The Simpsons sing!
THE SIMPSONS
The Simpsons: Testify A Whole Lot More Original Music From The Television Series
(Shout Factory)
Here’s the thing about “The Simpsons”: It’s pretty hilarious. So yeah, Testify is pretty good, too.
A lot of things have made it possible for “The Simpsons” to make it 19 years: great writing, great acting, shitty animation, and big ol’ balls, to name a few. And of course, the music. *Testify* culls the best tunes from seasons 10 through 18 (one through nine were on last year’s Songs In The Key Of Springfield) compiled by “Simpsons” composer Alf Clausen. From the pretty good (“Ode To Branson,” which ridicules the land of B-listers and has beens), to the funny (discussions of future story ideas – “maybe Moe gets a cell phone” – on “They’ll Never Stop The Simpsons”) to the hilarious (“America Rules” – the family’s response to the anti-American criticism they’ve received) to the *really* hilarious (“Island Of Sirens” where naughty seductresses lure Lenny, Carl, Homer, Apu, and Professor Frink with a “Copacabana”-based tune with the come-on “on the island/we’ll sex you up”). And what would “The Simpsons” be without celebrities? Kelsey Grammer reprises his Sideshow Bob character for “The Very Reason That I Live”; Los Lobos perform the end credits theme; Weird Al parodies The Coug on “Homer And Marge”; and David Byrne helps Homer create magic on “Everybody Hates Ned Flanders.” Listen for Shawn Colvin, The B-52’s, Jackson Browne, Baha Men, and comedian Ricky Gervais as well.
– Trevor Fisher
