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"Weird Al" Yankovic - In 3-D
In 3-D, released February 28th, 1984, is "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2nd album, and home to Eat It - the single that would rocket him to stardom - and also would become the one song people knew him for, at least until Amish Paradise. How does it hold up under the scrutiny of a track by track review?
Eat It
Parody of Beat It by Michael Jackson
The song that rocketed Al into stardom. The question, however, is... does it hold up after nearly 40 years?
Yes.
I mean, come on! It's Eat It! If Michael Jackson's legacy will live to the end of the Earth, who says Weird Al can't make it to next Thursday? This song, and the album as a whole signals Weird Al's shift from Dr. Demento's biggest act to international pop-star legend. (and Dr. Demento's biggest act on the side)
Rating: 9 picky children out of 10
Midnight Star
Easily my favorite song on the A side of the album, if the page title didn't give it away. I don't know, I've just always had a soft spot for Weird Al's more obscure tracks, and this is no different.
Rating: 10 alien Nazi ghost cats out of 10
The Brady Bunch
Parody of The Safety Dance by Men Without Hats
It's alright, but I've never watched The Brady Bunch, so the jokes go over my head. However, I do like the song it's a parody of, so that's a plus. It is, however, quite unfortunate that half of the song is just the lyrics from The Brady Bunch's theme.
Rating: 7 oversized families out of 10
Buy Me A Condo
I don't know how I feel about this one. I see this song as a bit of a mockery of privileged white people deciding to pick up Rastaman culture by flipping that on its head, but I don't know how Jamaican people might feel about the song. Because of that, I've decided not to give this song a rating yet.
Rating: X Bob Marley records out of 10
I Lost on Jeopardy
Parody of Jeopardy by Greg Kihn Band
Hard to say that this isn't my favorite song on this side of the album, but I already gave that title to Midnight Star. Personally, I think this makes a better B-side to Eat It than That Boy Could Dance, but this was its own single, so having it as the B-side to another single at the time would eat into that single's sales, I suppose. I love this song regardless.
Rating: 9 famous accordion players out of 10
Polkas On 45
Al's first polka medley on an album, and by god does it hit it out of the park. A great way to debut polka medleys outside of his live shows, and by god I don't think there's a polka medley that could have done it better.
Rating: 9 accordions out of 10
Mr. Popeil
A style parody of the B-52s. I have yet to listen to a B-52s song so I can't say whether he accurately captures the style, but it is a pretty bitchen tune. Pretty funny that he starts Side B with a style parody of the B-52s, but that's beside the point. I like this song, and it's one of the three songs on this album to be depicted in The Illustrated Al (the other two being Midnight Star and Nature Trail To Hell), so that's bonus points.
Rating: 7 smokeless ash trays out of 10
King of Suede
Parody of King Of Pain by The Police
A song about a guy who sells clothes and flunked 2nd grade. That'd be really relatable if I tried to sell people 3 piece suits. There's not much for me to say here though, sadly. It's just not a very remarkable song. Sorry Al.
Rating: 7 pairs of suede shoes out of 10
That Boy Could Dance
The original B-side to Eat It, before it was rereleased in 1985. The music itself is a fuckin' awesome tune, and the sax solo is pretty cool too, but I don't have much to say about the lyrics themselves. Don't worry though, it's uphill from here. Trust me.
Rating: 6 deeds to Montana out of 10
Theme from Rocky XIII
Parody of Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor
I've never watched Rocky. However, I do like Weird Al, and I like songs about food. Hard to say 'no' to this. I'd let Rocky be my catering advisor, personally. It's the rye or the kaiser; it's the thrill of one bite, after all...
Rating: 8 slices of rye out of 10
Nature Trail To Hell
Here it is, the magnum opus of this album. What I'm about to say might sound absurd, but trust me when I say it makes sense to me. While Albuquerque is my favorite Weird Al song, and it's the closer to Running With Scissors, my favorite Weird Al album, I think Nature Trail To Hell is my favorite Weird Al closer. Albuquerque could go anywhere in the Running With Scissors track list if it weren't so damned long. Nature Trail To Hell has the grandeur that is only appropriate for a finale. This could pass for the finale to Side A, but when you take away the sidedness of cassettes and vinyl records, and look at the track list for a CD copy, that just makes it seem out of place.
Rating: 10 grotesque horror movies out of 10
Conclusion
It's quite the solid album! Probably my favorite Al-bum of the 1980s. I don't think there's an album more deserving of putting Weird Al on the pop culture map, honestly. I would recommend it heavily.
Rating: 8 pairs of 3-D glasses out of 10
Formats owned on: CD, cassette, LP