Personnel: Clydene Jackson, Donna Davidson, Bob Joyce, Roger Freeland, Rich Logan , Darryl Phinnessee, Chelsea Di Blasi, Jerry Whitman, Ann White, Emily Charouhas, Gene Merlino, Nicholas Harper, Mark Campbell, Aaron Page, Gene Morford, Jim Gilstrap, Julia Waters, Alf Clausen, Maxine Willard Waters, Alvin Chea, Amick Byram, Oren Waters, Sally Stevens, Randy Crenshaw, Carmen Twillie (vocals); Timothy May , George Doering, John Goux (guitar); Dennis "Cannonball" Caplinger (banjo); Katie Kirkpatrick, Gayle Levant (harp); Assa Drori, Don Palmer, John Wittenberg, Songa Lee, Harris Goldman, Victoria Lanier, Dorothy Wade, Pamela Gates, Calabria McChesney, Harold Dicterow, Niki Magee, Tibor Zelig, Murray Adler, Claudia Parducci, Bernard Kundell, David Frisina, Isabelle Daskoff, Joel Derouin, Israel Baker, Peter Kent, Gordon Marron Strings, Armen Garabedian, Michael Markman, Berj Garabedian, Bobby Bruce, Charlie Bisharat, Endre Granat (violin); Carole Mukogawa, Jorge Moraga, Myra Kestenbaum, Raymond Tischer, Archie Levin, Karolina Naziemiec, Steven Gordon, Pamela Goldsmith, Marilyn Baker, Brian Dembow, Janet Lakatos, Danny Seidenberg, Harry Shirinian, Mihail Zinovyev (viola); Timothy Landauer, Raymond Kelley, Michael Mathews, Jerome Kessler, Jodi Burnett, Andrew Shulman , Larry Corbett, Ray Kramer (cello); Tom Boyd, Charles Boito, Dan Higgins , Gary Herbig, Louise di Tullio, Robert H. Carr, Susan Greenberg, John D. Mitchell, Joel Timm, Joel Peskin, John Yoakum, Lee Callet, Steve Kujala, Jon Clarke, Gary Gray , David Riddles (woodwinds); Terry Harrington (baritone saxophone); Gary Grant, Jon Lewis , Rob Summers, Jerry Hey, Larry Hall , Warren Luening, Dennis Farias, Carl Saunders (trumpet); James Atkinson , Gale Robinson, Doug Lyons , Richard Todd , Vincent DeRosa, Brad Warnaar (French horn); John VanHouten, Morris Repass, Alan Kaplan, Ira Nepus, Lew McCreary, William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); John Thomas Johnson (tuba); Michael Watts, Richard Ruttenberg, Michael Lang , Ralph Grierson, Randy Waldman, Scott Clausen (keyboards); Dale Anderson, Bob Zimmitti, Alan Vavrin, Jules "Stix" Greenberg, Ralph Humphrey (percussion); Travis Powers (sound effects).
Liner Note Author: Alf Clausen.
Recording information: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; Ground Control Studio; O'Henry Sound STudios; Sony Scoring Stage; The Fox Newman Scoring Stage; Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage, CA.
Editor: Rick Riccio.
Unknown Contributor Role: Jacquie Perryman.
Arranger: Alf Clausen.
The Simpsons: Testify is the third collection of original songs and music from the television series, covering music heard on the series' tenth through 18th seasons. It takes its title from a gospel number from the 2000 episode "Faith Off," and there are a few other church-inspired numbers, including the Christian country-rock jibe "He's the Man" with Shawn Colvin on vocals, but this is hardly a theme collection. Like any average episode of The Simpsons, Testify hops all over the place, flitting from style to style, all illustrating composer/conductor Alf Clausen's uncanny ability to simultaneously pay homage and parody. If there are no outright classics along the lines of "Monorail" here, there's a bunch to enjoy, including the Sinatra swipe "Jellyfish," the medley "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders," and "They'll Never Stop the Simpsons," a sly parody of "We Didn't Start the Fire." Also, there are several big-name cameos here -- Los Lobos doing the end credits, Weird Al singing the "Jack & Diane" parody "Homer & Marge," David Byrne sitting in on "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders," Baha Men doing their one hit as "Who Wants a Haircut," Jackson Browne on "Marjorie," the B-52's on "Glove Slap," Shawn Colvin on "He's the Man," and two Ricky Gervais numbers -- which are merely icing on the cake here, just as they are on the show. When it comes right down to it, Testify is only necessary for hardcore Simpsons fans, but they will surely find this worth the time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
