George Winston has long been a Vince Guaraldi fan, having recorded a tribute to him titled Linus And Lucy: The Music Of Vince Guaraldi in 1996. In addition to the nine Vince tracks on Peanuts Portraits, the producers have included two from Winston. The first sees him playing “The Masked Marvel.” This little known character was Snoopy dressed as a masked, caped crusader-- who once beat Lucy in a wrist-wrestling match. The finale’ sees Winston doing his version of “Linus And Lucy,” which adds a little piano business midway through, but mainly sticks to the established arrangement.
Except for the annual ritual of A Charlie Brown Christmas, I have not watched a Peanuts special in years. The release of Peanuts Portraits is a great reminder of how good those shows were though, and how integral the music of Vince Guaraldi was to them.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Greg, Vince Guaraldi's music is still a delight after all these years. I too tried to tape it back then, but I lost that tape over the years, but it is just as well because I kept telling my sister to be quiet in the background.
Now, I watch all the Peanuts specials with my kids, and it is a delight to hear that wonderful sound again. Guess I'll be adding a few CDs to my music library.
2 - Greg Barbrick
Thanks Victor, that's funny that you had to keep telling your sister to be quiet. I had the same problem whenever I was recording things too!
3 - El Bicho
will have to give this a spin
4 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Thanks for the heads up...
Yea, I have that George Winston album and as much as I dig Winston's passion & talent(his Windham Hill material is fantastic), he never reaches the finger work that Vince Guaraldi showcases(maybe it's the production,who knows).I think it just has something to do with how Mr. Guaraldi was able to speak to his own talent & passion when he composed. Pure Brilliance!
Anyways, I need to find the music that accompanied Snoopy during his Red Baron scenes when he was in the bar with Woodstock. Maybe, even the stuff when he was dog-fighting. Man, The Peanuts were awesome! Now, I gotta watch me some.
I definitely have to pick this one up.
5 - Greg Barbrick
Brian aka Guppusmaximus --
I totally dig Vince, but I think he was truly inspired when he did the Peanuts music.
This may sound ridiculous until you have actually heard it, but the instrumental version of "Christmas Time Is Here" ranks right up there with the last cut on Kind Of Blue by Miles for sheer beauty.
Vince Guaraldi was an amazing talent.