Urban Chipmunk

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Urban Chipmunk
Urban Chipmunk cover
Studio album by The Chipmunks
Released February 4, 1981 (US)
Recorded December 1980-January 1981
Genre country, musique concrete
Children's music
Length 45:23
Label RCA Records
Epic Records
Producer Larry Butler,
Janice Karman,
Ross Bagdasarian
Professional reviews
The Chipmunks chronology
Chipmunk Punk
(1980)
Urban Chipmunk
(1981)
A Chipmunk Christmas
(1981)

Urban Chipmunk was the first country album by Alvin and the Chipmunks. It parodies the 1980 motion picture Urban Cowboy. It was released on February 4, 1981 (see 1981 in music).

Contents

[edit] Critical reaction

Critical reaction to the record was extremely negative. Rolling Stone gave it half a star and called it "a piece of shit" and Cashbox considered it "marketing gone mad".

[edit] Chart/Sales Performance

Despite receiving poor and scathing reviews, the album ended up being a surprise success for the group and going Gold. It would become the second Gold album for the Chipmunks, their first being Chipmunk Punk.

The album managed to chart on Billboard Pop Albums Chart, peaking at #56. The album also managed to chart on Billboard's Country Albums, peaking at #23, becoming the group's first album to chart on the country charts.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side one

  1. Thank God I'm a Country Boy (John Martin Sommers) – 1:43
  2. The Gambler (Don Schlitz) – 3:13
  3. Lunchbox (w/Jerry Reed) (Albert Bouchard and Mike Diamond Sr.) – 3:18
  4. Luckenbach, Texas (Back To The Basics Of Love) (Robert Emmons & Chips Moman) [actually a soft-rock song] – 3:05
  5. (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song (w/Larry Butler) (Larry Butler & Chips Moman) – 4:48

[edit] Side two

  1. I Love a Rainy Night (Eddie Rabbitt, Even Stevens & David Malloy) – 3:06
  2. Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Chipmunks (Bruce Brothers) – 3:15
  3. Coward of the County (Edgar Bowling & Bobby Wheeler) – 3:57
  4. Made For Each Other (w/Brenda Lee) (Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman, Larry Butler & Bruce Pinkard) – 5:28
  5. On The Road Again (Willie Nelson) – 2:30

[edit] CD Bonus tracks

  1. The Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels, Tom Crain, Taz DiGregorio, Fred Edwards, Charlie Hayward and Jim Marshall) – 4:05
  2. Boot Scootin' Boogie (Ronnie Dunn) – 3:11
  3. I Love a Rainy Night [Saturday Morning Remix] – 3:43

[edit] Band Lineup

Alvin Chipmunk:lead vocals
Simon Chipmunk:principal background vocals
Theodore Chipmunk:co-lead vocals
David Seville Jr.:spoken voice

[edit] Additional personnel

Buzz Cason—background vocals
Bergen White—background vocals
Dennis Wilson—background vocals
Bob ”King” Moore—lead electric guitars
Jerry Carrigan—acoustic and rhythm electric guitars
Hargus “Pig” Robbins—pedal steel guitars and piano
Ray Edenton—bass
Billy Sanford—fiddle
Jimmy Capps—percussion
Leon Rhodes—drums
Buddy Spicher—auxiliary percusssion

[edit] Production crew

Larry Butler—producer
Janice Karman—producer
Ross Bagdasarian Jr—producer
Billy Sherill—engineer
Dain & DeJoy—album coordination
Rick Detorie—art direction and illustrations
David Foster—project consultant
John Boylan—project consultant