I didn't see a topic for the UHF soundtrack, so it is my duty as a concerned citizen to bring you this important message--I mean, topic.
You can review the whole album, or just post your thoughts about it. As for me, I'm gonna do both because, well, I said so.
Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies: 9/10 - Great parody of both the Beverly Hillbillies theme song and MFN. Al did a good job syncing the words, and some nice guitar from Mark Knopfler--[kissup]but we all know our Mr. West could have done it better.[/kissup] Like Al, I just think the name sounds kinda stupid, but you know those darn lawyers.
I would have liked one of Al's names for it, like "Money for the Beverly Hillbilies" or "Beverly Hills/Hillbillies for Nothing" or something like that.
Ghandi II: 6/10 - I like both "commercials" equally. Jay was perfect for Ghandi in both the movie and the voice for the track. But if you listen to the commercial by itself if you haven't seen the actual movie, it really doesn't make any sense--but then again, why would someone buy the soundtrack if they hadn't seen the movie?
Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters from a Planet Near Mars: 8/10 - Cute original. Just hearing him sing the title made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it because it's just so weird, like SNTMSWAM, but I'll get to that elsewhere. O-) I think my favorite lines are "I hope they get these lousy rodents out of my town, 'cause the property value's goin' way down, now!" and "They're gonna stomp us into jelly, and conquer the world, but you gotta admit they're really--kinda cute, now!"
Isle Thing: 7/10 - Pretty good TV parody. The instrumental sounds a lot like the original, they might have even used the same guitar sample from Wild Thing or Jamie's Cryin', the song WT takes
its the guitar from. One of my favorite TV parodies.
the Hot Rocks Polka: 10/10 - Definitely one of my, if not
the favorite polka of me. I've heard a lot of other people speak of it very highly, and I'm not sure what's so attractive of it; whether it's the Stones songs polka-fied, or just having all the songs by one artist/band for a change of pace. Anyway, a very good polka, with a very obvious accordion, which I always like.
UHF: 10/10 - Probably my favorite track on the album. I guess it's not really side-splitting, but it is very clever, and has a good beat. Definitely fits the mood of the movie, making it a very appropriate theme song, while a lot of movies out there have themes that don't reflect much of the movie at all.
Let Me Be Your Hog: 8/10 - Very good original. Al did those 16 seconds justice. My favorite parts ar ethe pig snorts, and then the abrupt ending like taking the needle off a record. I must admit I was fooled the first time I heard it, like there was something wrong with the CD, but I quickly caught on.
She Drives Like Crazy: 8/10 - Nice parody. No offense to any big FYC fans out there, but after listening to both the original and the parody, I think the instrumental was better done on Al's version. I also love his Kermit voice for the choruses (or is it chori?
).
General Blues: 8.5/10 - Right behind UHF for favorite original on the album. Al did a very good job capturing the angst-ridden blues songs, cranking it up a notch, and making his own "life story living hell" blues song. He's come a long way since Buckingham Blues, and as much as I love the accordion in BB (I'm not being sarcastic
), you just can't replace the heavy guitar and harmonica. "OK, now make it shut up."
Spatula City: 6/10 - I do like how Al put the commercials from the movie on the album. I think this one would make a better radio commercial than Ghandi II, mainly because Ghandi II make a whole lot more sense with visuals. I've always kind of wished he would have put Plots-R-Us on as another commercial, but he also did just fine with these two.
Fun Zone: 7/10 - Not my favorite track, I usually tend to skip over it (don't hurt me), but it is a very fun instrumental. Um...that's all I have to say.
Spam: 6/10 - I couldn't listen to Spam for a pretty long time because it grossed me out a little, never being a huge Spam fan. I just couldn't "stand" it! (sorry, bad pun.
) I eventually got over it, and it is now one of my favorite food parodies. Al paid extrememly close attention to the background vocals on the original, and copied them almost to a T here, and that must've been pretty hard! Good job, Al!
The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota: Definitely one of Al's best epic originals IMHO. Has a really good rhyming scheme, like Frank's 2000" TV, and not just straight forward every-other-line-rhymes like a lot of other songs. If Al ever made a Greatest Hits III or a cheesy compilation of originals, this one should definitely be on it.
All in all, a very good album that gets overlooked by fans and non-fans alike too much. I don't think it gets nearly the credit it deserves, because a.) it's good, and b.) Al had to put this together during the production of UHF, so he really didn't have a whole lot of time to do it, which shows that he does good work even when he's crunched for time/budget/whatever.