Permanent Record: Al in the Box | ||||
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Box set by | ||||
Released | September 27, 1994 | |||
Recorded | September 1979 – April 1994 | |||
Genre | Comedy | |||
Length | 3:00:27 | |||
Label | Rock 'n Roll Records Scotti Brothers | |||
Producer | "Weird Al" Yankovic, Rick Derringer | |||
"Weird Al" Yankovic chronology | ||||
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Singles from Permanent Record: Al in the Box | ||||
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Permanent Record: Al in the Box is a four disc compilation box set of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 27, 1994. The album, released by Scotti Brothers Records so that the label could make monetary projections for the fiscal year, collects Yankovic's favorite songs from his first eight studio albums. The collection also includes alternate versions of "My Bologna", "Happy Birthday", "UHF" and the new single, "Headline News", a parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies. It peaked at number 104 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The collection was met with mostly positive critical reviews, with many appreciating the gathering of some of Yankovic's best works. However, the box set was not a high seller, and near the end of the 1990s, it ranked as Yankovic's least-purchased album. In 2006, due to a mishap by Volcano Records, the artwork for the set was lost, and the collection went out of print. Yankovic refused to scan existing copies of the album to make new ones, fearing that it would lead to an inferior product. Yankovic would later release a second box set called Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic in 2017.
While Yankovic was writing the original songs for a new album—which would later be released in 1996 as Bad Hair Day —his label, Scotti Brothers Records, insisted that he release a new record in order to meet monetary projections for the fourth fiscal quarter of the year. Yankovic, however, explained that he would be unable to finish a new record in time, so his label decided to release a box set that eventually was named Permanent Record: Al in the Box. The label then stipulated that Yankovic would need to at least record a new single to promote the box set. Yankovic complied, producing the parody "Headline News", a spoof of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies, which would also appear on his second greatest hits album. [1]
While most of the songs that appear on this record can be found on Yankovic's first eight studio albums, there are several unique inclusions. The version of "My Bologna" is the Capitol Records single version, which only featured the accordion and Yankovic's voice. Early pressings of the album included the incorrect version of "My Bologna", but this was later rectified in subsequent pressings. [2] The version of "Happy Birthday" included was previously released on the 1981 independent Another One Rides the Bus EP. [3] Finally, the third disc contains the single edit of "UHF" as opposed to the lengthier version available on UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff ; this was done because Yankovic figured that "fans would appreciate having both versions available." [4]
Both "Permanent Record" and "Al in the Box" were titles proposed by Yankovic; however, he favored the former, whereas his label preferred the latter. Both parties, being unwilling to yield, eventually decided to compromise and name the release Permanent Record: Al in the Box. [5] The album also included a detailed booklet, written by Yankovic's long-time associate, Dr. Demento. [3] When Yankovic's recording contract was transferred from Scotti Brothers to Volcano in the late 1990s, the artwork for the set was lost, causing the set to go out of print; although Yankovic noted that the label "could just scan existing booklets and CD art and crank out boxed sets with slightly inferior graphics," he did not want to put out a product that was not up to his usual standards. [6]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Spin | (positive) [9] |
Barry Weber of AllMusic awarded the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, and argued that "no [other greatest hits album of Yankovic's] matches Permanent Record, a four-CD set of Yankovic's best songs". [7] He applauded many of the parodies, and called several of them—namely "My Bologna", "Eat It", "Like a Surgeon", "Yoda", "Fat", and "Smells Like Nirvana"—"defining satires". [7] He also wrote that the originals contained on the record were "overlooked but equally entertaining". [7] Nathan Brackett and Christian Hoard, in The Rolling Stone Album Guide, awarded the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, denoting that the album averaged between good and excellent. [8] Craig Rosen of Billboard magazine opined that the album "will remind consumers that Yankovic has outlasted" many of his past parody targets. [10] Chuck Eddy of Spin magazine named the album the fourth most "essential" comedy record, writing that album is proof "for fifth-grade smart alecks, no rock star is greater" than Yankovic. [9]
The box set was released on September 27, 1994. As of January 1997, the set was Yankovic's worst-selling album, trailing all of his studio releases, as well as his various compilation and greatest hits albums. [11] On March 1, 2006, the record went out of print, due to the aforementioned loss of the artwork. [6] The collection's only single, "Headline News", charted and peaked at number four on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which corresponds to a position of 104 on the Billboard Hot 100. [12]
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Year | Song | Peak positions |
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US 100 [12] | ||
1994 | "Headline News" | 104 |
Bad Hair Day is the ninth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Entertainment in 1999. The album produced an array of hit comedy singles; lead single "Amish Paradise", which lampoons both Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and the Amish lifestyle, charted at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Gump", which parodies "Lump" by the Presidents of the United States of America and the movie Forrest Gump, reached at No. 102.
Alapalooza is the eighth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1993. By the completion of his previous album, Off the Deep End, Yankovic had already written all of the original songs that he planned to use on his next release. This new album, which would eventually be titled Alapalooza in reference to the music festival Lollapalooza, consisted of seven original songs and five parodies. It produced three parody singles: "Jurassic Park", "Bedrock Anthem", and "Achy Breaky Song". "Jurassic Park" was a top five hit on the Canadian magazine The Record's single chart.
Off the Deep End is the seventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was a follow-up to the unsuccessful soundtrack to Yankovic's 1989 film UHF. Off the Deep End and its lead single "Smells Like Nirvana" helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after a lull following his last hit single, "Fat", in 1988.
UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff is the sixth studio album and soundtrack album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on July 18, 1989. The album is the final of Yankovic's to be produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between December 1988 and May 1989, the album served as the official soundtrack to the 1989 film of the same name, although the original score by John Du Prez is omitted. The album's lead single was the titular "UHF", although it was not a hit and did not chart.
Even Worse is the fifth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on April 12, 1988. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between November 1987 and February 1988, this album helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after the critical and commercial failure of his previous album Polka Party! (1986).
Dare to Be Stupid is the third studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March 1985, the album was Yankovic's first studio album released following the success of 1984's In 3-D, which included the Top 40 single "Eat It".
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D is the second studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his modestly successful debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Polka Party! is the fourth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on October 21, 1986. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between April and September 1986, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his successful 1985 release, Dare to Be Stupid. The album's lead single, "Living With a Hernia", failed to chart.
"Headline News" is a parody song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the Crash Test Dummies' 1993 hit "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". It was released as the lead-off single for the compilation box set Permanent Record: Al in the Box on September 27, 1994. The song was written after Yankovic's label insisted he craft a new song to promote the album; Yankovic in turn combined the music of the Crash Test Dummies' song with three news stories that were popular in late 1993 and early 1994.
"My Bologna" is the debut single by American musical parody artist "Weird Al" Yankovic, originally released in December 1979. It is a parody of the Knack's hit song "My Sharona". Yankovic originally wrote the lyrics while he attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California; the original version of the parody was recorded in a bathroom across the hall from the campus radio station, KCPR, at which Yankovic had worked as a DJ. The title refers to Bologna sausage, specifically the Oscar Mayer brand popular in the United States. Yankovic sent "My Bologna" to Dr. Demento, who aired the song on his nationwide radio program, The Dr. Demento Show. The song was a hit on the program, and eventually gained the number one spot on Dr. Demento's "Funny Five" countdown.
The Food Album is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 22, 1993, by Scotti Brothers Records. The release features ten of Yankovic's song parodies, all of which pertain to food. A similar album, The TV Album, which features songs entirely about television, would be released two years later.
Greatest Hits Volume II is a compilation album of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs that did not appear on "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits, plus the new single "Headline News" which had first appeared on the box set Permanent Record: Al In The Box, released a month prior. The compilation album was met with mostly positive critical reviews, and it managed to chart on the Billboard 200 at number 198. However, it ranks as one of Yankovic's least-selling records.
"Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits is a compilation album of parody and original songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs from his first five studio albums, all of which were released in the 1980s. "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, with Heather Phrase of AllMusic noting that it provided a good overview of the early part of Yankovic's career. Despite this, the album failed to chart upon release, and ranks as one of Yankovic's lowest-selling records.
"Like a Surgeon" is a song recorded by "Weird Al" Yankovic that appears as the opening track on his third studio album, Dare to Be Stupid (1985). It was released as the album's second single on June 4, 1985, by Scotti Brothers Records. It was issued as a 7", 12", and picture disc. A parody of the pop song "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, its lyrics describe a hospital environment, with the same melody as Madonna's original. The track was written by Yankovic, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, the latter two are credited as co-writers due to the "Like a Virgin" sample. Madonna came up with the parody's title, an act Yankovic generally discourages. Rick Derringer served as the executive producer.
"Living with a Hernia" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. The song is a parody of "Living in America" by James Brown, from the film Rocky IV. The song mostly describes the terrible "aggravation" and "back pain" that a hernia causes. The narrator himself claims to be suffering from a hernia, and that he's "Got to have an operation".
"Jurassic Park" is a parody of Richard Harris's version of Jimmy Webb's song "MacArthur Park", written and performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic; it was released both as a single and as part of Yankovic's Alapalooza album in October 1993. "Jurassic Park" was penned by Yankovic after he remembered the enjoyment he had when he combined a classic rock track with a recent movie theme with his 1985 song "Yoda". Yankovic decided to combine the plot of the recent movie Jurassic Park—a film about a park on a fictional island where geneticists have succeeded in cloning dinosaurs—with the classic Richard Harris track "MacArthur Park".
"Achy Breaky Song" is a country song by American song parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on his album Alapalooza, parodying the song "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus. The song details a disgruntled listener's disdain for the song, as well as several alternatives he would rather endure, rather than having to listen to it anymore. These even include physical torture such as being "tie[d]... to a chair and kick[ed]... down the stairs".
"Yoda" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic from his third album, Dare to Be Stupid (1985). It is a parody of the song "Lola" by the Kinks. Inspired by the events of the movie The Empire Strikes Back, the song is told from the point of view of Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker and concerns his dealings with Master Yoda on the planet Dagobah. The song was initially written and recorded in 1980, during the original release of The Empire Strikes Back and achieved success on The Dr. Demento Show; however, securing permission from both Star Wars creator George Lucas and "Lola" songwriter Ray Davies delayed the physical release of the song for about five years.
The discography of American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, actor and parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic consists of fourteen studio albums, two soundtrack albums, nine compilation albums, eleven video albums, two extended plays, two box sets, forty-six singles and fifty-four music videos. Since the debut of his first comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums—more than any other comedy act in history—recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, and performed more than 1,000 live shows. His works have earned him five Grammy Awards among sixteen nominations, along with several gold and platinum record certifications in the United States. Yankovic's first single, "My Bologna", was released in 1979, and he made his chart debut two years later with his second single, "Another One Rides the Bus", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. His self-titled debut studio album was released on Scotti Brothers Records on May 3, 1983, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 and being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Ricky", the album's third single, became his first single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 64.
Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic is a 15-album box set by American comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on November 24, 2017. Squeeze Box marks Yankovic's second box set since 1994's Permanent Record: Al in the Box.
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