vancouver in 1996, but didn't buy it, figuring that I'd easily get hold of the CD later.

I never saw the title again until my birthday this year.

It's hard to believe that, at long last, I'm finally holding it in my hand!


At just 22 minutes, it's definitely a shortie, and the fact that almost a quarter of the tracks are rereleases from the first two albums is a bit sad too, but since all these pieces are about geography, the title track would have been conspicuous by its absence.

These songs are Yakko, Wacko and Dot in their element. Compositions like A Quake! A Quake! remind you that their sometimes educational TV show could be very near-the-knuckle on occasion.

The dirt, the rocks
Those crazy aftershocks
It's just the planet
Moving granite
Several city blocks

The most redeeming feature of the album is its style. These are all vaudevillian numbers, complete with theatre-echo on the singers' voices, and performed with so much enthusiasm and vigour that they're very counter-cultural to much of 1990s kids' TV.

My favourite track is the final one There's Only One Of You. It's yet another listy number worded by (Doctor Who fan) Randy Rogel, who wrote so many of these that he's hopefully done extremely well out of this album. (6 of these 13 songs are his)

Please, WB, make more of these!

Available here.