Critical Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Eugene Chadbourne, reviewer for allmusic, felt that while "Weird Al" Yankovic was a detailed harbinger of parody to come, the album does not hold up well on its own. Chadbourne extolled most of the parodies ("Another One Rides the Bus", "My Bologna", "I Love Rocky Road") for their comedic value in contrast with their originals—songs he supposed to be "pretentious overblown". However, also according to Chadbourne, "Ricky" lacks the comedic connection Yankovic cultivates in later albums, and the original songs "may not seem like they were written in ten minutes, but the ideas behind them don't seem to involve that much contemplation. like little bits of puff impact on the flow of an album side is more like ballast."
Introducing Yankovic as the guest DJ for All Songs Considered on National Public Radio in 2006, host Bob Boilen opined that upon his debut, Yankovic "seemed the epitome of throw-away novelty act".
Reviewing Yankovic in 2008, Brian Raftery of Wired magazine wrote that "Ricky" introduced the world to "an accordion-playing spaz with a coif like Rick James and a voice like an urgent goose." In 1983, Yankovic was considered a fad of the time—comparing him to parachute pants and Contras—and "thoroughly disposable."
Musical databasing and review websites allmusic and Artistdirect rate "Weird Al" Yankovic three and a half out of five stars.
Read more about this topic: "Weird Al" Yankovic (album)
Famous quotes containing the words critical and/or reception:
“Productive collaborations between family and school, therefore, will demand that parents and teachers recognize the critical importance of each other’s participation in the life of the child. This mutuality of knowledge, understanding, and empathy comes not only with a recognition of the child as the central purpose for the collaboration but also with a recognition of the need to maintain roles and relationships with children that are comprehensive, dynamic, and differentiated.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)