Hearing the first album by an artist with such a defined formula is always interesting in two ways. One is to see the birth of the formula, and here we see Yankovic's first collection of his signature musical parody style combined with comedic originals, with one big exception. This is where the other cause of interest comes in, where the album differs from the usual formula. Generally, the style is a lot rougher and looser with a pension for unorthodox sonic additions and also the complete absence of a polka medley (to my knowledge the only album of his to not feature one).
But how are the songs? Pretty alright! Not his best work but there is some great stuff in the tracklist. "Ricky" is immediately dated being a direct reference to a pair of characters from over half a century ago, but has enough charm to somewhat work on its own. "I Love Rocky Road" would be a fun track but the squelchy noises in the mix are pretty unpleasant on the ears. While not the most iconic track "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" is probably the best parody, it takes the original and crafts a pretty funny narrative. "My Bologna" and "Another One Rides the Bus" are both obviously iconic but I tend to prefer the former, as the latter is a bit overly sparse, but both are solid.
This album is also less than half parody! As with most of his albums, we have a fair selection of originals, "Gotta Boogie" is a great high-tempo cut. "Buckingham Blues" was supposed to be a parody but here it is a pretty okay if basic track. "Happy Birthday" is a great track, probably the best original on the album, a cynical twist on a birthday song that is gleeful in its bitterness. "The Check's in the Mail" is a fun track with a very bright and cheery style, but honestly doesn't leave much of an impact. "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" is a great track with a fittingly hectic sonic feel. "Such a Groovy Guy" is a pretty mediocre track but at least has the benefit of having a pretty great chorus. The album does end on a high though, "Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung" is probably the darkest cut on the album but it revels in it and has a great melody.
The main thing you can say about this album is that it is definitely a debut album. While the record has some of Yankovic's best work it also has a fair bit of material that feels either unimpressive or noticeably rough. I would also add that the original material on this album is probably the strongest element so if you only come to his work for his musical parody you will probably have an even harder time with this one. This is the blueprint of Weird Al but as it is it is a good if flawed record. If you are interested in how his career started or are just in the mood for some silly music you can't go wrong here.
