Oh, Good Grief! "Peanuts Greatest Hits" Gets a Picture Disc with Charlie Brown and Lucy

Oh, Good Grief! “Peanuts Greatest Hits” Gets a Picture Disc with Charlie Brown and Lucy

May 2, 2016 By Joe Marchese — No Comments

How many children over the years had their first introduction to jazz via Vince Guaraldi? The late composer/piano man established the definitive sound of Charlie Brown via his scores to some seventeen of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts television specials (plus a feature film and other projects. When The Peanuts Movie arrived on the big screen in 2015 with songs from contemporary artists like Meghan Trainor and Flo Rida, Vince Guaraldi’s compositions were still front and center. Last year, Concord/Fantasy collected 12 of Guaraldi’s most beloved Peanuts tunes on one CD. Now, Peanuts Greatest Hits has recently been reissued on a special picture-disc vinyl edition.

Guaraldi was once known as “Dr. Funk,” and indeed, his fleet, slinky grooves brought the characters of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder and the rest of the gang to life. Five of the twelve tracks on Peanuts Greatest Hits – including “Linus and Lucy,” “Baseball Theme,” “Happiness Is,” and “Oh, Good Grief” are reprised from the original Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown album, still the quintessential Peanuts LP. The record was originally released in 1964 as the soundtrack to an unreleased documentary film. Although the movie was never aired on television, it garnered Schulz and his team the support to create their masterwork, 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The soundtrack to that seminal special reprised some music from the first album, but introduced other staples now featured on this collection including “Christmas Time is Here” (included in two versions), “Skating” and “Christmas is Coming.” Guaraldi’s holiday treats “Thanksgiving Theme” and “Great Pumpkin Waltz” are also included on Greatest Hits as is his vocal performance of the Woodstock tribute, “Little Birdie.” The pianist-leader is joined on these tracks by musicians such as Monty Budwig (bass), Colin Bailey (drums), Tom Harrell (trumpet), Chuck Bennett (trombone), Seward McCain (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Fred Marshall (bass) and Jerry Granelli (drums).

Concord’s picture disc release features Charles Schulz’s image of Charlie Brown on one side of the vinyl, with Lucy on the other side. The vinyl has been mastered by George Horn and Anne-Marie Suenram at Fantasy Studios. Peanuts Greatest Hits is still available on CD and standard black vinyl LP, as well.

The Vince Guaraldi Trio, Peanuts Greatest Hits (Fantasy LP FAN-37957-01, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Side One

Linus and Lucy
Charlie Brown Theme
Baseball Theme
Oh, Good Grief
Happiness Is
Little Birdie

Side Two

Great Pumpkin Waltz
Thanksgiving Theme
Christmas is Coming
Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental)
Skating
Christmas Time is Here (Vocal)

Categories:

News

Formats:

Vinyl

Genres:

Holiday, Jazz, Soundtracks

Tags:

Vince Guaraldi

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.