The Vince Guaraldi Quintet - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973/2023)

Originally recorded for the 1973 CBS special of the same name, this soundtrack didn't receive an official release until 2023. The show itself is quite bizarre when viewed through an adult lens but I certainly enjoyed watching it every year as a child. Plus, the show won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children’s Programming. Sadly, it left broadcast television after its 2019 airing on ABC and is currently streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Now on to the music presented in this "50th Anniversary Special Edition" package.

Don't come around looking for A Charlie Brown Christmas Part 2. This offering adds a horn section, Fender Rhodes electric piano, and a Clavinet to Guaraldi's traditional piano trio instrumentation. The difference is a 'modernizing' of the Peanuts sound. The music is definitely of its time and that's fine with me. The only downside is that, to fill out the album, the label chose to include all the alternate takes, brief cues, and other studio shenanigans. Nevertheless, the album is worth the price, especially the first half.

Liner notes written by Sean Mendelson, son of Lee Mendelson, the executive producer of many of the Peanuts animated specials.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Kids: #1
• Billboard Traditional Jazz: #6
• Billboard Jazz: #6
• Billboard Tastemakers: #13 (since rebranded as "Indie Store Album Sales")
• Billboard Soundtrack: #19
• Billboard Top Album Sales:#34 (pure album sales)
• Billboard Top Current Album Sales: #26 (same chart as Top Album Sales, with catalog titles removed)

Tracks:

I just love the Thanksgiving Theme, a fantastic jazz waltz plus the electric piano adds a nice touch. Track 4, Peppermint Patty, starts off nice enough, but it really takes off at about the 1:45 mark with a different groove and flute solo. It seems as if Guaraldi was asked to write a modern pop tune for as a theme for the Woodstock character and he listened to a few Blood, Sweat & Tears records before coming up with Little Birdie, another highlight of the album. Finally, the take on the Linus & Lucy theme is fantastic, updating the familiar tune with some syncopated rhythms, new harmonies, and adding horns (including a tasty trumpet solo) to the arrangement.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None with this particular CD, but I always liked watching a Charlie Brown TV special during the Guaraldi years (1965-1976) because that was one of the few times jazz music was heard on broadcast TV, especially in children's programming. Tragically, 47-year-old Guaraldi died suddenly of a heart attack on February 6, 1976, several hours after completing the soundtrack for the 15th Peanuts TV special, It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown.

Maybe I need to host my own Friendsgiving meal this week and soundtrack it with this CD. The menu? Popcorn, pretzels, jellybeans, and toast, of course. And now I'm craving Zingers for some reason.

Previously revisited for the blog:
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
From All Sides (1965)