"Weird Al" Yankovic is a true artistic genius in the classic sense of the word. No other artist can parody a song or a music video without being directly compared to the maestro. Throughout his career, Al has offered up an alternate reality of sorts to the history of pop music, lovingly re-casting hits of all genres into bizarre and hilarious songs and videos that themselves have become hits. In fact, Al's work became so synonymous with the hits they parodied that Michael Jackson gave Al access to the "Bad" video set to make his classic "Fat" video! This is to say nothing of Al's original songs which are as witty and endearing as his parody work.<P><P> Starting with his debut album in 1983 and navigating a quarter century of popular song, The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic is the definitive collection (assembled by Al himself!) of his masterful and enduring work. With songs from all of Al's studio albums, this double CD set features 38 tracks comprising over 2 ½ hours of music including "White & Nerdy," "The Saga Begins," "Eat It," "Like A Surgeon," "Amish Paradise" and many more!