Urban Chipmunk
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''Urban Chipmunk'' was the first
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
album by
Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for Novelty records in ...
, released on February 4,
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
. The title parodies the 1980 movie ''
Urban Cowboy ''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy ( Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spurri ...
''.


Track listing


Original 1981 release

''Urban Chipmunk'' was released on CD in 1993. For this release, the songs "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" and "Made For Each Other" were deleted and replaced with new songs "
The Devil Went Down to Georgia "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and recorded by American music group Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album '' Million Mile Reflections''. The song is written in the key of D minor. Although uncredited, Vassar ...
" and "
Boot Scootin' Boogie "Boot Scootin' Boogie" is a song first recorded by the band Asleep at the Wheel for their 1990 album, ''Keepin' Me Up Nights''. American country music duo Brooks & Dunn recorded a cover version, which was included as the eighth track on their 1991 ...
". In addition, "I Love a Rainy Night" was retitled "I Love a Rainy Night (Saturday Morning Remix)" with new dialogue added. The cover art was also modified to feature the current character redesign.


1993 CD remaster


Reception

Steve Simels of ''
Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...
'' wrote, on its initial release, that "there's something oddly soothing about the furry trio's harmonies; they sound so organic, so natural, to ears lately abused by their spiritual heirs, the
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
. Moreover, most of the country hits that the tiny rodents essay here are of the ultra-commercial, protest-the-smell-of-cow-manure variety, so the Platinum Vermins' vocal approach seems eminently appropriate, far more idiomatically authentic than they were on the otherwise admirable '
Chipmunk Punk ''Chipmunk Punk'' is an album by the Chipmunks, as well as being the first album released by Ross Bagdasarian Jr., after he took over the voices of the Chipmunks after the death of his father in 1972. Despite the title of the album, none of the ...
'". He added" Rich Aregood of the ''
Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia. The ''Dail ...
'' wrote that "Alvin, Simon and Theodore have never been in better form than they are on 'Urban Chipmunk', an overdue sendup of the phenomenon that turned outlaws into drugstore cowboys." A critic for ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' had a different reaction to the record, though, saying, "perhaps it's all very cute and fine for the Kiddy set, but why an adult would want to sit around listening to the Chipmunks doing 'Luckenbach, Texas' when they could hear Waylon Jennings' version is a puzzle." Martha Hume of the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' wrote that "Alvin and the boys took very few chances with material, since every single song on the "Urban Chipmunk" has already been a national hit. Nonetheless, the Chipmunks bring new life to such classics as 'Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be (Cowboys) Chipmunks' and Willie Nelson's 'On The Road Again', which Alvin persists in singing as 'Off The Road Again.' Actually, the Chipmunks have only one bad cut on the record, a cleaned up rendition of 'Coward of the County,' which, even sanitized, is not suitable material for the Chipmunks. That's just a minor quibble, however, and those people who can bear listening to 10 songs worth of falsetto trios that would shame even the Bee Gers will probably like this record." Al Freeders of the ''
Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employee ...
'' wrote that "all good songs are here, done in high fashion with nothing missing. Production from the hand of Larry Butler, Janice Karman and Ross Bagdasarian is great ..just listen to 'The Gambler,' 'I Love a Rainy Night,' 'Thank God Tm a Country Boy,' and 'Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Chipmunks' for fine entertainment." Hardy Price of ''
The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
'' called it "a wonderful spoof of the current trend in country music
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
couldn't have come at a better time." Wrote Robert Hilburn of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', however:


Charts and certifications

The album ended up earning a
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
certification from the RIAA, the Chipmunks' second Gold album following 1980's ''
Chipmunk Punk ''Chipmunk Punk'' is an album by the Chipmunks, as well as being the first album released by Ross Bagdasarian Jr., after he took over the voices of the Chipmunks after the death of his father in 1972. Despite the title of the album, none of the ...
''. On the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top LPs The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recordi ...
chart, the record peaked at No. 56, while on the country chart, it reached No. 23.


Personnel

*
Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Ross Dickran Bagdasarian (born 1949) is an American voice actor, singer, animator, and record producer, known for his work on the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' franchise. He is the son of the franchise's creator, Ross Bagdasarian. Early life Bagd ...
— lead vocals (Alvin, Simon, David Seville) *
Janice Karman Janice Karman Bagdasarian is an American filmmaker, designer, actress, and singer. She is the co-owner of Bagdasarian Productions with her husband Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Early life Karman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father was ps ...
— lead vocals (Theodore) *
Buzz Cason James Elmore "Buzz" Cason (November 27, 1939 – June 16, 2024) was an American rock singer, songwriter, record producer and author. Life and career James Elmore Cason was born in Nashville, Tennessee on November 27, 1939. He was a founding mem ...
— background vocals * Bergen White — background vocals * Dennis Wilson — background vocals * Bob ”King” Moore — bass *
Jerry Carrigan Jerry Kirby Carrigan (September 13, 1943 – June 22, 2019) was an American drummer and record producer. Early in his career he was a member of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later worked as a session musician in Nashville for over ...
— drums *
Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig", was an American session keyboard player. He played on records for many artists, including Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Loretta Ly ...
— pedal steel guitars * Rick Carlson – keyboards and piano * Ray Edenton — rhythm guitars * Billy Sanford — auxiliary percussion * Jimmy Capps — rhythm guitars *
Leon Rhodes Leon Rhodes (March 10, 1932 – December 9, 2017) was an American country music musician. A guitarist, he primarily played behind Ernest Tubb as part of the Texas Troubadours and later was a house band member for the television programs ''Grand O ...
— lead guitar *
Buddy Spicher Buddy Spicher (born Norman Keith Spicher; July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was ...
— fiddle


Production crew

* Ross Bagdasarian Jr — producer * Janice Karman — producer * Larry Butler — producer * Billy Sherill — engineer * Dain & DeJoy — album coordination *
Rick Detorie ''One Big Happy'' is an American daily comic strip written and illustrated by Rick Detorie, detailing the daily adventures of a six-year-old girl named Ruthie. The strip also features her eight-year-old brother Joe, their parents Frank and Ellen, ...
— art direction and illustrations *
David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...
— project consultant * John Boylan — project consultant


References

{{Authority control Alvin and the Chipmunks albums 1981 albums Albums produced by Larry Butler (producer)