''The Yellow Album'' is ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

of originally recorded songs, released as a follow-up to the 1990 album ''

The Simpsons Sing the Blues ''The Simpsons Sing the Blues'' is the first album released as an offshoot of ''The Simpsons''. The album contains originally recorded music not featured in the series save for the first verse of the track "Moaning Lisa Blues" which was first f ...

''. Though it was released in 1998, it had been recorded years earlier, after the success of the first album. The title is a play on the name of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' self-titled 1968 album, commonly known as "The White Album", with the skin color of the characters of ''The Simpsons''. In addition, the cover is a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of the Beatles' 1967 album ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

''. The parody was also used for a couch gag in

Season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

''Simpsons'' episodes " Bart After Dark" and "

The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 9, 1997. In the episode, ...

" (until it was replaced in reruns of the latter episode with the couch gag from "

Kamp Krusty "Kamp Krusty" is the fourth season premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 60th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 24, 1992. In the episode, the children of Sprin ...

", where the Simpsons find the Flintstones on their couch and Fred invites Homer to sit with him). A similar version of it is on the inside of the United Kingdom version of ''

'' Season 9 DVD. An outtake named "My Name Is Bart" is a parody of musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's 1992 single "

My Name Is Prince "My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in September 1992 by Paisley Park and Warner Bros. as the second single from their 1992 ''Love Symbol'' album. The song is about Pri ...

". In 1993, it was also reported that

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

had penned a rap song to be performed by Bart.

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. He co-created the sitcoms ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', and ''The Simpsons'' and directed the films '' Terms of ...

, producer of the show, wanted to produce a follow-up album based on the popular reception of the debut, but creator Matt Groening was against it. The cast then recorded ''The Yellow Album'', but it was not released until 1998, at which time it suffered poor reception. The album was to be released in February 1993 and feature Prince,

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

, and

C+C Music Factory C+C Music Factory was an American musical group formed in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés. The group is best known for their five hit singles: " Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)", " Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)", " Things ...

. Plans were in the works for music videos to accompany ''The Yellow Album''.

Production

Greg Haver Greg Haver is a Welsh music producer, based in New Zealand. He is best known for his work with the Manic Street Preachers and Melanie C. He has worked on a number of award-winning singles and albums. With Manic Street Preachers, he was involved i ...

cowrote and produced "Ten Commandments of Bart".

Album artwork

The ''Yellow Album'' cover artwork, illustrated by Bill Morrison (although signed by

as with all ''Simpsons'' promotional art), is a parody of the cover art for the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

album ''

'', replaced with characters from ''The Simpsons''. In 2005, the artist and designer

Kaws Brian Donnelly (born November 4, 1974), known professionally as Kaws (stylized as KAWS), is an American artist and designer. His work includes repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs, some dating back to the beginning of his ...

(commissioned by

Nigo is a Japanese fashion designer, disc jockey (DJ), record producer and entrepreneur. He is best known as the creator of the streetwear brand, A Bathing Ape (Bape), and currently serves as artistic director for Kenzo. Additionally he is a member ...

) created ''The Kaws Album'', a "traced interpretation" of ''The Yellow Album''. In 2019,

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction house in Hong Kong sold ''The Kaws Album'' for 115.9 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $14.7 million U.S. dollars, a new auction record for the artist at the time. ''Yellow Album'' artist Bill Morrison felt "ripped off" by this, re-igniting a conversation about the appropriation of commercial illustrations for fine art (see

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

Critical reception

There was some hype leading up to the release of the album. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' writer David Browne said he "eagerly await d it in March 1993, a month before it was set to be released. Nevertheless, the album received mixed to negative reviews. '' The Star-Telegram'' compared the album to the ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' album '' Chef Aid'', arguing that "the subversion ncluded in ''The Simpsons'' and ''South Park''is only skin-deep, especially when both shows thrive on the type of money-grubbing merchandising that results in junk like ''Chef Aid: The South Park Album'' and ''The Simpsons The Yellow Album'', both released just in time for Christmas." The ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

'' said the album "is an uninspired collection whose best feature is a too-tiny takeoff on the cover of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''," noting that songs such as "Ten Commandments of Bart" sounded dated, though others like "

Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics and American singer Aretha Franklin. A modern feminist anthem, it was written by Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and featured on both Eurythmics' ...

" are praiseworthy.

Track listing

"My Name Is Bart" is a bonus track only found on promotional copies of the album.

Cast

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta ( ; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, ...

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...

Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ), better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the List of animated television series, animated television series ''The S ...

Julie Kavner Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Before becoming well known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, ...

Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family (The Simpsons). Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' s ...

Patty and Selma Bouvier Patricia Maleficent "Patty" Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Discotheque-Simpson ( ) are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. They are twin sisters and are voiced by Julie Kavner, who also vo ...

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Jean Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress, best known as the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on ''The Simpsons'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award f ...

Bart Simpson Bartholomew Jo-Jo "Bart" Simpson is a character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Bart made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on Apri ...

Yeardley Smith Martha Maria Yeardley Smith ( ; born July 3, 1964) is an American actress. She stars as the voice of Lisa Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Smith began acting in 1982 after graduating from drama school. She moved to ...

Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television sitcom series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short ...

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor and producer. He is known for voicing many characters in the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' since 1989, including Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmer ...

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a recurring character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is an Indian immigrant proprietor who runs the Kwik-E-Mart, a popular convenience store in Springfield, and is known for his catch ...

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, musician, radio host, writer, and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member of The ...

Otto Mann The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She was best remembered for voicing the character of Minnie Mouse in English from 1986 to 2019, and was married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, ...

Martin Prince The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Album, The The Simpsons albums 1998 soundtrack albums Geffen Records albums Television animation soundtracks Albums with cover art by Matt Groening