For the third time this year, fans of Charles Schultz’s beloved Peanuts gang will get another treat when Lee Mendelson Film Productions releases the soundtrack to the 1975 feature, You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown. Set for release next Friday, July 11, the 19-song collection is yet another wonderful presentation for fans of all things Peanuts and for jazz fans alike. That is due in no small part to its featured songs, which will be examined shortly. The production thereof adds to the appeal and will be discussed a little later. The liner notes that accompany this latest presentation and really form their own supportive layer to the whole. They will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the recording. All things considered they make the soundtrack to You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown another must have for every Peanuts fan and on more of this year’s top new soundtrack recordings.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions’ forthcoming release of the soundtrack to You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown is another win for Peanuts fans everywhere and for all involved at LMFP. As with the other two Peanuts soundtracks released so far this year – Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown – this soundtrack’s success comes in no small part through its featured compositions. All of the arrangements and song cues featured in the special are here from the longest to the shortest. And also as with those and every other previously released Peanuts TV special soundtrack, audiences do not just get the songs in their final form. Rather, some of the songs are the raw recordings, complete with composer Vince Guaraldi counting off the cues and he and his fellow musicians joking around in studio. That makes said presentations something of a behind-the-scenes sort of sense, which makes hearing those cues all the more engaging and entertaining (and valued in turn).
Yes, there are multiple cues of the “Motocross” composition throughout the recording’s 28-minute run time, and they make up quite a bit of the soundtrack. The thing of it though, is that each cue is unique from its counterparts. Take for instance the full take, which clocks in at three minutes, 49 seconds. That is the take that everyone knows from the special. It is the first cue that viewers hear when they watch this classic special. The only take that even remotely resembles it is the second take, which clocks in at only 41 seconds. The third take, which runs only 32 seconds, is completely different from those first two takes. From the keyboard line to the equally prominent bass line, there is quite a bite different in this jazz fusion style arrangement. The keyboard line in the fourth take is completely different from that in the other takes while the backing synthesized string arrangement is more prominent and familiar. It is another intriguing example of the creative proves that Vince Guaraldi and company took here in this soundtrack. The song’s fifth take offers listeners a little something familiar and something new once again with what feels and sounds like the most improvised of the takes. Simply put, each take of this song gives audiences something new and different to enjoy. To that end, they disprove writer Derrick Bang, who in his liner notes, argues at one point that this soundtrack is “weaker than most of Guaraldi’s Peanuts scores.” If anything the multiple reprises go a long way to exhibit the true creativity of Vince Guaraldi and company in composing the music for any Peanuts television special.
Another notable addition to the soundtrack is a very brief, 25 second take of a theme from yet another timeless Peanuts TV special, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The take runs only 25 seconds. It comes as a pumpkin is used as a helmet for Charlie Brown ahead of the motocross event. As is noted at one point in the liner notes, the inclusion here is the only time that the theme from that Peanuts holiday special was ever used outside of said setting. That makes for all the more appeal and interest, especially considering how much the other audio elements in the special cover up this and so many other cues throughout the special. This aspect is also pointed out in the liner notes.
One other important item to note in regard to the musical arrangements comes in the form of the bonus tracks. The tracks in question (again as pointed out in the liner notes) came from another, non-Peanuts special on which Vince Guaraldi worked. The special in question was 1974’s Bicycles Are Beautiful. This special, as Bang interestingly points out in his writings, was crafted for none other than McDonalds “in cooperation with the National Safety Council…and designed to educate bicycle owners about their obligation to ride safely and follow all the rules of the road.” Maybe the world needs something like that today, but for drivers instead of cyclists, considering how many bad drivers are out there. That’s a discussion for another time, though.
Sean Mendelson, one of the sons of famed Peanuts Producer Lee Mendelson, adds to the discussion in his own notes, pointing out some of the sounds used in one of the bonus tracks. He writes that drummer Glenn Cronkhite, who had worked with Guaraldi on two other Peanuts soundtracks, also worked on the music for this educational film and how he made a specific sound effect with his snare drum. Audiences will get to learn all of that form themselves.
This critic has gotten a bit sidetracked, so getting back to the songs themselves, even though they were crafted for an educational film, the distinct jazz styling used in the title track for instance immediately makes itself comparable to so many Peanuts arrangements, what with that bluesy piano line. It is more akin to the songs used in older, pre-electric Peanuts arrangements, leading to plenty of nostalgia. Much the same can be said of ‘Bicycle Ballad’ while ‘Bicycle Bounce’ is more akin to the electric songs that Guaraldi and company composed during the 1970s. The final bonus, ‘Bicycle Wizard,’ which runs only 35 seconds, is perhaps the most unique of the bonus tracks. That is because of the obvious influence that it took from the main theme of the classic 1951 Gene Kelly movie, An American in Paris. The music for that movie, by the way, was composed by two other legendary composers, George and Ira Gershwin. Keeping that in mind, it makes for a great starting point for another discussion that hopefully will be had at some point. Keeping this in mind along with the appeal of the rest of the examined musical content (and the rest of the recording’s content), the whole therein forms a solid foundation for the soundtrack to You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown.
Building on that foundation is the production of that collective content. From beginning to end, the songs have been lovingly and painstakingly remastered for presentation here. Moving back to the liner notes yet again, Mendelson’s other son Jason notes in his own comments how in some cases, the music cues in some of the Peanuts specials were somewhat washed out by dialogue and other elements. He writes, “the music was often locked into that single channel – monaural sound – sometimes hidden beneath the wonderful Charles dialogue and iconoclastic Bill Melendez animation.” He is correct. In going back through this special in its 2009 standalone DVD release (its most recent standalone release), Mendelson is correct. So much of this special’s musical content is covered up by everything else going on. So, to have the musical cues isolated for their own presentation here and done so in such clear fashion is a tribute to the work that went into restoring the music for this presentation. It easily establishes a positive aesthetic appeal that makes the recording all the more appealing. That appeal, together with the appeal ensured through the songs, gives listeners all the more reason to hear this outstanding presentation.
Rounding out the most important of the recording’s elements is its liner notes. Already so much has been pointed out of the liner notes, crafted by both of Lee Mendelson’s sons, Sean and Jason, and by Derrick Bang. What has been noted is just part of what the trio brings to the table in their collective work. There is still more to add here. Case in point is Jason Melendez’s own declaration that he, like Bang, felt “some of the music was repetitive.” Yes, again, there are multiple cues of the ‘Motocross’ theme, but again the takes are each unique and in turn provide a wonderful, welcome view of the creative process undertaken by Vince Guaraldi and company here. They did a lot with a little, for lack of better wording. That really needs to be taken into consideration. On a more subtle note, Jason is to be applauded even more for a subtle statement he makes that the Peanuts specials are available to not only stream on Apple TV+ but are also available through Warner Bros. physical releases. This is a simple statement but it speaks volumes in the bigger ongoing discussion of digital versus physical media. This critic in particular prefers the physical to the digital and always will. Far too often, when media that is available both streaming and physical is advertised, companies will market more to digital audiences and avoid noting they are available through physical media that people can actually OWN. So to Jason, a huge thank you and so much respect on that aspect is due.
Getting away from that side discussion, Craig Schultz, the son of Peanuts creator Charlz Schultz, also contributes to the liner notes this time out. In his section, Schultz shares the history of this special with audiences. He reveals that it was his own racing career and his father’s interest thereof that would eventually lead to the creation not only of this special but even a Peanuts story arc of sorts that finds Snoopy as the star racer, Joe Motocross (a take of his famed alter ego, Joe Cool). Interestingly, in the special, Snoopy would be known as “The Masked Marvel” when he takes part in the motocross event. It would have been interesting if Schultz had gone into a discussion on that little nugget, why the name change happened for Snoopy. Maybe audiences will get that another time. That aside, his story in itself makes for so much engagement and entertainment, thus adding even more to the recording’s success and appeal.
Bang’s notes add yet another layer of interest to the overall liner notes presentation. That is because of something that he points out of Vince Guaraldi’s nature to just do a lot of improv performance. The recollection is shared through comments made by people who recorded and performed personally with Guaraldi. Those firsthand accounts make the explanation of Guaraldi’s creative mindset all the more personal and in turn special. Sean Mendelson puts the finishing touch to the liner notes, giving audiences a great brief introduction to so many of the songs featured herein before listeners even begin taking in the recording. Those introductions, while brief, are still very precise. The pictures that they paint make for so much interest ahead of playing the recording. To that end, his notes work with those of his brother and those of their fellow writers, to make the whole of the liner notes their own key part of the recording’s presentation. When the expansive liner notes are considered alongside the music and its production, the whole makes the soundtrack to You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown another success and must have for every Peanuts fan.
You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown, the latest (and third) Peanuts television special soundtrack to be released so far this year, is another wonderful offering from Lee Mendelson Film Productions. Its success comes in part through its featured arrangements. The arrangements in question continue to show the evolution of Vince Guaraldi’s creative process in relation to the times. His electric approach continues here in its own unique fashion. And despite some views, the arrangements are not repetitive, but rather unique, engaging and entertaining. The production of the featured arrangements adds to the appeal here. That is because of how clean each arrangement is presented. This is especially important because again, much of this music is covered up throughout the TV special in question. It makes those responsible for the remastering and production here well-deserving of applause. The liner notes that accompany the recording make for just as much engagement and entertainment as the musical content. That is because of the background and insight that they provide. When this is considered along with the appeal ensured through the record’s musical content and its production, the whole makes the soundtrack to You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown yet another welcome presentation and a must have for every Peanuts fan.
The soundtrack to You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is scheduled for release July 11 through Lee Mendelson Film Productions. More information on this and other Peanuts soundtracks already released is available at https://mendelsonproductions.com.
