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COMEDY/SPOKEN WORDDan CastetlanetaI Am Not Homer( O G L I O )Perhaps anticipating that The Simpsonscan't run forever, Dan Castellaneta triesto establish himself as more than just thevoice of Homer.A former Second City per-former, Castellaneta's joined by wife DebLacusta (thecouple wrotethe 2000Simpsonsepisodewhere BarneyGumble successfullyswears off booze)in a series of original two-character sketches. The liner notes prom-ise that Castellaneta and Lacusta are thenext Nicholsand May, but they don't offermuch sophisticat-

edrelationship com-edyhere.Most of thebits are just tepidmedia parodies making fun of radiopsychiatrists ("AMTherapy") is hard-ly breaking new

ground,and was anybody prayingfor anoth-er spoof of dumb-as-rocks Elvisfans ("Elvus"Y?But thereare compensations;the"Horoscope"skit ishilariously paranoid,and Castellanetaand Lacusta do an amusing r iff oncon-flicting responses to Citizen Kane.(She:"Arichguydies unhappy causehe misses hissled. Boo-hoo, boo-hoo.... He could affordanother one!"He: "He didn't need anoth-er sled."She: 'Then why did he burn it?")The album's best cut is the last, with Homerand Castellaneta's other characters (Barney,Krusty, Grandpa, Groundskeeper Willie)in the studio harmonizing on a first-ratesong,"SoDumb(Homer's Lament)":"Thenuclear plant is the reason I can't make ababywith Marge anymore/The reason I'mfat so they tell me is that I eat eightmealsinstead of just four..." 7Am Not Homer isa reminder that the brilliance of TheSimpsons comes from the combination ofthe acting, writing and animating.Castellaneta alone is amusing here, but

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The SimpsonsTestify! A Whole Lot MoreOriginal Music from theTelevisionSeries( S H O U T ! F A C T O R Y )It tellsyou all youneed toknow about therelative decline o f T he Simpsons thatwherethe sitcom's first nine seasonsyielded twoCDs' worthof musical highlights, the mostrecent nineyearshaveresulted inonlythisone. (The anthem "They'll Never Stop theSimpsons" from Season 13 is beginning to

reprisingSideshowBob) attests tothe show'swidespread appeal. Everything's spoofedfrom Hollywood has-beens in aBransonrevue (aYakov Smirnoff soundalikecroons,"InSoviet Union, revue watches you!") tocommercials ("Baby Stink Breath," the ribsandwich ad"Tastes Like Liberty"), plusfull-fledged parodies of M y Fair Lady, Evitaand last season'sSound of Music satire("Ihave eight teeth, goin' onseven teeth ...")Wisely, Shout! Factory incorporates

SONGS

sound like a threat).And at times whilelistening to Testify, it's obvious that moreattention wasspent onsomeof theproduc-tion numbers than on such things as plotand consistent characterizations duringthe corresponding episode itself.End of rant.Even second-tierSimpsons musicismorenourishing than virtually anything elseonthe small screen, and the variety of celebson thiscollection (ShawnColvin, the B-52's,David Byrne,LosLobos, Kelsey Grammer

lengthyportions of dialoguefrom the showitself,which is great tohear again andmorethan holds up on its own: "I am a patient,reasonable, handsome man," Homer tellsFlanders, "but even I have my limits."

Andrew MilnerHarry ShearerSongs Pointed and Pointless(COURGETTE)Speakingof Th,e Simpsons: Harry Shearerhas released yet another CD of material

from his long-running public-radio showLeShow (heard Sundays onWHYY). Wherelast year's Dropping Anchors spoofed TomBrokaw and Dan Rather, the focus hereis life inBush'sAmerica. "Waterboardin",USA" presents Gitmo as reconceived by TheBeach Boys ("It's not torture if I say it ain't/Those conventionsare so old and quaint").New York Is My Lady" offers a Sinatra-esque tribute to the BigApple, appropri-ately ambivalent given Shearer's long-standing animosity towardN YC ("Her tunnels ofloveare calling ... Her Bronx

shows such pleasing cleav-age"). Welsh singer JudithOwen (aka Mrs. Shearer)contributes strong vocalsonthe Shirley Bassey pastiche"Connect the Dots," whichdeconstructs Dick Cheney'sbusiness deals, and fellowFolksmen ChristopherGuest and Michael McKeanjoin Shearer on the savvyfolk spoof "Corn Wine." The weaker cutsonthe album, "All Backed Up" and "NeverSayin NeverlandAgain," suspiciously feellike fillers; implying that Elvis Presleywas constipated or that Michael Jacksonmolests young boys seems, in 2007,

well, pointless. But overall, the albumreveals Shearer at his comic and musicalbest whatever the persona, hecontin-ues to wield one ofthe sharpest satiricalminds around. Andrew Milner

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ComedyVarious ArtistsGoSimpsonic With The Simpsons: MoreOriginal Music FYom the T elevision Series( R H I N O )The follow-up to 1997's Songs in the Key ofSpringfield offers further proof) likeit's need-ed,that T he Simpsonsis asingularachieve-ment inAmericanpopculture.The 53 cutshere demonstrate the sitcom's satirical range:from sports to politics" f a rapping RonaldReagan),James Bond to Mary Poppins, pietyto prostitution (the Emmy-winning pro-duction number "We Put the Spring inSpringfield"). Kudos toseries composer AlfClausen, responsible for most of the originalsongs' music.Heproves a true heir to theStan Freberg/Tom Lehrer/AllanShermanlegacyof witty musical satire. Guest artistsinclude The Ramones, LindaRonstadt andHankWilliamsJr.,but theregularcast mem-bers acquit themselves superbly. Kelsey"Sideshow Bob" Crammer'sone-man H. M . 8.Pinafore would make Gilbert and Sullivansmile, and Harry Shearer's Mr. Bums singinga sultry "Happy Birthday,Mr. Smithers"isworth thepurchase price alone. The entirecasfslam poon of cheesy 1970s TVvariety shows(The Simpson Family Smile-Time VarietyHour") isall tooaccurate,as anyone who's seenrerunsof T he Brady BunchHour willattest.Earlier thisyear, T h e . 3 rH f o u > A /& u m wasalousyattempt to write original songs for The Simpsons.Accept no substitutesGoSimpsonic is anindispensable addition to thecoDection of anySimpsons fan. "Scuse m e while I replay the"Mr.Sparkle"commercial...

Andrew Milner