It's a Mystery Charlie Brown (CD)
It's a Mystery Charlie Brown (CD)
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*This is NOT a comic! But you can listen to it while you read comics! Peanuts comics perhaps?
By Vince Guaraldi. Published by Lee Mendelson Film Productions.
CD, 1974 (2026 printing)
“It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown”
- Little Birdie
- Mystery Theme / Mystery Theme (Reprise)
- It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown
- Sassy Sally / It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (Reprise)
- Mystery Theme (2nd Reprise)
- Cops and Robbers
- It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (2nd Reprise)
- Mystery Theme (3rd Reprise)
- It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (3rd Reprise)
- Sally’s Blues
- Mystery Interlude #1
- Joe Cool
- It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (4th Reprise)
- Mystery Theme (4th Reprise)
- Mystery Theme (5th Reprise)
--Bonus Material—
- It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (2nd Reprise Alternate Take)**
- Snoopy Holmes**
- Mystery Theme (Vibraslap Mix) / (Studio Banter) / Little Burdie (Alternate Vince Whistle) / Cops and Robbers (Rhythm Section Mix)**
- Joe Cool (Just Vince Mix)**
- Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma**
- Billie’s Bounce by Charlie Parker**
** Bonus material not on the special
The physical copies include liner notes that give a track-by-track analysis by album producer Sean Mendelson, and notes from album producer Jason Mendelson, sons of legendary Peanuts® producer Lee Mendelson. Derrick Bang, Guaraldi biographer and author of “Vince Guaraldi at the Piano,” continues the tradition of providing an historical essay for both the special and the soundtrack. The liner notes (vinyl: 4-page and CD: 12-page booklet) contain images from the special, rare photographs, and each comes with a magnifying glass sheet.
“It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown is a full-on funk fest. It’s also the bluesiest and guitar heaviest score. It’s also an entirely unique flavor relative to the other fourteen Guaraldi Peanuts special scores.”
— From the liner notes by Sean Mendelson, producer of the album.
“Guaraldi’s primarily electric keyboard score for It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown is light, cheerful and whimsical, as befits the story’s fantasy nature.”
— From the liner notes by Derrick Bang, author of “Vince Guaraldi at the Piano”
Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is thrilled to announce the first-ever release of Vince Guaraldi’s complete soundtrack for It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown, the 11th animated Peanuts® special, from writer and creator Charles Schulz, producers Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson, and director Phil Roman. It originally aired 52 years ago on February 1, 1974, on CBS-TV. The special is currently available for streaming on Apple TV or on DVD/Blu-ray from Warner Home Video.
The soundtrack album includes 21 tracks, comprised of the full 15 cue score for Mystery, plus four alternate and unused tracks from the special's recording sessions along with two covers of jazz standards. This is the funkiest Peanuts® score ever, with Guaraldi playing wah-wah guitar, clavinet, and leaning into groovy rhythms more than ever.
Also out September 18 – the first single off of the album is “It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown”, the eponymous title theme from the special. The composition is played five times throughout the special, and each distinct performance is available on the album.
This release is unique, as the packaging invites the customer to solve several mysteries to uncover its secrets.Customers are challenged to try to find all the tiny Peppermint Patty robbers, with the aid of included Snoopy Holmes magnifying glass sheet (all vinyl and CD releases include this special treat). There are several other secrets in the packaging, where the listener/reader is encouraged to try to search for clues and solve puzzles that will lead to more surprises!A can’t miss for Peanuts® fans and Guaraldi fans alike!
All the music was written by Vince Guaraldi, except for “Autumn Leaves” by Joseph Kosma and “Billie’s Bounce” by Charlie Parker.
On “Mystery,” Guaraldi whistles, plays guitar, piano, electric piano, and clavinet, and is joined by Seward McCain on bass, and both Mike Clark and Eliot Zigmund on drums. The tracks were recorded at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco on December 14th and 16-19th, 1973 and January 24th, 1974.
Some of the bonus material comes from an additional recording session that features Ron McClure on bass and Mike Clark on drums from October 8th, 1973.
The soundtrack was produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson; it was mixed at Bones and Knives by mixing engineer Terry Carleton, and was restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson (who has mastered all the LMFP releases).
The CDs are made with a “Digipack Lite ™” with eco-friendly ink, 16pt FSC® certified partially recycled board stock, and a re-sealable eco-bag. Additionally, the flexi-tray that holds the CD is made from repurposed water bottles and containers, and less paper overall was used relative to a standard digipak.
