Simpsons croon out compilation of tunes

The past few years have seen a slew of television soundtracks. From "Friends" to "Melrose Place," many of these albums have been disappointing collections of bland pseudo-alternative rock songs or recycled oldies. Subsequently, most have wound up among the dusty confines of the used-CD racks.

Hopefully, The Simpsons: Songs in the Key of Springfield will avoid the same fate.

With almost 40 tracks, many of which contain two or three songs, Songs serves as a showcase for versatile composer Alf Clausen, who is responsible for penning almost all of the original music used during the show's seven-season run.

As the album demonstrates, Clausen has employed several different musical styles including jazz, country, blues and show tunes.

That's not to say that Songs will be appreciated solely by music aficionados and intellectuals. After all, this is the record which features Robert Goulet crooning the school ground version of "Jingle Bells," as well as Homer Simpson's pining for the days when one could easily purchase beer with a fake ID.

Many of the album's best tracks, including "The Amendment Song" and "Dr. Zaius," work because they cleverly satirize American pop culture institutions, specifically "Schoolhouse Rock" and Planet of the Apes.

It's this combination of Clausen's musical skill and "The Simpsons" trademark satirical edge that allows Songs to hold up to repeated listenings.

There are smaller pleasures to be found, however. A collection of the show's different closing-credits themes illustrates how one piece of music can be continually re-arranged and still sound new and original. And the album also features several sound bites which make the songs all the more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, since the spotlight is on Clausen's work, Songs passes over some of the memorable contributions by the show's guest stars. The Ramones' rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" and Sonic Youth's distortion-laden version of the main theme are especially missed.

Hopefully, they'll wind up on Volume II.