An exciting development from the crossroads of jazz, television and animation is the recent series of releases from Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP), masterminds behind the iconic Peanuts TV specials of the 1960s through the ‘70s. Music for these programs was created by jazz legend Vince Guaraldi, yet by and large he capped off his commercially-released output in 1970. Thankfully, the good folks at LMFP have been digging into its archives, discovering many gems the past several years and releasing, effectively, new Vince Guaraldi albums!
The latest is the first time soundtrack for It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! It may be the best — and best sounding — of these new albums. Twenty-five original score “cues” have been curated into 19 tracks which pretty much play like an authentic Guaraldi album.
The sound quality is top notch too, mastered at 45 RPM for superior fidelity. For Record Store Day (RSD), It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! will be available in a limited numbered run of 2000 purple vinyl LPs. I reviewed the 180-gram black vinyl version. Eco-minded, these fine sounding discs are made with BioVinyl, a new formulation using recycled cooking oil in place of petroleum (a key ingredient in vinyl). I have been impressed with several BioVinyl LPs I’ve reviewed thus far (very quiet discs!).
Sans dialogue, the music revealed on It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! is rich and melodious. I really appreciate Guaraldi’s diverse instrumentation, from clavinet and ARP String Ensemble to electric harpsichord and guitar. The “Snoopy & Woodstock” theme rocks and “Easter Egg Soup (Kitchen Music 2)” is a killer jam I’d love to hear a group like Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio work out on. Detailed track-by-track liner notes are by noted Guaraldi expert-author Derrick Bang.
A sweet bonus: Guaraldi’s original sidemen — drummer Mike Clark and bassist Seward McCain— reunited in the studio where these original sessions were made along with pianist David Benoit to record a special “Woodstock Medley” which closes the album. This fleshes out the album to an enjoyable, 1960s-styled LP length of about 30 minutes.
Suggested retail price for It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! is $29.99, which you can order via Amazon by clicking the titles here if it is for some reason not yet at your favorite RSD shop. Pro Tip: Keep an eye out for LMFP’s special Easter Egg shaped 10-inch EP edition from the album, selling for approximately $23 on RSD!
Craft Recordings — boutique arm of Concord Music, curators of Guaraldi’s Fantasy Records catalog — also has a special RSD Peanuts release featuring alternate takes the 1964 1LP Jazz Impressions Of A Boy Named Charlie Brown (highlights culled from a new expanded 2CD set). Studio chatter, false starts and different approaches to the music lend a fly-on-the-wall sensibility to future classics like “Linus and Lucy” (Take 3 is featured).
Pressed on standard weight sky blue vinyl, the album is very quiet and well centered. I just received my advance copy of this special edition the day before this review posted so I haven’t spent too much time with it yet but at first listen I can attest it sounds great. I liked the super crisp natural sounding cymbals and rich round bass (dig the strings’ periodic vibrating against the fingerboard!).
A limited edition of 3,400, the album was mixed and mastered from original analog sources by award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore; pressing lacquers were cut by Matthew Lutthans at Cohearent Audio.
Retail pricing for Jazz Impressions Of A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Alternate Takes seems to be running between $25.00 and $31.00 on several online sites I checked (some are taking pre-orders). Your exact pricing may vary but for a release of this quality, that range feels very fair.
Wishing you all a great Record Store Day — Happy Hunting!
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
