Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

by Weird Al Yankovic

Overview

Weird Al Yankovic has managed the not-inconsiderable feat of becoming a showbiz institution without really trying. The guy's modus operandi has barely changed since he put out his first single in 1979 -- singing silly songs with effective punch lines, either over already-familiar tunes or with gimmicky melodies he wrote himself -- but thanks to solid craft, consistent quality, and a likable personality, he's become the unquestioned king of the novelty song, and a major star whose career has had better legs than many of the acts he's parodied. Given all this, it's only fitting that Weird Al has received one of the greatest of all celebrity accolades, the wildly inaccurate biopic, though in this case, Yankovic not only had a hand in creating his own mythic tale, he had the good sense to play it for laughs and made it a lot more entertaining than the truth might have been. (Unless he really did take down Pablo Escobar, in which case, nice work, Al!) Unlike the typical made-for-cable or streaming biopic, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story has been deemed worthy of a soundtrack album, and it sounds like a fairly typical major motion picture OST in the 2020s, mixing pop tunes and interstitial music of various sorts. Weird leads off with re-recorded versions of five of Yankovic's better-known songs (alongside the original recording of "Eat It"), though the new takes are hard to tell from the originals except when they've been changed to suit the needs of the film (like Al's friends spontaneously becoming his backing band midway through "I Love Rocky Road"), along with one new tune, a full-bodied rocker called "Now You Know" that offers a few narrative spoilers if you haven't seen the film. The rest of the album is a mixed bag -- the theme music from Dr. Demento's radio show, some authentic polkas, a dash of Mexican folk music, and plenty of cues from Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson's original score, performed by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. Most of Birenberg and Robinson's music plays just enough on the standard tropes of a dramatic film score to work as satire and as straightforward dramatic film music, though they're versatile enough to switch things up for a pool party, an LSD trip, a heavy romantic assignation, or a Doors-like dirge cooked up by Al and his band during a concert gone wrong. The vast majority of Weird Al Yankovic fans are likely to regularly spin the first eight tracks on Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and sample the rest only occasionally, but if you like well-crafted, slightly tongue-in-cheek film music, the rest of the album has its memorable moments, too. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/19/2023
Label:	Legacy / Sony Music
UPC:	0196587852511

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Weird Al Yankovic   Primary Artist,Vocals,Accordion
The Emeralds   Primary Artist
Cesar Ramirez   Primary Artist
Roto Rooter Good Time Christmas Band   Primary Artist
Cory Pesaturo   Primary Artist,Accordion,Featured Artist
Diedrich Bader   Primary Artist
Leo Birenberg   Primary Artist
Zach Robinson   Primary Artist
Omar Estrada   Primary Artist
Cesar Chavira   Primary Artist
Skunk Barf   Primary Artist
Pat Regan   Keyboards
Wayne Bergeron   Trumpet
Rick Derringer   Guitar
Scottie Haskell   Vocals (Background)
Monique Donnelly   Vocals (Background)
Jeff Babko   Piano,Featured Artist
Jim "Kimo" West   Guitar,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Mike Kieffer   Clapping
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz   Drums,Percussion
Ruben Valtierra   Keyboards
Lisa Popeil   Vocals (Background)
Steve Jay   Bass,Keyboards
Gyorgy Gulyas Nagy   Conductor
Tom Evans   Saxophone

Technical Credits

Tony Papa   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Traditional   Composer
Billy Steinberg   Composer
Joey Ramone   Composer,Lyricist
Dee Dee Ramone   Composer,Lyricist
Johnny Ramone   Composer,Lyricist
John Deacon   Composer
Lew Brown   Composer
Rick Derringer   Producer
Jule Styne   Composer,Authoring
Rafael Serrano   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Michael Jackson   Composer
Artis Ivey, Jr.   Composer,Lyricist
Tom Kelly   Composer
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Dave Way   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Berton Averre   Composer
Weird Al Yankovic   Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Pepe Guizar   Composer,Lyricist
Alan Merrill   Composer
Tommy Ramone   Composer,Lyricist
Thomas Werner   Composer,Lyricist
Mike Kieffer   Hands
Michael Wilson   Coordination,Score Coordinator
Dan Brown   Music Preparation
Erich Appel   Composer
Terry Rendall   Composer,Lyricist
Werner Thomas   Composer
Csaba Puskas   Music Copyist
Denes Redly   Engineer
Eddie Cherkose   Composer,Authoring
Doug Rasheed   Composer,Lyricist
Vladimir Timm   Composer
Doug Fieger   Composer
Phil McGowan   Score Mixer
Balint Sapszon   Session Producer
Lawrence Sanders   Composer,Lyricist
Karol Namyslowski   Composer
Leo Birenberg   Composer,Producer,Score Producer
Zach Robinson   Composer,Producer,Score Producer
Vincent Oppido   Orchestration
Jerry Mamberg   Composer
Andres Locsey   Music Editor,Mixing Engineer
Budapest Scoring Orchestra   Score Coordinator
Vasek Zeman   Composer
Ramiro Rodriguez Zamarripa   Composer,Additional Music
Dan Light   Composer
Danny Ramiro   Additional Music
Jake Hooker   Composer
Lorenzo Carrano   Music Preparation
Bertalan Veer   Orchestral Coordinator
Filippo Landi   Music Preparation
Louis Julien   Composer
Nathanael Tronerud   Music Preparation
Nobert Elek   Music Copyist