The Simpsons Sing the Blues

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"I thought this phenomenon had reached its zenith when the Simpsons' Sing the Blues disc became the fastest selling recording in this country for awhile last year. Forget about that, I was wrong. Dead wrong."

Thrust Magazine [18]

The New York Times placed the album on their list of worst albums of the year in 1990, stating that "The television series was at least mildly subversive, not to mention funny; the album mangles old songs and takes no chances with bland new ones" [19] People described it as a "slick, supercommercial novelty act", and that it seemed the producer's main goal was money rather than comedy or drama. [20] Florida Flambeau expressed relief that the album wasn't a Christmas record, although felt that it was "mostly pointless" without being paired with the funny visuals of the show, and wished more songs had been written specifically for the characters. [21] Thrust magazine expressed disdain that such a popular album was created by fictional recording artists, noting "Most people have to die before they sell so many records, but The Simpsons will never die. They don't exist". [22] Commoner found it as an example of the rampant commercialization of The Simpsons in the early 1990s. [23]

Hatchet negatively compared it to the 1997 television series soundtrack album Songs in the Key of Springfield , noting that the latter is "actually funny". [24] Lambda felt the new album would be a "nice change" from the former, whose single “Do the Bartman” had become tiring. [25]

Legacy

The Simpsons Sing the Blues is today regarded as a novelty from The Simpsons' early popularity. [2] Shortly after the record's release and success, record companies rushed to fashion music stars out of animated characters. In January 1991, Mattel announced plans to record a Barbie rock album titled The Look. At the same time, MCA Records was finishing work on an album based on the Mario Bros. characters. SBK and Geffen also enjoyed huge success with albums based on the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons Sing the Blues. The record soon became the fastest-selling album to emerge from a television show since the Miami Vice soundtrack in 1985. [26] Disney also issued an album of Caribbean songs sung by The Little Mermaid's Sebastian as well as an album of songs sung by the cast of Dinosaurs , a series often compared to The Simpsons during its run. [27] "Do the Bartman" inspired a dance, "The Bartman", that was popular in early 1991. [10]

Track listing

The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues.gif
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 4, 1990
RecordedSeptember 1990
Studio
  • Record One (Los Angeles)
  • Lion Share (Hollywood)
  • The Warehouse (Philadelphia)
Genre
Length40:13
Label Geffen
Producer
Matt Groening chronology
Crazy Backwards Alphabet
(1987)
The Simpsons Sing the Blues
(1990)
Stranger than Fiction
(1992)
The Simpsons chronology
The Simpsons Sing the Blues
(1990)
Songs in the Key of Springfield
(1997)
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Do the Bartman"5:10
2."School Day" (with Buster Poindexter and Joe Walsh on guitar) Charles Berry John Boylan 3:56
3."Born Under a Bad Sign" (with B.B. King on guitar)Boylan3:08
4."Moanin' Lisa Blues" (with John Sebastian on harmonica)
Boylan4:48
5."Deep, Deep Trouble"
  • Boylan
  • DJ Jazzy Jeff
4:27
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
6."God Bless the Child"Boylan4:29
7."I Love to See You Smile" (with Dr. John on piano) Randy Newman Boylan3:07
8."Springfield Soul Stew" Curtis Ousley Boylan2:37
9."Look At All Those Idiots"Boylan3:51
10."Sibling Rivalry"
Boylan4:40
Total length:40:13

Cast

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Argentina151,771 [39]
Canada (Music Canada) [40] 2× Platinum200,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway) [41] Silver 
Sweden (GLF) [42] Gold50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [43] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [44] 2× Platinum2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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