April Fools! Weird Al Rocks the 2000s!

After doing the first two articles, I said I would wrap things up with a third one.  At this point, Weird Al's production slowed down, only doing five(-ish) albums in the next 25 years.  However, his live show is bigger than ever, even touring with an orchestra for a few of them!  As for the music, there is naturally less rock-oriented material here, but I'm going gonna review it anyway!  Here we go!

Poodle Hat is actually my favorite album by Weird Al and his band, as this was when I was really becoming aware of what music was doing at that time.  Unfortunately, it didn't do very well, as the music video for the Eminem parody got shut down, so he wasn't able to promote it as he would have liked.  As for rock music, it has a few fun pieces.  "Hardware Store" isn't spoofing anyone but is a great song about being excited for power tools and building materials.  "Angry White Boy Polka" is an excellent medley that captures the zeitgeist of the alt rock and nu metal that was exploding at the time.  "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" is an interesting take on Ben Folds' style of piano rock (featuring the man himself!), and "Ode to a Superhero" takes Billy Joel's classic "Piano Man" and makes it about the first Spider-man move that had just come out.

However, like with Running with Scissors, the highlight is an epic track at the end, going nearly nine minutes, that really leans into the diverse and strange styles of Frank Zappa.  The song goes through so many different genres, from rock to jazz to doowop to bluegrass, and yet remains fun all the way through!  I don't think it's quite as good as "Albequerque," but I like that he was willing to pull another one of these together!

At this point, though, the rock music nearly disappears from his albums.  Straight Outta Lynwood features the nerd-rap anthem "White and Nerdy," but otherwise sticks to alternative rock genres.  There are parodies for Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, Sparks, and Cake.  The polka medley "Polkarama" adds more alt rock, with pieces from Franz Ferdinand, Weezer, Coldplay, Modest Mouse, The Killers, and Velvet Revolver.  All entertaining stuff (including a bit of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" played by Weird Al's band for a few seconds of the ten-minute "Trapped in the Drive-Thru"), but not really the kind of rock music that my blog covers.

Rock music continues to be sparse with Alpocalypse.  You would think with an album cover like that, there would be some epic metal or something!  Once again, we get a Weezer-inspired song along with a style parody of The White Stripes.  However, he does pull out a few classic rock references.  "Craigslist" is a curious song in the style of The Doors, "Ringtone" has some Queen-like qualities, and "Stop Forward That Crap to Me" draws upon the work of Jim Steinman, like Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell.  Not bad pieces, but the main parodies focused on Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus.  Again, the album is plenty of fun, but I was kinda hoping a DragonForce parody about World of Warcraft.  Oh well.

As Al carried on, he struggled to continue to feel relevant in an internet age where parodies come out in weeks and don't have to wait for a full album.  Mandatory Fun would end up being his last one that has all-new material, saying that he was setting aside the album format from here on.  Fortunately, it's not a bad album to end on, taking on the likes of Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk (and I do like the transition from "Best Song Ever" to "Gangnam Style" in the polka medley!).  As for rock music, there are style parodies for The Foo Fighters, Crosby Stills & Nash, and The Pixies, as well as giving Imagine Dragons the full treatment by turning "Radioactive" into "Inactive."  However, the most rock song that's on here is "Lame Claim to Fame," a style parody of Southern Culture on the Skids, making the most of their quirky, southern-fried, roots rock sensibilities.  The album ends with another big epic, this time using "Cat Stevens" as an inspiration, but I find "Jackson Park Express" doesn't click with me, and even feels a little creepy.  Kind of a rough track to end on.

From here, Weird Al would focus on touring and other creative ventures.  The last album to bear anything original from him was the soundtrack to the parody biography film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.  It's not a bad movie, but I don't deal with "awkward humor" well, so I didn't enjoy all of it.  I think it's just what comedy was at the time.  However, seeing Daniel Radcliffe's version of Al turn into an action here to go rescue his girlfriend Madonna in the South American jungles from the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar was certainly a highlight.

Naturally, there would be music, but for some reason, instead of letting the actor sings the songs, he's overdubbed by Al himself.  They are peculiar versions of his classics, and it shows how much his voice has aged, as he's not being as nasal as he was on the originals.  They're not bad but do feel a little surreal to hear with modern production.  And I do kind of wish Daniel's versions were available, as I would have liked to hear how he sounded.  The one original track "Now You Know" is pretty solid, though, being a catchy rock song, much like what they did for UHF's theme song.  The rest of the soundtrack features other tracks from the film, including some other polka artists, a fictional attempt at being a punk band called Skunk Barf, another Doors reference, and Dr. Demento's theme song.  The rest are more typical movie music, and while Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson are no Hans Zimmer, they're scoring a comedy, so the music has to match the beats of the story's humor, so it works.

Since then, Weird Al has only put out a few polka medleys and that's it!  While I do respect abandoning the album format if he doesn't feel comfortable with it, but I was kind of expecting him to do more singles in order to be more timely.  Perhaps that was the plan (just me speculating), but he clearly got busy doing other things (including being a father!).  It's definitely been fun going over these again, but it makes sense that he wouldn't have as much melodic rock and metal, as they weren't as relevant after the 80s.

So I guess this is it!  I knew I wouldn't be able to squeeze too many articles out for this, but now I have to think about what I want to do for next April Fools.  Fortunately, I will have plenty of time to think of something.  Until then, rock on!  \m/

Retro Reviews - March 2026 Part Two!!

As I'm working through 1976 and checking albums out, I decided to split my reviews into two articles.  Last time, I focused on more hard rock bands, while this one has more proggy or weird rock bands.  Of course, prog was pretty much phasing out at this point, with many bands streamlining their sound to be more like the melodic rock of the times, so maybe these differences are just my own hair splitting.  In any case, here's what I've been listening to lately!

Druid - Fluid Druid

After checking out their debut album last year, and finding it to be rather pleasant, it's time to check out their second and final album.  Of course, being a prog rock band in 1976 was not easy, and so they mixed in a variety of ideas to spice things up while retaining many of their Yes-like qualities that they had before.

I think the best way to describe this album is that they're trying to be too quirky.  There are times where the proggy sections feel jarring and forced, like they were put in out of obligation.  While the first album focused on a united sound and atmosphere, here the songs are much more singular, like the instrumental "FM 145" being very bouncy, "Nothing But Morning" going for this dramatic Queen-like song, and "Barnaby" getting into a reggae groove.  "Crusade" certainly has some curious transitions, but it's so disjointed to really follow.  "Kestrel" is also a mess, despite being much shorter, and the closer "The Fisherman's Friend" feels like a joke song that doesn't really land.

Despite my criticisms, there are some decent pieces here.  The album starts off well enough with "Razor Truth" and "Painters Clouds."  They both have the more Yes-like style, like the material from Toward the Sun, and "Left to Find" starts off with a mysterious low synth before building up the instruments in a pretty satisfying way.  Dane in particular feels more confident, as he's not straining his voice quite so much, and his guitar work is pretty decent.  Neil Brewer retains his Squire-like basslines, and the rest of them play well, despite the awkward songwriting.

However, these good bits are just part of the junk drawer that this album assembled itself from, making this the weaker of their two albums.  From here, the band would break up, and its members would work on various other projects and groups over the years.  It's a bit of a shame as I do think they had some good ideas.  If they could have taken a break to refresh their minds and worked on another album, I think it could have been solid.  However, like I said, prog was in a weird place, and if you already didn't have a decent sized fanbase by this point, it would have been a struggle to continue.

Genesis - Wind and Wuthering

It's been quite some time since I last reviewed a Genesis album!  As I mentioned on those articles, I struggle with the Gabriel-era material, but now that I'm into the beginning of the Collins-era, I'm hoping I might find more to like (other than the usual handful I hear on classic rock radio).  While it does have some decent ideas, this is one mellow album!

Much of what they started on Trick of the Tail is here, as there is only one song over 10 minutes, and many shorter ones.  However, there certainly is an increase in synths, as Tony Banks gets rather orchestral in arranging all the different tones and pads he uses, along with the organs and pianos.  This gives the album a very cinematic feel, and the lyrics often carry that tone.  The album starts with the energetic "Eleventh Earl of Mar," based on a book about the Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland, "One for the Vine" is about someone ending up as a chosen one without wanting to be, and the pair of instrumentals that make up "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers...In that Quiet Earth" are based on a line from Wuthering Heights.  They even tell a unique story with "All in a Mouse's Night," with the rodent waking up the humans and running into a dangerous cat!

Unfortunately, much of this album sticks to a slower, more somber vibe, and I found myself struggling to stay interested.  Banks keys do kinda overwhelm the album at times as well.  I liked "Eleventh Earl of Mar" and "...In That Quiet Earth" for being more upbeat, but otherwise, this is soft rock as much as prog, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, I found it hard to really connect to sometimes.  As it would turn out, this album is the last they did with guitarist Steve Hackett, as he felt his contributions were being set aside in favor of Tony Banks' pieces, eventually compelling him to leave.  After hearing the album, it sounds like it was a pretty valid criticism.  I didn't hate the album, but it was on the wrong side of lackluster.  Maybe it will improve with more listening, but for now, this hasn't turned me into a Genesis fan.

Blue Öyster Cult - Agents of Fortune

To be honest, I've listened to this album before, but since I have been going through their discography lately, I figured I should squeeze this one in before I moved on to the rest of their albums.  I'm a big fan of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," and I was kinda hoping the rest of the album would be just as dramatic and mysterious, so I was a little bummed to discover that it was mostly some pretty straight-ahead rock 'n' roll.  However, now that I'm giving it a second chance (and with the wider context of their previous albums), I can see this is very much a transition album for them, streamlining their songwriting to something much more punchy and conventional.

As usual, they do like to shift their style around from song to song.  Things start off with a pretty standard rock 'n' roll pair of songs, but they have some grooves later on, and even get sentimental at times.  Otherwise, "Buck" Dharma is still noodling along, his guitar solos really being solid across the tracks, and the song writing definitely settles into some familiar forms, letting the lyrics do most of the weirdness.  (I had totally forgotten that Patti Smith was on "The Revenge of Vera Gemini"!)  As for stand outs, "This Ain't the Summer of Love" has some decent chugging energy, and while "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" starts with a weird riff, it quickly settles into a neat song that feels like it came out of a tabloid.  The spooky vibes continue with "Sinful Love" and "Tattoo Vampire," but then it gets rather serious for the end of the album.  "Morning Final" is about a random murder in the streets, and "Debbie Denise" is about a struggling, one-sided relationship.  This album is certainly all over the map.

And then there's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper."  This is pretty much the song that made me want to listen to more of the band.  Starting off with that iconic riff before settling into a thoughtful, dark tone, contemplating death and coming to terms with it.  Then the bridge outright explodes into a great guitar solo by "Buck," letting the feedback linger into the next verse.  An absolutely brilliant song.  Sadly, the rest of the album doesn't hold up to that level of quality, but I can see that it is a decent rock album that sees the band changing without losing their identity.

Triumph - In the Beginning

When we think of 70s hard rock trios from Canada, we generally think of Rush, but Triumph soon followed after and had quite a respectable career north of the US border.  I was only ever loosely aware of them, so I'm taking my next Top 5 article as an opportunity to check out their debut.  (It was originally just self-titled and had a different cover, but I like this re-release version better.)

The comparison to Rush is a little unfair, as this album has much more in common with fellow country-men Bachman-Turner Overdrive with some Led Zeppelin for good measure.  The result is some hard rockin' music with decent variety, with Rik Emmett's excellent shredding all over the place.  They mess around with a talk box on "Be My Lover," "Don't Take My Life" has some neat dynamics, switching between electric and acoustic guitars, "Easy Life" has a bluesy groove, and the "Street Fighter" pair a songs going from heavy metal in the first part to a somber, cinematic vibe in the "Reprise."  Even the opener "24 Hours a Day" starts off with this ballad-like style before going into some straight party rock.  The other songs are a little more generic, but are played with good energy, and the closer is where they tap into some prog, as "Blinding Light Show" goes from an aggressive noodly riff to a somber anthem before dropping to the classical guitar of "Moonchild."

I feel like the Y&T album I reviewed last time feels similar to this, but Triumph definitely has better songwriting.  I know I often say that debut albums show promise, but this is some very good rock music right from the start!  I liked the more dynamic songs like "Don't Take My Life" and "Street Fighter," and "What's Another Day of Rock 'n' Roll" made me think of "Black Betty" by Ram Jam with that scratchy riff.  The epic closer is solid as well, probably the most Rush-like song on the album, and I was overall satisfied with what I heard!  I'm definitely looking forward to their next one, whenever I get around to it!

Retro Reviews - March 2026 Part One!!

I know I haven't been as consistent with my posts lately, but I've been dealing with a lot of stuff, including making some very long articles.  There was just a lot to cover, including some debut albums, and I had a lot to say about the others as well.  We're focusing on more straight-ahead rock with this one, while the next one will be more proggy.  For now, here's what I've been checking out lately!

Uriah Heep - High and Mighty

Last time I checked out this band, they had picked up John Wetton and carried on their way with more hard rock full of organs and tight vocal harmonies.  With this album, nearly all of the progressive rock and fantastical lyrics have been streamlined out.  However, this makes them rather in line with many of their contemporaries.

All the comparisons I've been making to Deep Purple and Vanilla Fudge hardly apply anymore, as they've shifted into something like a blend of Styx, Foreigner, Boston, and Queen (though not as theatrical).  Of course, there are a few twists here and there, like with the shifting dynamics of "Misty Eyes", the genre-switching in "Woman of the World," and "Can't Stop Singing," which sounds like it came from a funky musical.  Ken Hensley's organs and synths don't seem as prominent on this album, either, despite being the main songwriter.  John Wetton actually contributes to the songs as well, but it's hard to know what exactly he's responsible for.

Still, there were a few tracks I liked.  "Weep In Silence" is actually a decent ballad, with some solid solos from Mick Box, "Misty Eyes" had some great energy making me think of Styx in particular, and "Can't Keep a Good Band Down" was pretty fun.  Unfortunately, this would also be their last album with their iconic singer David Byron.  It turns out he was drinking a lot and it affected his performance, so the band had him sacked.  John Wetton left as well, never really feeling like he fit in with the band, and the band understood.  After listening to all these Uriah Heep albums over the last few years, it really is an end of an era.  As I carry on through their discography, it will be interesting to see how they transition from here. 

Queen - Day at the Races

Speaking of Queen, after the breakout success that was A Night at the Opera, and the following four-month tour, the band pretty much went right back into the studio the next year and hammered out this one.  Meant to be something of a companion to the previous album, the band really explores the dynamics of their sound, perhaps even pushing a little too far, sometimes, with not enough to show for it.

Ranging from hard rock to gospel and from piano waltzes to folk pop, it's definitely a demanding listen.  Queen have never been shy about pushing a song in a weird direction, so this is largely nothing new.  However, I wonder if they weren't a little rushed in the studio, as some of these songs don't feel quite as developed as the ones on their previous album.  The opener "Tie Your Mother Down" is a pretty bog-standard blues rock song, like if AC/DC was being lazy.  "Long Away" takes a few cues from the folky parts of the Beatles and the Byrds but hardly feels like Queen.  "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" is pretty campy with it's bouncy, music hall style, leaning into their iconic theatrics, but not really working as a song.  "Drowse" goes for this trance-y vibe on a slide-guitar riff, but it never clicked with me, as it felt weirdly anxious the while time.  Overall, these tracks feel a little odd, and unfortunately, not very memorable, at least compared to the hits I know so well.

Speaking of hits, though, "Somebody to Love" really stands out with its epic gospel choir (even though it's just the band redubbing themselves several times over).  "The Millionare Waltz" at least has some curious dynamics, "White Man" has this heavy, twangy riff that matches the angsty, brooding song quite well, and "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" is a decent enough power ballad to end the album on.  Naturally, all of this is performed very tightly, as they comfortably reuse a lot of their iconic beats, like tight vocal harmonies and Brian May's melodic guitar work.  It's not a bad album, but it does feel like a bit of a let down after A Night at the Opera, and I can't help but wonder if maybe it just needed a bit more time in the studio to help bring it together as more of a whole.

Y&T - Yesterday & Today

Here's another one of those bands where I've heard of them, but never really listened to them (though I imagine I've heard "Mean Streak" on classic rock radio at some point).  Touring with the likes of Journey and Queen under the name Yesterday and Today (after an American Beatles release), they got picked up by a British Label and released their debut album.  While they may have had some metallic styles later, they start with a pretty decent set of blue-collar blues rock.

The main takeaway I had when listening to this is that they seem to have the straight-ahead simplicity of Bad Company, but with heavier riffs from Sabbath or Zeppelin.  While some of it can get a little bland, even the weaker tracks are elevated by Dave Meniketti's shredding solos!  He has an American 70s style, dedicated to playing a lot of notes quickly, often sounding random, but it really works for the sound they have.  "Come On Over" is a perfect example of this blend they have.  However, I think the main stand outs are "Earthshaker" and "Fast Ladies (Very Slow Gin)" for have a lot more energy than the rest of the album (though "Fast Ladies" does have some strange mixed meter playfulness).  "Game Playing Woman" is their most proggy, starting with a funky riff, but in the middle they drop it down to some very moody jazz.  From there, they build back up to the funky riff, and the transition is really quite smooth.

The only real problem I had was that the production was a little muddy.  Phil Kennemore's bass was big in the mix, but some of his notes don't land well, and Leonard Haze's drums feel more like thuds and impactful whacks.  It's a shame because they're playing good stuff.  While I know I've said this before on other debuts, but I can see a lot of promise with this one.  If they can gets some decent production and maybe give their songwriting a boost, I'd find a lot to like!  I plan on jump into their next album pretty quickly, so I'll find out soon!

Scorpions - Virgin Killer

With the band slowly embracing their hard rock destiny with the last album, they maintained their lineup for the follow up the next year.  While there was some proggy noodling before, here the songs are aggressively streamlined, with most of them being under four minutes!  

At this point, their sound is very much in line with what rock music was doing, with plenty of energy and dual guitar harmonies.  "Pictured Life" and "Catch Your Train" start the album well with some good energy.  The title track is also decent, with Klaus Meine providing some pretty aggressive vocals.  Of course Uli Jon Roth gets plenty of opportunities to shred, and he brings his vocals to "Hell Cat" and "Polar Night," which are some pretty weird songs.  I wasn't sure if they really fit well with the others.  "In Your Park" is a pretty average ballad, and the closer "Yellow Raven" is a slightly better one, especially with that big riff at the end.

Overall, I think this is an improvement, but I do wonder if perhaps this isn't an over-correction.  Most of these songs are so short and clean, it's hard to really appreciate them.  They do expand out a little towards the end, but otherwise, this album shows a clear shift to focusing more on no-filler hard rock.  At just under 35 minutes, it's a burst of good energy with some catchy tracks, but not much more.