AMG Review of Sing Again with the Chipmunks

Greg Adams
All Music Guide

Sing Again With the Chipmunks is a straight CD reissue of The Chipmunk's 1961 sophomore album. "Alvin's Orchestra" is the only hit to be found, although the "group" recreates "Witch Doctor," a #1 hit in 1958 for creator David Seville (AKA Ross Bagdasarian). The program leans heavily on traditional songs such as "Coming 'Round the Mountain," "Home On the Range," "Row Your Boat," etc, which are used as springboards for skits in which the ornery Chipmunks defy Seville's authority and provoke him to yell "ALVIN!" The tape manipulation gimmick that made The Chipmunks so novel in their day is less fascinating today than it was in the late '50s, and the humor is extremely formulaic, which makes Sing Again With the Chipmunks a harmlessly fun and nostalgic artifact but not much more.