West Australian musician (and, full disclosure, Perth-based The Music editor) Dan Cribb has borrowed the talents of Luca Brasi vocalist/bassist Tyler Richardson for his cover of Scorpio, the latest effort in his yearlong project of releasing punk-rock do-overs of beloved songs from The Simpsons.
The whirlwind track originally appeared as a theme song worthy of James Bont himself, played over the closing credits of cult-favourite season-eight episode You Only Move Twice, in which the Simpson family relocate to the seemingly idyllic town of Cypress Creek for Homer to take a job working for the Globex Corporation, run by the charitable billionaire/villainous megalomaniac Hank Scorpio.
Despite being a one-off character, Scorpio — like Sideshow Raheem, Handsome Pete, and that mutant creature that begs for death in Treehouse Of Horror XII — has built and maintained a dedicated fan base in the years since his appearance. Voiced by the legendary Albert Brooks (who has also appeared on the show as characters such as Brad Goodman and Cowboy Bob, among others), Scorpio's chipper attitude and evil-genius overtones — sprinkled with frequent bouts of absurd behaviour, such as carrying loose sugar in his pockets and building a hammock district in his bespoke town — has ensured that he has remained one of the most memorable, and well-loved, guest characters in the history of the show.
So, it's only fitting that the man gets his own look-in during Cribb's consistently impressive batch of covers, due to be released at the end of the 12-month lead time as a single LP titled Worst. Tribute. Ever.
Richardson lent his vocals to the song, with Cribb providing back-ups and harmonies, ahead of his impending sojourn around the country with Luca Brasi as part of the upcoming Laneway Festival, which gets under way in Brisbane on 26 January. See theGuide for more information.
With previous collaborators including the likes of Alex Lahey as well as members of Ebolagoldfish, Grenadiers and others, Richardson's presence on the track continues Cribb's tradition of sourcing top talent to buoy his tunes, and we have to say, this project — which continues apace at a new tune each month for a year — is humming along very nicely indeed.
Comments