"Weird Al" Yankovic (album) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

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.