"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D
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| "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D | ||
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| Studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||
| Released | February 28, 1984 | |
| Recorded | October, December 1983 | |
| Genre | Comedy | |
| Length | 44:03 | |
| Label | Scotti Brothers | |
| Producer(s) | Rick Derringer | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| "Weird Al" Yankovic chronology | ||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983) |
"Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D (1984) |
Dare to Be Stupid (1985) |
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D, sometimes referred to simply as In 3-D, is the second album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1984. It is notable for the first of Yankovic's now-trademark polka medleys; these pastiches of hit songs, set to polka music, have since appeared on nearly all of Yankovic's albums to date, except for Even Worse and Alapalooza (the latter of which has a polka-style cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" instead). This album also marked a musical departure from his self-titled debut: the accordion was no longer used in every song, and the arrangements of the parodies were now closer to the originals.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Eat It" (Jackson, Yankovic) – 3:21
- parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson, about someone's exasperating quest to get someone else to eat properly. Peaking at #12 on the Hot 100, this song was Al's highest-charting single until White & Nerdy placed at #9 in the October 21, 2006 issue of Billboard Magazine.
- "Midnight Star" (Yankovic) – 4:35
- about supermarket tabloids.
- "The Brady Bunch" – 2:41
- parody of "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats, about a man's devotion to television and his dislike of the sitcom The Brady Bunch
- "Buy Me a Condo" (Yankovic) – 3:53
- about a Jamaican immigrant to America who moves into the suburbs and changes his lifestyle from Rastafarian to yuppie
- style parody of Bob Marley
- "I Lost on Jeopardy" (Kihn, Yankovic) – 3:28
- parody of "Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band, in which the narrator loses spectacularly on the game show Jeopardy!
- Greg Kihn has a cameo in the video for this track (parodying his own video for the original song), as well as original Jeopardy! host Art Fleming and musicologist Dr. Demento. Announcer Don Pardo lends his voice to a segment of the song, and appears in the video as well.
- The Potpourri answer that stumps Al in the video is the mathematical formula for a Lorentz boost.
- "Polkas on 45" (Brown, Yankovic) – 4:20
- polka medley of then-current pop music and classic rock tracks; the title is a reference to Dutch novelty medley act Stars on 45
- It is a polka medley featuring:
- "Jocko Homo" by Devo,
- "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple,
- "Sex (I'm A...)" by Berlin,
- "Hey Jude" by The Beatles,
- "L.A. Woman" by The Doors,
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly,
- "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix,
- "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads,
- "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner,
- "Bubbles In The Wine" by Lawrence Welk,
- "Every Breath You Take" by The Police,
- "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash,
- "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones, and
- "My Generation" by The Who.
- with new music by "Weird Al" Yankovic.
- It is a polka medley featuring:
- polka medley of then-current pop music and classic rock tracks; the title is a reference to Dutch novelty medley act Stars on 45
- "Mr. Popeil" (Yankovic) – 4:42
- style parody of "My Own Private Idaho" by The B-52's, about the inventor Samuel Popeil, his myriad inventions of varying usefulness, and his son Ron's infomercials; one of the backing vocalists on the track is Samuel Popeil's daughter (and Ron's sister) Lisa.
- "King Of Suede" (Yankovic) – 4:15
- parody of "King of Pain" by The Police, about a man's shopping mall suede shop
- "That Boy Could Dance" – 3:34
- "Theme From Rocky XIII (Rye or the Kaiser)" (Yankovic) – 3:37
- parody of "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, about a washed-up Rocky Balboa, who now runs a deli and occasionally beats up on sides of beef
- "Nature Trail to Hell" (Yankovic) – 5:50
- about a fictional slasher film; It includes a deliberately-hidden backwards message: if played backwards, the phrase "Satan eats Cheese Whiz" is clearly audible at 3:40. Some fans have noted the similarities between portions of this song and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" - a cover version to the tune of "Thriller" allegedly exists. As a sidenote, the eerie beginning of the song is very reminiscent of Elton John's song "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" which starts out nearly the same as "Nature Trail to Hell", while the song ends with multiple pianos playing a final chord, similar to The Beatles' "A Day in the Life"
[edit] Personnel
- "Weird Al" Yankovic - synthesizer, piano, accordion, vocals
- Rick Derringer - guitar, mandolin
- Steve Jay - banjo, drums, bass
- Mike Kieffer
- Warren Luening - trumpet
- Joe Miller - bongos
- Don Pardo - announcer
- Joel Peskin - clarinet
- Lisa Popeil - background vocals
- Petsye Powell - background vocals
- Pat Regan - synthesizer, piano
- Andrea Robinson - background vocals
- Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz - percussion, drums
- Eric Denne - tuba
- Robert Tebow - vocals (bass)
- Jim West - guitar
- Jimmy "Z" Zavala - saxophone
[edit] Production
- Producer: Rick Derringer
- Art direction: Donald, Lane
- Artwork: Jim Heimann
- Cover illustration: Jim Heimann
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Billboard 200 | 17 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Eat It" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 12 |
| 1984 | "I Lost On Jeopardy" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 81 |
| 1984 | "King Of Suede" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 62 |
[edit] Awards
Grammy Awards
| Year | Award | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Best Comedy Performance Single or Album, Spoken or Musical | "Eat It" |
