Wednesday, July 10, 2024

A kinder, gentler Election


It has been a busy summer.

Hot on the heels of Guaraldi’s never-before-released score for It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, the similarly never-before-released score for the eighth prime-time Peanuts TV special, You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, will debut on September 6 on CD, 12-inch BioVinyl and via digital download. Pre-orders are available now, at the usual outlets

 

A Woodstock Yellow BioVinyl variant will be available as a Record Store Day Exclusive.

 

Check out the Lee Mendelson Film Productions press release here.

 

Guaraldi — on keyboards, vocals and guitar — is joined by Tom Harrell, trumpet; Pat O’Hara, trombone; Mel Martin, clarinet, soprano sax and piccolo; Seward McCain, bass and flute; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums. John Scott Trotter was music supervisor. This album is produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson; remixed at Bones and Knives by Terry Carleton; and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

 

The album features the 16 studio recordings which became the TV special’s score, along with nine bonus/alternative tracks.


Show score:

1. "Incumbent Waltz"

2. "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown"

3. "Oh, Good Grief!"

4. "Cookin' Snoopy (Fast Piano Jazz)"

5. "Blue Charlie Brown"

6. "Incumbent Waltz (Reprise)"

7. "Linus and Lucy"/"Poor Charlie Brown"

8. "Joe Cool (Vocal)"

9. "Incumbent Waltz (Second Reprise)"

10. "Elect Linus (Dilemma)"/"Woodstock's Wake Up"

11. "Joe Cool (Unused Reprise)"

12. "Oh, Good Grief! (Reprise)"

13. "Deserted Charlie Brown"

14. "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (Reprise)"

15. "Linus and Lucy (Reprise)"

16. "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (Second Reprise: End Credits)"


Bonus Content

17. "Joe Cool (Alternate Take 1)"

18. "Joe Cool (Alternate Rehearsal Take)"

19. "Blue Charlie Brown (Alternate Take 1)"

20. "African Sleigh Ride (Bonus Track)"

21. "Cookin' Snoopy (Fast Piano Jazz; Alternate Takes 1, 2 and 3)"

22. "Incumbent Waltz (Second Reprise, Alternate Take 1)"

23. "Incumbent Waltz (Second Reprise, Alternate Take 3)"

24. "Incumbent Waltz (Unused Cue)"

25. "Linus and Lucy (Acoustic Piano Mix)"


Four tracks can be previewed here.

 

Music highlights include a terrific arrangement of "Joe Cool” — much longer than what is heard in the special — which boasts nifty flute and guitar touches. Other tasty treats include an unexpectedly peppy handling of “Blue Charlie Brown,” two delightful variations on “Linus and Lucy,” and McCain’s deft bass work on “Oh, Good Grief (Reprise).”

 

The LPs and CDs are eco-conscious. The LPs are made with BioVinyl, a new product that replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste, resulting in considerable CO2 savings compared to traditional PVC. Each record also comes in a reusable, compostable PLA bag made of 99% renewable material. The jacket, label and liner notes are made from sustainably forested trees, for minimum ecological harm. (None of these modifications sacrifices acoustic or optical quality.) The CDs also are made of recycled material, and their paper content comes from sustainably forested trees.

 

All physical copies feature extensive liner notes by my very own self, along with similarly detailed notes by Sean Mendelson, son of Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson. The LP release also includes rare photographs and images from the original tape boxes: recent re-discoveries that led to this release.

 

Remember: The ongoing wave of these "new" soundtracks depends upon the sales generated by each release ... so buy one for yourself, and a second copy as a gift for a friend! 

9 comments:

Trott said...

Trumpeter Tom Harrell went on to do a lot of very accomplished and often highly adventurous work. He warrants a blog dedicated to him the way this one is dedicated to Vince Guaraldi.

Derrick Bang said...

By all means ... go for it!

Jim M. said...

Is anyone else having issues with the preview tracks? I've visited SoundCloud by both web and app, but I keep seeing "there are no tracks on this playlist" when I arrive on the album's page.

Derrick Bang said...

That playlist was indeed empty for at least several days, but everything seems fine now. Some sort of temporary glitch, I guess...

BR4D said...

This is FANTASTIC NEWS. absolutely loving that more of these soundtracks are seeing the light of day. Incumbent Waltz off the Lost Cues album always make it on to any Fall Playlists. Would love it if someone could let the Mendelson Film Productions team know about Bandcamp.

Jim M. said...

Is this the first special in which Guaraldi uses the bridge variation of "Linus & Lucy" instead of the straight traditional version? I know we still hear the more familiar version of L&L throughout the '70s (and even in this special), but I love the bridge variations we hear in Easter Beagle and Good Sport.

Derrick Bang said...

Yes, I believe that's correct. (But let's wait and see if somebody else thinks otherwise...!)

Jim M. said...

Well, as soon as I commented I realized: there's snippet of the bridge in A Charlie Brown Christmas when Snoopy sneaks in and dances on Schroeder's piano. Good grief!

Derrick Bang said...

True ... but it's still easily recognized as the bridge, whereas later variations become increasingly more interesting.