''Even Worse'' is the fifth
studio album by
"Weird Al" Yankovic, released on April 12, 1988. The album was produced by former
The McCoys
The McCoys were a rock group formed in Union City, Indiana, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single " Hang On Sloopy". Their name was changed from Rick and the Raiders to The McCoys, taken from the B-side of The ...
guitarist
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...
. 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).
The music on ''Even Worse'' is built around parodies and pastiches of
pop and
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
of the mid-1980s. Half of the album is made up of parodies, featuring jabs at
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
,
George Harrison,
Tiffany,
Los Lobos, and
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
. The other half is original material, featuring several "style parodies" or musical imitations that emulate existing artists. These style parodies include imitations of specific artists such as
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the ...
, the
Beastie Boys, and
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...
. ''Even Worse'' has the distinction of being one of two albums by Yankovic lacking any polka renditions of pop songs or medleys, the other being his
self-titled debut album from 1983. This album's title and cover art are spoofs of Michael Jackson's 1987 album ''
Bad''.
''Even Worse'' was met with mostly positive reviews and peaked at No. 27 on the
''Billboard'' 200, becoming Yankovic's best-selling album. The album also produced one of Yankovic's hit singles, "
Fat
In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...
", a parody of Michael Jackson's "
Bad", which peaked at No. 99 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became a staple on
MTV. The album was certified as a
gold record
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
, and later as a
platinum record with sales of over one million copies in the United States, becoming Yankovic's first platinum record. "Fat" won the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for
Best Concept Music Video.
Production
Background and recording
After success in the early '80s, Yankovic released ''
Polka Party!'' in 1986. Although featuring parodies of hit songs like "Living in America" and "Addicted to Love", the album was a critical and commercial failure. It did not yield a charting single and it peaked at number 177 on the
''Billboard'' 200. After the disappointment with ''Polka Party!'', Yankovic went on record saying, "I thought it was the end of my career."
For most of 1987, Yankovic took a break from recording.
In November 1987, Yankovic returned to the studio to craft his follow-up to ''Polka Party!''. Once again, former
The McCoys
The McCoys were a rock group formed in Union City, Indiana, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single " Hang On Sloopy". Their name was changed from Rick and the Raiders to The McCoys, taken from the B-side of The ...
guitarist
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...
was brought in as producer. During the first session, two songs were recorded: "Stuck In A Closet With Vanna White" and "Melanie".
The next month, three songs were recorded: "Good Old Days", "You Make Me", and "Velvet Elvis".
Finally, in early 1988, the remaining songs were recorded.
Originals
One of the first original songs recorded for the album was "Stuck in a Closet With Vanna White", describing a bizarre recurring dream about
Vanna White.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
described the song as a "real winner for Yankovic" because it "was the first song
ankovicwrote that his
..target audience
..actually liked as much or even more than his parodies."
"You Make Me" is a song involving a person's desire to engage in strange or violent behavior compelled by the weirdness of another person. According to the liner notes of ''The Permanent Record'', "It's about as close as
ankovic hasever come to writing a real love song."
Musically, the song is a style parody of
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the ...
.
"Melanie" is a
stalker's twisted love song to his neighbor Melanie.
According to Yankovic, he wrote several additional verses for "Melanie" that he would only sing to his friends.
"Velvet Elvis" is written in the style of
the Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
, and is an ode to the
kitsch
Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste.
The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation wi ...
y type of
titular painting.
[ "Twister" is an ode to the ]Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...
game Twister
Twister may refer to:
Weather
* Tornado
Aviation
* Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike
* Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design
* Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design
Entertainment
* ''Twister'' (1989 ...
. The song is a style parody of the Beastie Boys. When Yankovic was recording the song, he initially recorded about 20 vocal takes. However, when it came time to pick the right take, he opted for the first because it sounded "more raw and more off-the-cuff." The album's closer, "Good Old Days" is about a psychopath fondly remembering his childhood. Yankovic described the song as an "experiment". He "wanted to see if ecould write a song as if Charlie Manson and James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...
were collaborating."
Parodies
The first parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
recorded for ''Even Worse'' was "I Think I'm a Clone Now". The song, a spoof of "I Think We're Alone Now
"I Think We're Alone Now" is a song written and composed by Ritchie Cordell that was first recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells. It was a major hit for group, reaching number 4 on the US Hot 100 in April 1967. It finished at No. 12 on '' B ...
" as covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
by Tiffany, is the story of a man who details his life as a clone of himself. The second parody recorded was "Alimony", a parody of " Mony Mony" as covered by Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
. The song is a diatribe about the narrator's ex-wife, who takes everything he owns for alimony
Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial sup ...
payments. Although the song sounds as if it were recorded live—complete with clapping, screaming, and yelling—the track was entirely recorded in the studio. This is the first instance of Yankovic covering two songs originally made famous by the same artist on one album, as both "Mony Mony" and "I Think We're Alone Now" were songs first performed by Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clo ...
.
When it came time to record a lead single, Yankovic once again turned his attention to Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. Jackson had just released his album '' Bad'', a follow-up to 1982's immensely successful album '' Thriller''. After Yankovic first heard the lead single, " Bad", he immediately envisioned a parody entitled "Fat". Initially, Yankovic didn't want to record another Michael Jackson parody. He later said, "I was still primarily known as the 'Eat It
"Eat It" is a 1984 song by American comedy music artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of Michael Jackson's 1983 single " Beat It", with the contents changed to be about an exasperated parent attempting to get their picky child to eat any ...
' guy and I didn't want to become known as the guy who just rides Michael's coattails." He later relented and sought out Jackson for permission. Jackson, a fan of Yankovic's work, had already let Yankovic parody his 1983 hit single " Beat It".[ When presented with the new potential parody, Jackson not only approved it, but let Yankovic use his own '']Moonwalker
''Moonwalker'' is a 1988 American experimental anthology musical film starring Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film expresses the influence of fandom and innocence through a collection of short films about J ...
'' subway set for the music video.[ Yankovic later presented Jackson with a gold record of ''Even Worse'' after the album sold over 500,000 copies.] Jackson was so pleased with the song and video, he ordered twelve copies to give to his friends. Yankovic later said, "He doesn't have to let me do this kind of stuff. ..The only reason he would let me is because he has a great sense of humor."[
The music video for the song features a leather-clad Yankovic "expanding to 800 pounds and bouncing around a subway set."] To find suitable back-up dancers, ads were placed in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
newspapers for "Very Fat Dancers". One of the men used in the video was actually a pizza delivery man who had delivered food to the casting offices. Due to the music video, "Fat" became one of Yankovic's biggest hits.[ Although only managing to peak at number 99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song's music video got extensive play on MTV,][ which helped the album attain platinum status. In addition, "Fat" was later nominated and won a ]Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for Best Concept Music Video at the 1989 Grammy Awards
The 31st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 22, 1989, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.
Album of the Year went to George Michael for ''Faith'', and Song of the Year w ...
, Yankovic's second Grammy Award.
The last parody recorded for the album was "Lasagna
Lasagna (, also , also known as lasagne, ) is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets. Either term can also refer to an Italian dish made of stacked layers of lasagna alternating with fillings such as ...
", a parody of the traditional folk song "La Bamba". The song is mainly about Italian culture with a heavy emphasis on cuisine. When Yankovic began writing the song, he originally wanted it to be sung in Italian. He later said, "I was actually going through Italian phrase books and dictionaries until I realized that the humor would be lost on 99% of the audience, so I decided to do the whole thing in English but with kind of a bad Italian accent." When the song was released as a single, it did not have a music video. However, ten years later in 1997 a short video was made for ''The Weird Al Show
''The Weird Al Show'' is an American television show hosted by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Produced in association with Dick Clark Productions and taped at NBC Studios, it aired on Saturday mornings on the CBS TV network. The show ran for one season, fr ...
''. Under U.S. law, Yankovic can parody any song he wants as long as he pays royalties to use the original music. However, as a personal rule, he asks for permission anyway in order to maintain good relations with the industry. This particular song is an exception to that rule. Although the song is a parody of the Los Lobos cover version, "Lasagna" marked Yankovic's first parody that did not require either permission from an artist or a payment of royalties, since the song "La Bamba" is a traditional folk song that is not attributed to any specific writer. Thus, Yankovic is the only writer given credit in the liner notes.
According to the '' Dallas Morning News'', both Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
and George Michael turned down parody ideas that Yankovic asked permission to record for ''Even Worse''. In addition, ''Even Worse'' did not contain a polka medley, Yankovic's second—after his debut—and last album not to include one.
Reception
Critical response
''Even Worse'' has received relatively favorable reviews. Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
awarded ''Even Worse'' four out of five stars, one of the highest ratings for Yankovic on the site. Reviewer Eugene Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic.
Life and career
Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...
said, "Trust Weird Al Yankovic to name an album ''Even Worse'' even as his recordings were getting better again." Bruce Britt of ''Daily News of Los Angeles
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media.
The offices of the ''Dai ...
'' praised that album, and wrote that "It is tempting to dismiss 'Weird Al' Yankovic as a joke ..but those who dismiss Yankovic so easily overlook the fact that his lampoons are often wittier than the songs he spoofs."[ Many critics praised the lead single, "Fat". Chadbourne wrote that "the arrogance of 'I'm Bad' was perfectly trumped by Yankovic's musical pile of lard, the appeal of the video's visuals clearly not the only ace in the hole."] Britt called the song and video "so absurd, they are almost certain to be a hit this spring."[
Unlike previous albums, which were praised for their parodies but criticized for their originals, Chadbourne wrote that "Yankovic even manages to shatter all previous barriers and comes up with some funny original material as well," citing "Good Old Days" and "Stuck in a Closet With Vanna White" as some of his best originals.] Both ''Even Worse'' and "Fat" were nominated for Grammys. Although ''Even Worse'' was not a winner, "Fat" won a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video was an award that was presented to recording artists at the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988, and the 31st Grammy Awards in 1989, for quality, concept music videos. The Grammy Awards (Grammys) is an annual ...
in 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
.
Commercial performance
''Even Worse'' was released April 12, 1988, and, at the time of its release, was Yankovic's best-selling album. ''Even Worse'' peaked at number 27 on the ''Billboard'' 200 on July 2, 1988.[ The album spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart.] On July 18, 1988—less than three months after its release—the album was certified Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On January 27, 1994, the album was certified Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
by the RIAA. At the time of its certification, it was Yankovic's first Platinum record and, until 1992, it was his best-selling album.
Track listing
Personnel
;Band members and production
* "Weird Al" Yankovic – accordion, keyboards, vocals, background vocals
* Jim West – guitar, mandolin, background vocals
* Steve Jay
Eugene Stephen Jay (born January 26, 1951) is an American bassist, best known for working with "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Early life
Jay was born Eugene Stephen Jay in Detroit, Michigan on January 26, 1951. He auditioned for "Weird Al" Yankovic in 19 ...
– banjo, bass guitar, background vocals
* Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz
Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz (born August 18, 1956) is a drummer best known for working with the singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic. The two met while recording " Another One Rides the Bus" at the Dr. Demento show on September 14, 1980. Shortly a ...
– percussion, drums
* Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...
– guitar, producer
* Tony Papa – engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
* Jamey Dell – assistant engineer
* Tony Lane – art direction
* Nancy Donald – art direction
* Lou Beach – illustrations
* Sam Emerson – photography
* Christine Wilson – ''Even Worse'' lettering
;Other personnel
* Kim Bullard
Kim Bullard is an American keyboardist, songwriter, record producer, and film composer. He has been making music since the 1970s and has performed extensively as a keyboard player with musical acts such as Elton John and Crosby, Stills, & Nash.
...
– synthesizer
* Joe Sublett – saxophone
* Ronny Jay – record scratching
Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...
* Nicolette Larson – background vocals
Charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
"Weird Al" Yankovic albums
1988 albums
Albums produced by Rick Derringer
Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson
Scotti Brothers Records albums
Rock 'n Roll Records albums