The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic

Rocks Like: As only Weird Al can.

Is your music… The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic

Rocks Like: As only Weird Al can.

Is your music collection lacking in accordion-playing satirists? Probably. If it’s a problem you’re looking to fix, then The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic is for you.

The 38-track, two-disc album features Yankovic’s best-known songs and reflects the even mix of original comedy songs and parodies on most of Yankovic’s albums.

Spoof tracks of artists ranging from Queen (converting “Another One Bites The Dust” to “Another One Rides The Bus”) to Michael Jackson (“Bad” and “Beat It” become “Fat” and “Eat It,” through Yankovic’s interpretations).

Pastiches, or “style parodies,” that mock the entire body of work of a band rather than a single hit, such as poking fun at Devo through “Dare to be Stupid” and the Talking Heads with the track “Dog Eat Dog,” are on the album, as well.

“Polkas On 45” and “Star Wars” reinterpreted à la Don McLean’s “American Pie” in “The Saga Begins” are pure silliness, but, as with much of Yankovic’s body of work, they’re cleverly done and impeccably rhymed.

Guitarist Jim West, bassist Steve Jay, keyboardist Rubén Valtierra and drummer Don Schwartz round out a very talented cover band.

The liner notes are also fun, including a mosaic of Yankovic’s 18 album covers spoofing everything from “Star Wars” and “Jurassic Park” to “Forrest Gump” and traditional rapper poses. They also provide the real names of the songs Yankovic is slamming, many of which are hauntingly familiar but which you might not be able place the titles of (possibly because you weren’t alive when they were big).

Yankovic is arguably the king of novelty artists. Whether that’s a title to aspire to is up to you.