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 songs listed are considered to be in the style of real punk rock music. It was released in June 1980 (see 1980 in music). The album peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard 200. It was certified gold by the RIAA on October 14, 1980, becoming the Chipmunks' first gold record. In 2005, it was re-released on CD, although the CD was only available through the official Chipmunks website. In Canada, the album reached No. 59.[2]
History
The inspiration for the album came when KMETDJ Chuck Taylor played the 12″ version of the Blondie song "Call Me" at 45 instead of 331⁄3 RPM and announced, in jest, that it was the Chipmunks' latest single. So many requests came for this "new" Chipmunks release, that Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and his collaborator Steve Vining rushed to record this album.
Chipmunk Punk marked the rebirth of the Chipmunk franchise. It was the first new Chipmunk release since 1969's The Chipmunks Go to the Movies. Previous Chipmunk activity ceased in 1972 with the untimely death of franchise creator/producer Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (also known as David Seville) from a heart attack.
Though this release followed a long dormancy record-wise, the characters had returned to public view via Saturday morning repeats of the cartoon series The Alvin Show on NBC in 1979. The album sparked a second run of the characters and led to another Saturday morning cartoon series, Alvin and the Chipmunks, which began in 1983 and also aired on NBC.
The album met mixed critical reviews. Doug Stone of Allmusic called it "good clean fun" which "if nothing else...provides a portrait of a prime period in radio,"[3] but Rolling Stone panned it, describing the album as a symptom of corporate greed in the world of television animation.[citation needed]Peter Goddard of the Toronto Star gave the album two stars, writing, "if you want to go out and buy this ridiculous album, go ahead. But remember this: if you do, you'll just encourage Frankie Avalon to come out of retirement. And don’t say I didn’t warn you."[4] Bill Provich of the Ottawa Citizen wrote:
WARNING: This album should have been a single.
For those who don't remember The Chipmunks, beware, though the selections offered here may be appealing a cross-section of modern hits ranging from the Knack's My Sharona to Billy Joel's You May Be Right you may find the vocals strange.
Back in the early '60s, the Chipmunks surfaced as the brainchild of David Seville who recorded novelty records featuring, doctored vocals' (mostly speeded up) to simulate the voices of three cute chipmunks, Simon, Theodore and the ever delinquent Alvin. It was cute at the time.
Now, perhaps any of these cuts including Linda Ronstadt's hit How Do I Make You, Tom Petty's Refugee, The Cars' Let's Go, Blondie's Call Me and Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love would have been a chuckle as a novelty single but as a collection they wear pretty thin pretty quickly.
A marketing executive's stroke of genius, reviving the imprint of Simon, Theodore and Alvin, who sang hits such aa "The Chipmunk Song" and "Alvin's Harmonica" in the late 1950s. This time, the Chipmunks do their own versions of corporate new wave, with helium-toned voices chirping the words to hits by the Cars, the Knack, Billy Joel, Tom Petty and others. Heard for the first time on the car radio, the joke is funny. At home on the turntable, and listened to more than once, the joke gets thin. But kids will love this, even though they may think it's "The Bee Gees Sing the Top 10."[7]
Most reviews of Chipmunk Punk, even those that were positive, criticized the track listing as featuring comparatively little punk rock in favor of more commercial pop rock and new wave music of the era.[8] In 1994, comedy punk band The Radioactive Chicken Heads recorded a cover of Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized" in the style of Alvin and the Chipmunks specifically due to lead singer Carrot Topp's dissatisfaction with the song choices on Chipmunk Punk.
The album received mixed-to-negative reviews in the United Kingdom. Smash Hits wrote, "we feel a duty to warn you of an album that has recently wormed its way into the racks of your local discerie, a phonographic item entitled 'Chipmunk Punk' by (you guessed it) The Chipmunks. Since their original emergence in The Fifties, this trio of furry dopey looking crltters—Alvin, Simon end Theodore—have squeaked their high-pitched way into the hearts of ell right thinking four-year-olds vie children's radio programmes on both sides of the Atlantic. Their return from retirement is, however, ill-advised es "Chipmunk Punk" shows. For starters, it doesn't have an awful lot to do with punk, consisting as it does of various screeching cover versions of tunes made famous by The Knack, Tom Petty, Blondie and Queen(?). The general consensus of opinion around here Is that the band have never quite recaptured the bite and edge that they had before making their first million. Alvin still sings well but somehow you can tell that his heart isn't in it anymore."[9] While a critic for the Somerset Standard called it "a fun record",[10] James Belsey of the Bristol Post called it "humourless" and "silly".[11]
