Vince Guaraldi: It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!

The series of complete Peanuts television special soundtracks put out by Lee Mendelson Film Productions continues to thrill fans of Vince Guaraldi, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and all the gang. After the highly successful Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving animated specials, the stage was set for 1974's It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! Recorded over two days at Wally Heider Studios in Guaraldi's hometown of San Francisco, the soundtrack—resurrected for the first time from the 16-track master tape and freshly mixed—features the pianist's longtime bassist Seward McCain and either Glenn Cronkhite or future Bill Evans trio member Eliot Zigmund on drums. Released both digitally and on a beautifully mastered and pressed 45 RPM LP with extensive liner notes from biographer Derrick Bang and producer Sean Mendelson, It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! is a nostalgic sweet treat that goes down easier than a marshmallow Peep.

It is a varied set that includes a funky grinder ("Snoopy and Woodstock") featuring Guaraldi on fuzz guitars, a "Cast Your Fate to the Wind"-style piano pop tune ("Woodstock's Dream"), an electric harpsichord-driven soul groover ("Woodstock's Pad") and the requisite short arrangements of "Linus and Lucy," the best of which is "Salting Eggs/Linus and Lucy (4th Reprise)." There is also an audio Easter egg in the form of "Woodstock Medley," a 2021 recording from Wally Heider Studios. featuring pianist and Guaraldi fan David Benoit mashing up a variety of '70s Peanuts themes alongside McCain and former Guaraldi drummer Mike Clark.

While plenty of the short cues here conjure up the kind of jovial jazz that Guaraldi was already famous for prior to his first association with the Peanuts empire in 1964, It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! features one of the more diverse soundtracks in the canon. In addition to those tracks that explore the pop and soul styles of the day, there are interesting adaptations of excerpts from two movements of Beethoven's 7th symphony, featuring the flute of Robert Claire. The Benoit bonus track may seem like filler, padding out an admittedly short album, but it is not. In addition to this special's "Woodstock's Dream," the medley combines many favorite themes from other specials, such as "Little Birdie" and the "Thanksgiving Theme," and fits in perfectly with Guaraldi's original 25 cues. Benoit's use of both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes and McCain's familiar bass playing ensure the musical throughline of this set and round out the album on a high note.

Between the standard release limited Easter Purple 12" and egg-shaped 10" vinyl editions found only in independent record stores for Record Store Day, and the television special itself now streaming on Apple TV+, there are many ways for Peanuts and Guaraldi fans to celebrate the season with It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.