Retro Spins: The Chipmunks - Songs From Our TV Shows

The Chipmunks is one of my all time favorite cartoon series from the 80's. The characters, the stories, the music, it was all a fantastic combination which culminated in a timeless show. It's unfortunate it will probably never make its way to DVD / Blu-Ray as a result of all the licensing which would be needed to do so.

Fortunately for fans of the series, there have been several full length albums released throughout the 1980's which can still be found on secondary markets on vinyl and cassette, and typically for a low price. Not to mention a fabulous full length animated film, The Chipmunk Adventure, which can be found on DVD, as well as on CD for the soundtrack.

Because I'm focusing 2020 on soundtracks for Retro Spins, I thought I'd dust off the ol' Songs From Our TV Shows record. This was The Chipmunks 1984 album, and one of the very few which offered tracks from the television series versus their other albums which typically featured covers of some of the era's most popular hits. Mind you, the album isn't void of cover tracks. However, these particular ones were featured on the show.

The album delivers right from the start with the exciting theme song from the series. It then launches into Uptown Girl (Billy Joel) and Surfin' USA (The Beach Boys) before delivering two show favorites, I Give Up On You (The Chipettes) and There's No Rock & Roll On Mars. Their first hit, Witch Doctor follows, and  then Michael Jackson's Beat It wraps up side one of the record. It's not a very good cover, but at the same time it's got that fun Chipmunk feeling to it.

Side two launches with the original track for the show, The C-Team, which was also the title for the episode it was featured in. A fun fact about this particular episode was that it featured Mr. T, who provided his own voice. This is followed by another original track, It's A Jungle Out There.

The Chipettes offer a second contribution to the album via a cover of Lesley Gore's 1963 classic, It's My Party. The remainder of the album then flip flops back and forth between covers and originals for the remainder of it by way of delivering Pump, Pump, Pump, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (The Chipettes third and final contribution) and Captain Chipmunk.

It's a solid album, but there's definitely a catch here. It's not something most people are going to listen to, and not only that, it's something you really have to be in the mood for. Still, if you want a quick trip down memory lane of a solid cartoon series and some of the fantastic music which was featured in it, there's really no better way than this particular album.

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