Vince Guaraldi - It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (Black Vinyl)

Black BioVinyl LP

This is the black pressing of the extended edition of Vince Guaraldi's score for It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown, on one 12-inch LP at 33 RPM, and the only colorway the label offers through every retailer. The other three are channel exclusives: Mysterious Magenta for Urban Outfitters, Mystifying Teal for Barnes & Noble, and Magnifying Glass Clear for independent record stores.

The record is pressed on BioVinyl, which the label describes as made from recycled cooking oil or industrial waste gases in place of petroleum, with a stated 57 percent CO2 saving over conventional PVC and ISCC PLUS certification for its supply chain. Jacket, insert, OBI strip and labels are printed on FSC-certified paper, and the LP ships in a compostable PLA bag.

Side A holds the fifteen cues heard in the special. Side B gathers six pieces the special does not use: an alternate take of the second title-theme reprise, "Snoopy Holmes," a sequence of mixes with studio banter left in, the "Just Vince" mix of "Joe Cool," and takes of Joseph Kosma's "Autumn Leaves" and Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce" recorded on October 8, 1973, with Ron McClure on upright bass and Mike Clark on drums.

A 4-page insert carries notes by producers Sean and Jason Mendelson and Guaraldi biographer Derrick Bang, and a Snoopy Holmes magnifying-glass sheet comes with it for the puzzles hidden in the artwork, among them a search for the tiny Peppermint Patty robbers. Sean Mendelson's notes call the score "a full-on funk fest" and "the bluesiest and guitar heaviest" of Guaraldi's Peanuts scores, driven by wah-wah guitar and clavinet.

The back cover credits Guaraldi on piano, electric piano, clavinet, electric guitar and whistling, Seward McCain on bass, Tom Harrell on trumpet, and Mike Clark and Eliot Zigmund on drums and percussion, with John Scott Trotter credited for music supervision. The special was directed by Phil Roman from Charles Schulz's characters, produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, and first broadcast by CBS on February 1, 1974.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Little Birdie
2. Mystery Theme / Mystery Theme (Reprise)
3. It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown
4. Sassy Sally / It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (Reprise)
5. Mystery Theme (2nd Reprise)
6. Cops and Robbers
7. It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (2nd Reprise)
8. Mystery Theme (3rd Reprise)
9. It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (3rd Reprise)
10. Sally's Blues
11. Mystery Interlude #1
12. Joe Cool
13. It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (4th Reprise)
14. Mystery Theme (4th Reprise)
15. Mystery Theme (5th Reprise)

Side B (Bonus)

1. It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown (2nd Reprise Alternate Take)
2. Snoopy Holmes
3. Mystery Theme (Vibraslap Mix) / (Studio Banter) / Little Birdie (Alternate Vince Whistle) / Cops and Robbers (Rhythm Section Mix)
4. Joe Cool (Just Vince Mix)
5. Autumn Leaves
6. Billie's Bounce

Complete the Collection

Vince Guaraldi at Evergreen Vinyl, 5 titles with this one:

• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving