California Raisins Albums (4)
'Christmas with the California Raisins'
Release Date 1/1/1988
Tracks 10
Label Columbia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
From their 1988 claymation CBS-TV special, the cut "Hark" is especially worth hearing. ~ David A. Milberg, All Music Guide
'The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs'
Release Date 10/20/1987
Tracks 10
Label Priority
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
They just don't make senses of humor like they used to. After working closely with musical legend Jimi Hendrix and singing duet on both a studio and live album with Carlos Santana, Buddy Miles settled into his most famous role yet -- the lead singer of the fictional California Raisins. From Emmy-award winner Will Vinton, whose studio has created some of the most impressive clay animation (claymation) to date, the California Raisins sprung to life in the mid-1980s. The plump, wrinkled, Converse-sporting singers were originally intended as a marketing strategy for Sun Maid raisins. Almost instantly, they took on a life of their own, appearing as collectible figures, on television specials, on shirts, and on several recording projects. Their first album, The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs, was heavily promoted in children sections of music shops and in grocery stores, where the cassette played repeatedly from in-store displays. The first album features "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," which became as synonymous with the Raisins as it had been for Marvin Gaye in the '60s. With most other cartoon singers, an album full of Motown classics would have had altered lyrics; something to humor adults and spark childrens' interest in old-school music. The California Raisins play it completely straight, hollering "Mony Mony" as if it really were their song. They keep every Spanish word from Richie Valen's "La Bamba" intact and give justice to "When a Man Loves a Woman," "Heartbreak Hotel," and others. Rarely do cheap marketing ploys take such grand efforts at quality. In one respect, the songs are so meticulously imitated that it would be sensible to buy a Motown greatest hits album of the originals. The album's primary target is children, however, and this is a great way to give definition to an era of music they might otherwise miss. Old Buddy Miles, you can just picture him chuckling in glee between laying down tracks, but, during the singing, he didn't miss a beat. ~ Peter Fawthrop, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Sweet Delicious & Marvelous brings Buddy Miles back to lead vocals for the California Raisins, but this time he has help from Niki Harris and her group of female singers. There is no word yet on what product the females were conceived of to promote (Raisinettes seem most probable). There must have been a better match for Buddy Mile's charm, but at least Harris (who is talented but significantly lower on credit) takes the music seriously, driving them full force, as if she wasn't performing the voice of a raisin at all. It helps that the songs are all classic too. Singers like Miles and Harris might even feel grateful for the opportunity to perform such beloved music, since they had never had such a full chance at it before and since there was hardly a better market for it to be heard in the 1980s. The songs on Sweet are more elaborate (hence "I Heard It Through the Grapevine Remix") and not as kid-friendly as the Raisins' other albums. The female raisins also appear on Christmas With the Raisins, which gave them better appeal. Still, there is a good variety of '60s music like "Dancing in the Streets," "My Girl," and "I Got You (I Feel Good)." The Raisins sneak into the early '70s with the Jackson Five's "Never Can Say Goodbye," but that is where their career came to a halt, as this was the fourth and final album. They were forced back onto cereal and raisin boxes for future generations to glance at, never presuming that the picture of the raisin in sunglasses and Converse shoes once had his own musical franchise. ~ Peter Fawthrop, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Unlike other California Raisins albums, Meet the Raisins is a soundtrack (to a television special which aired on CBS in 1988). The special signified their history and provided them a little more personality. After all, a pack of mice without a Mickey Mouse is a pack of mice and a band of raisins without A.C., Beebop, Red, and Stretch are just singing raisins. Will Vinton and his group of talented animators tried to turn their novelty into something really creative, and Meet the {$Raisins} is the closest they came to substantiation. There are in-jokes aplenty as the band prepares for their first gigs, dodge a scummy record producer, and eventually crash land a plane onto the stage of the Ed Succotash Show, which brought them instant fame. Doesn't it always happen that way? Along the journey they fight off their hard metal music nemesis, Lick Broccoli. One question the writers never answer is whether the California Raisins are from the 1960s or whether Lick Broccoli has time warped. Meet the {$Raisins} is their story, one of good choice in stolen goods, from rock & roll to Motown golden hits. From their humble beginnings singing "Get a Job" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" on street corners to their sensational rendition of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and "Cool Jerk," the California Raisins have gone through every twist and loop of the music industry. You won't hear the biography on the album, which is half the fun, but here are the results of their efforts, which is the other half. ~ Peter Fawthrop, All Music Guide
