Various Artists - Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection (CD)

All Music Guide

If you have been listening to Dr. Demento for 25 years, you've no doubt tired of many of the items on this 36-song collection, many of which made his Top Ten or Funny Five for weeks (or years) running. But if you want a bunch of his top novelty tunes all in one place, here 'tis, going from pre-W.W. II sillies like Benny Bell's "Shaving Cream" to Spike Jones to Leonard Nimoy to Tiny Tim to They Might Be Giants. Some of the cuts of more recent vintage, like those by "Weird Al" Yankovic and Barnes Barnes, come off as too deliberately weird/stupid in the company of Tom Lehrer and Stan Freberg, but the Doctor has proven over the years that there's an audience for them. Highlight: the Detergents' mid-'60s "Leader of the Pack" satire, "Leader of the Laundromat," a Top 20 hit which may have been an overlooked influence on early Frank Zappa.

- Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide