The Authorized Al By Tino Insana

Tino Insana ↠ 3 read

YA Yankovic, the clown prince of rock-and-roll, pokes fun at the whole genre of rock biographies and at himself. This tongue-in-cheek examination of the life and music of this superstar covers from his birth to his rise to stardom. The Authorized Al is actually based on the mock rocumentary HBO special and video The Complete Al (CBS/Fox, 1984), and the two items work well as a complementary package. The video includes such items as his rock videos, concocted interviews with family and friends and concert footage. The book provides such gems as Weird Al's Six-Minute Work Out, bogus newspaper and magazine clippings and The Complete Al Songbook, with all of his song lyrics to date. The book's major shortcoming is the inability to translate some of the atmosphere and humor of Al's work to the printed page. However the popularity of the entertainer plus the rock-and-roll subject matter should attract a large YA audience. John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. The Authorized Al

When I first discovered Ebay in the mid-90’s, I discovered to my amazement that The Authorized Al was rare and in high demand. I had spent my youth pouring over the pages in this book, reading lyrics and laughing at the pictures and commentary. I decided to put the book up for sale, even though the pages were dog-eared and I once killed a silverfish by rolling up the book and swatting it. Despite the accurate description of the book, down to a photo of the silverfish corpse remnants, somebody out there decided it was worth $75. I don’t remember what I did with the money, but a part of me wishes I had never sold this piece of childhood nostalgia. Thankfully Al released a new book this year to fill the void. The Authorized Al I wish I knew this was out in the '80s; I am sure I'd have appreciated and laughed aloud louder more in my younger and more whatever years...

But it's still a hoot. The Authorized Al I really enjoyed this book - if you appreciate Weird Al, you'll like this book. The Authorized Al