 = The Food Album = 
 
 The Food Album is a compilation album by American singer @-@ songwriter " Weird Al " Yankovic , released on June 22 , 1993 by Scotti Brothers Records . The release features ten of Yankovic 's song parodies , all of which pertain to food . A similar album , The TV Album , which features songs entirely about television , would be released two years later . 
 The album was begrudgingly released by Yankovic , who felt that the compilation was unnecessary and merely a way for his record label to make money . Several food @-@ related songs that Yankovic had recorded , such as " Girls Just Want to Have Lunch " and " Waffle King " were left off the record , although the former was due to personal preference , while the latter was due to scheduling issues . 
 The Food Album received mixed reviews from music critics , many of whom felt that the record was an enjoyable collection of songs , but that it was not an essential record to purchase . Despite the lukewarm reception , the record was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) , making it Yankovic 's first and only compilation record to reach this certification . 
 
 = = Production = = 
 
 
 = = = Music = = = 
 
 The music featured on The Food Album spans a decade , with the earliest songs being recorded in 1982 , and the most recent song being recorded in 1992 . Yankovic 's first eponymous album has two songs featured : " I Love Rocky Road " and " My Bologna " . Both " Eat It " and " Theme from Rocky XIII ( The Rye or the Kaiser ) " were culled from the 1984 release , " Weird Al " Yankovic in 3 @-@ D. " Addicted to Spuds " originally appeared on the 1986 release Polka Party ! , and " Fat " and " Lasagna " were first featured on Yankovic 's 1988 release Even Worse . " Spam " first was released on the soundtrack to the 1989 film UHF . The final two songs — " The White Stuff " and " Taco Grande " — were taken from the 1992 album Off the Deep End . 
 Notable for its absence is " Girls Just Want to Have Lunch " , from Dare to Be Stupid ( 1985 ) , Yankovic 's only previously released food @-@ related song not to make the album . According to Yankovic , this is due to the fact there is a " royalty ceiling " on the albums and he needed to pick one song to cut from the list in order to turn a profit on the album . " Girls Just Want to Have Lunch " was chosen due to Yankovic 's personal dislike of the song , as his record label had forced him to record it in order to release Dare to Be Stupid back in 1985 . Also absent from the release is " Waffle King . " The song had originally been recorded for Off the Deep End . However , Yankovic decided to swap " Waffle King " with " I Was Only Kidding " — a song he had actually recorded for his next album — at the last minute ; this forced Yankovic to shelve " Waffle King " for the time being . The song was later released on " Smells Like Nirvana " single , as well as Yankovic 's eighth studio album , Alapalooza , which was released four months after The Food Album . 
 
 = = = Release = = = 
 
 The album was released by Scotti Brothers Records and was only begrudgingly approved by Yankovic . At the time , Scotti Brothers had insisted on putting out a new album by Yankovic in order to meet monetary projections for the fiscal quarter , despite the fact that no new album was ready ; Alapalooza would not be released until later in the year . The original concept was to release a record entitled Al Unplugged , which would have featured a cover depicting Yankovic holding the cords for unplugged kitchen appliances , but instead of being a live album featuring live performances , it would have featured studio remixes of previously released material , with the electronic instruments missing . Yankovic convinced them to release The Food Album instead — " a concept [ he ] hated only slightly less " — but would later describe it as a " cheesy compilation " put out " against [ his ] better wishes and judgement . " 
 The TV Album was released under similar circumstances in 1995 ; however , when it came time to release the latter album , Yankovic reported that " the record company was a whole lot nicer when they asked the second time " , and that there was " more groveling [ and ] less demanding " . Following the release of The Food Album and The TV Album — in addition to the various greatest hits records that had been released — Scotti Brothers used @-@ up all of their compilation options in Yankovic 's contract , which prevented the release of further compilations when Volcano Records acquired his contract in the late 1990s . 
 
 = = = Artwork = = = 
 
 The album artwork — which features a cartoon alien after it has eaten Yankovic — was created by Doug Lawrence , who is better known as " Mr. Lawrence " , an American voice actor , comedian , writer , storyboard artist , animator and director . The " grotesque " cover was Yankovic 's " passive @-@ aggressive protest " against his label for forcing out the album ; Yankovic intended the alien having " picked the desiccated corpse of Weird Al clean " to be a reference to his record label " bleed [ ing ] his catalogue dry " by releasing the album . The Japanese release of the album , however , featured much different artwork , as well as a name change ; because there is no " F " in the Japanese language , the album was retitled The Hood . 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 
 = = = Critical response = = = 
 
 The Food Album has received mixed reviews from most critics ; many felt that while the album was amusing it was not an essential release . Allmusic reviewer Johnny Loftus awarded the album three out of five stars and wrote that , " The Food Album is an enjoyable bag of treats . Just don 't eat too much , or you 'll probably get sick . " Likewise , The Rolling Stone Album Guide awarded the album three out of five stars . Anthony Violanti of The Buffalo News gave the album a moderately positive review and wrote that , " [ t ] here are two kinds of people in the world : those who love Weird Al Yankovic and those who can 't stand him . Count me among the Weird One 's biggest fans , and that 's why I flipped out when listening to The Food Album . " He concluded that the album was " like reading Mad magazine " ; he gave the record three stars out of five . Tim Grobaty of the Press @-@ Telegram , on the other hand , wrote negatively of the album , stating " Yankovic 's songs are the kinds of things that are sort of funny in concept , less funny when you actually hear them once , and increasingly irritating with each subsequent listen [ and ] his food songs are among his worst . " 
 
 = = = Commercial performance = = = 
 
 Upon release , The Food Album failed to chart ; however , it sold steadily . On January 25 , 2006 — more than ten years after its release — the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) . This makes it Yankovic 's first and only compilation album to sell over 500 @,@ 000 copies and be certified Gold . 
 
 = = Track listing = = 
 
 
 = = Certifications = = 
 
 
 