Weird Al Yankovic Poodle Hat CD

Novelty acts by their very definition tend to be fleeting; once their novelty wears off, the humor evaporates and the performer is a footnote, an answer to a trivia question, if even that. POODLE HAT marks the third decade of parody king "Weird Al" Yankovic's work, with the modern master of all that's silly is still garnering attention and selling albums, showing no sign of stopping. No matter how inured one might be to his antics, it's hard to deny some of his truly gut-busting moments. Take the Eminem parody "Couch Potato," which skewers practically every television show and related fad of the previous four years, even offering rather trenchant commentary on reality television; it's hard to tell if he's kidding or serious when he spouts "next week on Fox watch lions eat Christians."

Most importantly, the parody is deft and dead-on, as most novelty acts who have managed any kind of career from Spike Jones to Tom Lehrer have been students of their art, an art surprisingly complex for all its silliness. POODLE HAT matches the usual expectations of Yankovic fans, featuring the usual anticipated and hilarious polka medley and a startlingly deft guest shot by piano man Ben Folds.

POODLE HAT won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

Recorded at Mad Dog Studios, Burbank, California.

Personnel: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Jim West (guitar, mandolin); Dweezil Zappa (guitar); Herb Pederson (banjo); John Juke Logan, Will Anderson (harmonica); Tom Evans (saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet, trombone); Ruben Valtierra, Ben Folds (piano); Kim Bullard (keyboards); Steve Jay (bass); John Bermuda Shwartz (drums, percussion, programming); Maxine Waters, Julia Waters, Carmen Twilley (background vocals).

This is an Enhanced CD which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Entertainment Weekly (07/11/03, pp.76-7) - "...Yankovic is one of the few musicians who play with words and pop culture as deftly as Eminem..." - Rating: B