Happy 100th Birthday Charles Schultz!

To whom I owe a great deal of my childhood love of Halloween.

Listening to: It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (Official Soundtrack)

Like many others, I was ecstatic Concord/Craft Recordings released a "Music From The Soundtrack" album for It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown in October of 2018.  And also like many others, I was extremely disappointed when I discovered that it was merely the dialogue-free audio from the special; already chopped down and riddled with sound effects.

I began to share a sad, resigned hopelessness that many others echoed online: that the original recordings were likely lost and could never be released... But something miraculous happened this year.

"Thanks to a deep dive into the Mendelson vaults -- a project embraced during covid-enforced isolation -- newly discovered analog session reels allowed a vastly superior, re-mastered edition of this score to arrive in August 2022. The newer album features seven previously unreleased alternate takes, all of which offer fascinating insight into Guaraldi's creative process."   

-Derrick Bang, fivecentsplease.org

I can't begin to describe my elation regarding this.  The Great Pumpkin was a childhood staple and remains an obligatory annual watch.  I've longed nearly all my life to have a clean recording of "Graveyard Theme", "Breathless", "Trick or Treat"... but most of all, It's The Great Pumpkin's version of "Linus and Lucy".  I agree with Derrick Bang that "this special opens with arguably the best arrangement [of that song] that Guaraldi ever laid down, thanks in great part to Ronald Lang's flute counterpoint."  The alternate arrangements and reprises are a wonderful treat on top of it all.

To listen to the official album of Original Recordings, click below.

Alternatively, click here to view the album on YouTube

It's time to send in those letters