Poodle Hat

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Title : Poodle Hat
Author : Yankovic, Weird Al
Release Date : 20030520
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $18.98
Amazon.com Price : $13.49 (29 %)
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Buyer Reviews :
This is kind of an odd album for Al. Or as he calls it, AL-bum.

For one thing, you get the feeling that he had problems finding any songs out there worth parodying this time out. But that's okay, because it forced him to write some decent songs of his own, and with one or two exceptions, these rank among his best.

Case in point: Track two, 'Hardware Store.' Lyrically, it's mindless Al fluff about a guy who just CAN'T WAIT for the new hardware store to open. (Reminds me of my wife. Personally I can't stand those places.) It culminates with a well-edited litany of things you can buy in a hardware store (okay, 'automatic circumcisers' is a stretch) sung at about a thousand miles an hour, but clearly enough to understand every word. (It reminded me of the old song 'Life is a Rock but the Radio Rolled Me' by Reunion from the '70s.) The words are one thing. The arrangement is FAN-TAS-TIC. Syncopated background singers add their countermelodies to the chorus. It's fun and well done.

Jump straight to the track called 'Bob.' Quite a few of the reviews below me on this page are from people too young to 'get' this song. Yes, it's a parody of how Bob Dylan writes and sings, but the ingeniousness of it lies in the lyrics, people. Study the lyrics. I'll wait...okay, time's up. Go to the dictionary, look up the word 'palindrome' and then read the lyrics again. And remember: Lisa Bonet ate no basil. (That's the best line in the song.)

If you don't get what's going on in 'Bob,' then you're REALLY not going to get what's going on in 'Genius in France,' but the fact that Dweezil Zappa appears on it should give you an idea. Pretend for a minute, that Al had been given the opportunity to write a song with Frank Zappa before Frank left on his final tour. Lyrically, this is a nasty song (I couldn't help but think of Jerry Lewis throughout this thing), but musically, if you know your Zappa (as I do), this song is a minor masterwork. Musical Zappa references abound, from obvious nods to 'I'm the Slime' and 'Dog Breath' to basic 'Zappaisms' like sudden tempo changes and low-voiced, recited lyrics.

The parodies? Who cares? I'm 45 years old. I've never heard the Eminem song Al parodies here and don't care to. Same for Nelly, whoever that is, who apparently is so illiterate he can't spell the word 'here.' However, thanks to my teenage sons, I am more than familiar with the songs Al plays in his 'Angry White Boy Polka,' and as usual, Al shows just how stupid some songs really are when you reveal them for what they are--easy to dance to.
(When he started singing 'Fell in Love with a Girl' from White Stripes, I about wet myself.)

So if you're a Wierd Al fan, get this. If you're thinking about becoming a Weird Al fan, you might want to get a couple other discs first. And if you do buy this album and you don't know who Bob Dylan or Frank Zappa are, take some extra money to the CD store, boy. You got some learnin' to do.

(by Tom Tuerff)

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