Election season is here once again and with it all of the mudslinging, too. Of course, it is happening more on one side than the other. Now for those who want an escape from all of that negativity, Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. has just the thing in the form of the forthcoming soundtrack to the timeless Peanuts TV special, You’re Not Elected Charlie Brown. Set for release Sept. 9, it will be the second soundtrack from a Peanuts special released this year by Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. (and the third since last year). The company released the soundtrack to It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown in April. Prior to its release, LMFP released the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving in October 2023. The new, forthcoming soundtrack is just as enjoyable as those recordings. That is due in part to its featured music. The liner notes that accompany the record add their own touch to the presentation and enhance it even more. The record’s production rounds out its most important elements and put the finishing touch to the whole. Each item noted here plays its own important part to the whole of the record. All things considered they make the soundtrack another fully enjoyable musical offering for any Peanuts fan from Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions’ forthcoming soundtrack to the 1972 Peanuts television special, You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, is a thoroughly enjoyable new offering for every Peanuts fan. The record’s appeal comes primarily through its featured music, which was composed by famed figure Vince Guaraldi. The music that was featured in that special — composed and performed by Guaraldi and his fellow musicians Tom Harrell (trumpet), Glenn Cronkhite (drums) and Seward McCain (bass) — is all here in seemingly chronological order from the special, which itself makes for plenty of appeal. There are also, as bonuses, nine extra songs included with that content. Listeners will note a number of reprises throughout the record’s 34-minute run time. There is also an unused take of the beloved song, ‘Joe Cool’ that is certain to engage and entertain listeners. It makes sense that the unused take (it is interesting that the unused take was included as part of the record’s primary body rather than as a bonus track) was not used in this special. That is because it is such a subdued take of the song. The relaxed keyboard line and time keeping just does not fit at all in Snoopy’s scene inside the school. The reprise of the equally beloved ‘Linus and Lucy’ theme is a fun little composition in its own right, too. It isn’t the full on rendition that everyone knows but is still fun what with its steady mid-tempo approach. The biggest difference between this take and the song everyone knows comes in the keyboard line. The subtle changes are fully appreciated by those who listen closely. On yet another note, the Dixieland take of the collection’s title theme is another example of the importance of the record’s featured reprises.
Moving to the soundtrack’s bonus content, the song that stands out the most is ‘African Sleigh Ride.’ This song is not part of the special’s original musical body. To that end it is a fun little extra that listeners are sure to appreciate. The keyboard line and the percussion section really have a unique fusion jazz approach that conjures thoughts of songs from the likes of Weather Report. Interestingly Weather report first formed in 1970, only two years prior to You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown originally airing nationwide. So to that end, it would make sense that the comparison is there. On yet another note, the acoustic piano mix of the ‘Linus and Lucy theme’ is yet another intriguing addition to the record’s body. The Latin tinge from the guiro and the piano make for such an interesting touch. They give the song an identity all its own. Between these songs, the other bonuses and all of the primary content, the musical aspects of the soundtrack to You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown are reason enough for Peanuts fans to own this collection.
The musical material featured in this soundtrack is only part of what makes it worth hearing. The liner notes that accompany the collection, composed by author Derrick Bang, strengthen the record’s foundation because of the background that they provide to the whole. One of the most interesting items raised through the liner notes is the revelation that as with It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, this special’s title was not what audiences have come to know. As Bang writes, “this new special was titled You’re Elected, Charlie Brown … until the very last second. Wiser heads pointed out that a) Charlie Brown never wins anything and b) Linus is running, not good ol’ Chuck. Last-minute adjustments were made in such haste that the chalkboard title, as this special begins, has an afterthought “Not” inserted with a caret.”
In another interesting moment, Bang notes that the now timeless ‘Joe Cool’ theme actually was born in 1959, but it was not until May 1971 “when his [Schulz’s] children were facing or had entered college.” This is an interesting little tidbit because it shows how long the song had been on hold. There is a little more to the story at will be left for audiences to read for themselves. Staying on that number, Bang later adds that Vince Guaraldi sang the lyrics for ‘Joe Cool’ and Mendelson liked it. There is even more background added from Guaraldi’s own recollection of the song’s creation that is sure to put a smile on listeners’ faces. That too, will be left for audiences to learn for themselves. On a side note this was not the first time Guaraldi had sung lyrics for a Peanuts song. He also sang one of the songs for the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – a certain song about Snoopy’s best bird buddy, Woodstock.
On yet another interesting note, Bang reveals another piece of history, noting that unlike other Peanuts TV specials, this special was not an original story. Rather, as he points out, it was based on a series of Peanuts comics strips that Schultz had created and had run in newspapers nationwide between Oct. 5-27, 1964.
As if everything raised here is not enough, Bang also provides a thorough background on the musical climate of the time and how it played into the creative direction that Vince Guaraldi took to the special’s soundtrack. This adds even more to the engagement and entertainment ensured through the soundtrack.
This is not all that audiences will appreciate in regard to the liner notes. Sean Mendelson (one of Lee Mendelson’s sons) adds his own discussion on each composition as part of the expansive whole. His discussions are the kind of material that every music theory student and lover will appreciate. All things considered, the liner notes in whole make for more than enough reason in themselves for audience to take in this collection.
The record’s production puts the final touch to the whole of the soundtrack’s presentation. Thanks to the painstaking efforts b the team of Terry Carleton, Vinson Hudson, Jason Mendelson, and Sean Mendelson, the overall sound from this collection is like openin a musical time capsule from a bygone era. The relaxed arrangements are so immersive in their simplicity and areperfectly clear from one to the next in their sound. This is a tribute to the time and effort that went into restoring the soundtrack for its current presentation. When the expert production is considered alongside the soundtrack’s liner notes and its musical material, the whole therein makes the overall collection another outstanding offering from Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. that every Peanuts fan will appreciate.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc.’s forthcoming soundtrack to You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown is a fully successful new offering from the company. That is due in part to its featured musical content, which presents every one of the songs featured in the classic 1972 TV special (which itself still remains relevant more than half a decade after it first aired). The bonus content that accompanies those primary songs adds even more appeal to the songs because they serve to take listeners even deeper into the creative process for the special’s musical side. The liner notes pair with all of that content to add that much more depth to the presentation, what with all of the background that it presents. The record’s production puts the final touch to the whole, ensuring full clarity from each song from one to the next. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the soundtrack to You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown. All things considered they make the soundtrack a complete success and must have for every Peanuts fan.
You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown’s soundtrack is scheduled for release Sept. 9 through Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. More information on this and other titles from LMFP is available at https://mendelsonproductions.com.
