Straight Outta Lynwood Full Album Reviews

[mikelgb]

Well, yeah. Al's parodies are almost always about something silly and unrelated to the original. The only times he's ever really attack the source material are (This Song's Just) Six Words Long, Smells Like Nirvana and Achy Breaky Song. The rest are pretty random. But that doesn't make them weak, not by a long shot. (And besides, Confessions Part III, probably the best SOL song I've heard so far, sticks a lot closer to the original's premise than is usual for Al...)

I think you could argue that Confessions Part III is another example of this. The lyrics are making fun of the fact that Usher had to make more than one confession song infering he probably has more to hide.

And the song is hilarious.

[StudlyD]

I think you could argue that Confessions Part III is another example of this. The lyrics are making fun of the fact that Usher had to make more than one confession song infering he probably has more to hide.

And the song is hilarious.

I think here you're using the word "infer" when you obviously mean "imply".



Sorry, couldn't help it...but to that point, I think the originals on SOL are among Al's strongest, ever.

Dave

[Lauren27]

I've heard three songs off the ALbum so far & I really like them (but have read all of the lyrics). As per standard, I know NONE of the original songs, either parodied or polkafied. The thing is, Al is my second favorite artist (second only to the Monkees.

Just because I don't know the originals doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy them any less. This way, the songs are even fresher for me. I can't wait to get my hands on SOL & finally get to hear it in its entirety.

[WBLG27]

Alrighty, I love doing these.

1) White And Nerdy:  I hate rap music  ...Which makes parodies such as these all the much better.  I love this song.  Al is a fantastic rapper.  I love all the nerdy computer technical lingo and it really stayed true to the original.  Very funny.  8/10

2)  Pancreas:  Um, different.  I like the sound, and it's a good thing I passed biology with an A, because I understood much of the anatomical references in this song.  Leave it to Al to make a song about a pancreas.  6/10

3) Canadian Idiot:  Huge Green Day fan here, so I had high expectations for this song, and they were definitely met for the most part.  Lyrics were a bit corny in some parts, but I really, really liked this song.  9/10

4) I'll Sue Ya:  Love the guitar riffs, love the solid rock sound of this song.  Great impression of RATM, and very funny lyrics.  10/10

5) Polkarama:  I loved it much more listening to it the second time around.  Good opening, just ok closing.  I've heard of all the songs, and like most of them.  Weezer, The Killers, Velvet Revolver, Franz Ferdinand were great touches to the polka with very catchy parts.  The end was weak, in my opinion, and kind of lost me with 50 cent, Snoop Dogg, and Rhianna.  6/10

6)  Virus Alert:  Another different one.  Some good vocal runs, a bit creepy maybe?  Reminds me of a bit of Styx.  Funny lyrics.  7/10

7)  Confessions Part III:  This one was great.  Very true to the original, very funny, I can no longer take the oringal seriously anymore (although I never liked it in the first place).  8/10

  Weasel Stomping Day:  I laughed hard at this one.  Howdy Ho, It's Weasel Stomping Day!  Reminds me of an old fashioned Christmas Tune, but the weasel stomping sound effects were hilarious.  8/10

9) Close, But No Cigar:  This song has been speculated for quite some time, so I was very interested in hearing this one.  Had to listen to it a few times cause the lyrics kinda lost me a few times, but it's a great song.  9/10

10)  Do I Creep You Out?:  I'ma big Idol fan, and backed Taylor Hicks all season.  So this came as a very pleasant surprise to me.  My only problem with it was that it was too short.  Hicks' song has an extra verse.  But, Al was very true to Taylor's singing style in the bridge, and imitated his vocal runs almost perfectly.  I really, really, loved this one, and cannot wait to see Al do it in concert (hopefully).  10/10

11) Trapped In The Closet:  10/10, not much to say, awesome, spot-on, probably best Al parody to date.  Took a non-sensical song and made it even more non-sensical.  Genius!

12) Don't Download This Song:  10/10 same as above, one of the best Al originals to date.  Discusses a very, very true issue today. 

13) You're Pitiful:  I don't care about record label politics, this song will always be a part of SOL.  I loved the mocking of Blunt's singing style with the falsetto and really reminds me of I'm So Sick Of You.  9/10

Album:  8.5 / 10  My favorite to date.

There ya have it, thanks for reading

Alright, yes, I'm quoting myself, but after quite a few listens, my opinions have changed. My previous scores were based on hearing once or twice. I've now heard them quite a few times so I will rescore them, some positively, some very slightly negatively...


1) White And Nerdy: Previous: 8/10 / Now: 8/10. Still the same, good, but definitly not my favorite cause I don't like the style.

2) Pancreas: Then: 6/10 - Now: 7/10. Ive enjoyed it more since hearing the words and I actually find my self at work singing

SPOILER Don't ya know you gotta flow, flow, flow, pancreatic juice...

3) Canadian Idiot: 9/10 - 8/10. Still love it, but I guess I was hoping for more here.

4) I'll Sue Ya: 10/10 - 10/10. Awesome, great lyrics, great sound.

5) Polkarama: 6/10 - 9/10. On second though, Probably Al's greatest polka yet. Very catchy after all.

6) Virus Alert: 7/10 - 10/10. Wow I underestimated this one. Quickly grew to one of my favorites. Kinda reminds me of Adam Sandler leading the band Styx. The melody, falsetto, and goofy lyrics make it.

7) Confessions Part III: 8/10 - 7/10. Um, awesome song still, least favorite parody on the album, just cause I do not like Usher. Al did great with the song though.

Weasel Stomping Day: 8/10 - 8/10. Nothing additional.


9) Close, But No Cigar: 9/10 - 9/10. After listening more times, I can now follow the lyrics, which seemed a bit hard to follow in the beginning. You know what? 10/10. Really catchy song with good lyrics

10) Do I Creep You Out?: 10/10 - 10/10. Love Taylor Hicks, Love Al parodying Taylor Hicks.

11) Trapped In The Closet: 10/10, - 9/10. I still think it's one of the best of the album, but I always switch long songs like halfway through.

12) Don't Download This Song: 10/10 -10/10

13) You're Pitiful: 9/10- 9/10

ALBUM:: Was: 8.5 / 10 Now: 8.9 /10 Just keeps getting better. Still my favorite to date.

thanks for reading... Again.

[shoedogg]

Finally having rounded the whole album after slowly gathering track by track I'll have to thorow my hat in the ring of reviewers.....


White and Nerdy - 10/10 - Fantastic parody of a pretty cool original song. The lyrics are funny in every way. Al's rapping is great, too bad im having a hard time following the lyrics . I impressed friends by rapping along to Couch Potato when it came out, but W&N is hard to keep up with, im working on it though, lol.


Pancreas - 9/10 - Man, i can't wait to hear the full album version at absolute highest quality (well same goes for all songs but especially this one) becaue of all the layers and effects used. I love Beach Boys / Brian Wilson stuff like Good Vibrations, and pancreas fits that mold amazingly....not the funniest lyrics as far as laughing at jokes, but so absurd its funny.

Canadian Idiot - 9/10 - Loved Green Day's original love Al's version. Very funny song, I'm surprised Al didn't make a joke about the use of "Eh?"...Those wacky Canadians.....

I'll Sue you - 10/10 - Could end up being my favorite song on the album. Love RATM, love this one. Hillarious lyrics.

Polkarama 9/10 - Not my favortie polka (thats probly the alternative polka) but very good nonetheless. The polka never disapoints. i like the song choices and knew all but Rhiana. The end part with Cand Shop and Golddigger is awesome.

Virus Alert 9/10 - Very cool music and another original with very funny lyrics. definatenly sounds like old-scool 80's Al. The music sounds like it could have been on Dare To Be Stupid.

Confessions Pt. 3 - 10/10 - Never heard Usher's original, but his song is pee your pants funny. A good example of Al using a few more bits of adult humor which i love, because he does it subtle without being dirty, "FYI, it was not a cold sore" HAHAHA (quick someone get Al some valtrex)

Weasle Stomping Day 7/10 - Funny and all, but almost too short. This probly could have been a full-length song. Very Christams-y.

Close But No Cigar - 8/10 - Nice music, clever lyrics. But on such a strong ALbum
it ranks as probly my least favorite song, but i still like it.

Do I Creep You Out - 9/10 - Don't like Taylor Hicks or AI, so i didn't really know the original, but this song is so funny it doesn't matter. Who doesnt like songs about creepy stalker-types.

Trapped In The Drive Thru - 10/10 - I suffered through R Kelley's original to prepare for this, but man it was worth it. the original is the dumbest song ever written, so it's ripe for parody and Al didn't disapoint. I love the exchanges between Al and his wife, just like any married couples griping back and forth, great. And we've all had similar experiences at the drive-thru.

Don't Download This Song - 9.5 - man when i first heard this song it was one of my fave Al songs ever and gave me a lot of hope for the album and it sure lived up to my hopes. The fact that it's now one of my least favorite songs on SOL says a lot for the quality of the whole CD.


OVERALL - 9.13/10 - Tremendous ALbum...Looking like it'll end up being my favorite AL CD of all-time. And i've been listening since Alapalooza (Obviously have all his CDs now). Can't wait for the White and Nerdy video and to see some of these awesome songs live on tour.

WHEEEEWWWWw...I feel carpal-tunnel coming on from all this typing.

[BathTub]

Just some notes I threw together to post somewhere else, so I thought I would paste them here too..

Well I think overall the album rates a Very Good

White & Nerdy Parody of Ridin by Chamillionaire, I think it's great, if just too damn short
Pancreas, style parody of Brian Wilson, very well done
Canadian Idiot, Parody if American Idiot by Green Day, meh probably the worst song on the album
I'll Sue Ya, Rage Against the Machine style parody (very close to Killing in the Name of), Another very well done, fun style parody.
Polkarama! a couple of songs I don't know, and he spends to long on Gold Digger, but still good.
Virus Alert, a style parody that I can't work out, a great song though, probably my favourite from the entire album.
Confessions Part III, Parody of Confessions Part II from Usher, not overly familiar with the original song, but I still thought it was funny.
Weasel Stomping Day, generic sort of christmas cheer song, meh, will be interesting to see the robot chicken video for it though.
Close But No Cigar a Cake style parody a fun song about dating, but then I also like Cake
Do I Creep You Out, a Parody of Do I Make You Proud by Taylor Hicks, Who? Yeah, exactly, An american Idol winner, an ok song, but I have no idea how it works as a parody.
Trapped in The Drive Thru, a Parody of Trapped in the Closet by R Kelly, ok I know the singer but I have never heard the original song, so Its a very weird strange song, but no idea how it works as a parody again. It's ok
Don't Download This Song a We Are the World style parody, an ok song, with a bit of an edge because Al made it the lead single and put it up for free downloading.

Overall I like the originals more than the parodies on this CD.

[Chocolate_Pizza]

Canadian Idiot - 9/10 - Loved Green Day's original love Al's version. Very funny song, I'm surprised Al didn't make a joke about the use of "Eh?"...Those wacky Canadians.....

Being Canadian, I've been wondering if there's an inside joke in the lyric to this song which goes:

I never learned my alphabet from A to Z

Instead of just calling us stupid by saying we can't recite the alphabet, I think what he's playing on is the fact that Canadians pronounce "Z" as "Zed" while Americans tend to say "Zee".

Also, you could take it a step further and say he's saying from "Eh" to Z, making fun of how we say eh.

So when I listen to the song, I hear it like this "I never learned my alphabet from Eh to Zed".

Funny either way!

[nedseagoon]

I finally gave in and listened to the whole album. I love it! This is got to be Al's most ambitious album yet. Plus, he's in excellent voice throughout! So many of the songs have challenging vocals, and in such divergent styles - it's a real accomplishment.

1. White and Nerdy: The only thing wrong with this song is that it's not long enough. True, it is pretty much the same premise as It's All About the Pentiums, but hey, we can always use a new nerdcore anthem.

2. Pancreas: This jarred me at first, because of all the stylistic shifts. That didn't bother me with Genius in France, but I'm a huge Frank Zappa fan, while I don't know Carl Wilson's work all that well. So I've got some homework to do. But it's definitely growing on me, and I love it that Al's taking these kind of musical chances.

3. Canadian Idiot: Not the most inspired parody idea, and mocking Canadians isn't as much fun as mocking the Amish or the French. But hey, it's well-written (though with a couple awkward lines), peppy, and short.

4. I'll Sue Ya: Of all the bands Al could have done a style parody of, Rage Against the Machine is one of the last I'd ever have expected, but Al nails it! And his delivery is priceless ("Whatcha'll think of that?"). I had a little tiny knee-jerk reaction to the line that referenced the infamous McDonald's coffee case, because that story has gotten so blown out of proportion that it's practically an urban legend now, and if I were as humorless as Ralph Nader, I'd mount a defense of tort law, but - nah. This is just a really funny song!

5. Polkarama: Ah, the old reliable. It's grown on me, and I liked it pretty well to begin with. But the Gold Digger ending just plain flat-out doesn't work.

6. Virus Alert: The lyrics don't really go anywhere, but the music carries it through - it's cheesy, but twisted.

7. Confessions Part III: One of the biggest surprises for me on the album. It takes a lot to make me laugh out loud, but I laughed several times at this.

8. Weasel Stomping Day: Not sure why this doesn't quite grab me. It's not even that I don't like it, just that it doesn't feel like it belongs on the album.

9. Close, But No Cigar: Really well done, and lots of fun. I can imagine Cake actually playing this one - wonder if they will? I love the twisted similies, and the way it starts out kind of plausible but gets goofier as it goes along. This is the video I'm most looking forward to.

10. Do I Creep You Out: It's just kind of inconsequential. The song itself is incredibly bland and forgettable, it's not even all that well-known, and as for Al's lyrics, there just isn't much to them. I'm sure it will be fun in concert, though.

11. Trapped in the Drive-Thru: This one threw me for a loop. I was expecting a zany song like Albuquerque, but instead the 'plot' stayed mundane the whole way through. I'm actually glad Al took a subtler approach; it just wasn't what I expected. Al really nailed R. Kelly - the overwrought climaxes, the poor rhyming, the repetition.
I think I would have liked it even better if it were split up into chapters and spaced out over the album.

12. Don't Download This Song: I like it. I'm tired, so that's all I'm going to say right now...

[sethmartin]

It's Brian Wilson. Man, you really don't know his stuff do you.

[TheLazenby]

Yeah, there's quite a big difference.... Carl Wilson didn't write good songs. (Wellll... ok. "Feel Flows". But that's it.)