| Oh Good Grief! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1968 | |||
| Recorded | March 22, 1968 | |||
| Studio | Golden State Studios, San Francisco, California [1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 27:31 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts | |||
| Producer | Vince Guaraldi | |||
| Vince Guaraldi chronology | ||||
| ||||
Oh Good Grief! is the 10th studio album by Vince Guaraldi, released in the U.S. in May 1968. The album was the artist's first release with Warner Bros.-Seven Arts after leaving Fantasy Records in 1966.
Vince Guaraldi's final three albums released during his lifetime were recorded for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts after spending considerable time struggling to extricate himself from Fantasy Records. [2] Warner signed Guaraldi to a three-record deal, and insisted that his inaugural release consist of his Peanuts songs. This was done in part to help fill the void left by a lack of soundtrack albums to accompany the successful television specials, Charlie Brown's All Stars! , It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (both 1966), You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967) and He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968). Guaraldi responded with Oh Good Grief!, featuring new renditions of eight of his most popular scores from those programs and experimenting with electric keyboard and electric harpsichord. [2]
A remastered edition of Oh Good Grief! was released on July 6, 2018, by Omnivore Recordings as part of the 2-CD set The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings . [2] To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the album was also released on translucent red vinyl. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [4] |
| Five Cents Please | [5] |
Oh Good Grief! charted on the Billboard Best Selling Jazz LPs chart for two consecutive weeks starting the week of June 29, 1968, where it peaked at No. 20. [6]
AllMusic critic Richard S. Ginell observed, "by this time, like several other pianists, Guaraldi was actively exploring the new sonic horizons offered by electronic keyboards, and so he superimposes layers of electric harpsichord on most of these tracks. Some of the old sardonic spontaneity goes over the side, replaced by an overloaded gee-whiz atmosphere that sometimes gets in the way of the quartet's willingness to swing. But the tunes are marvelous, and since so little of Guaraldi's vast Peanuts output was ever made available, every millisecond of these jazz waltzes, bossa novas and soulful ruminations on Charlie Brown's world becomes cherishable." [1]
Guaraldi historian and biographer Derrick Bang noted that the songs are "presented in a manner wholly unlike the quieter trio sound found on [Jazz Impressions of] A Boy Named Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas ," noting that the album contains, "the jazziest, swinging-est collection of his Peanuts themes that Guaraldi ever released." Bang cited the arrangement of "Linus and Lucy," as "smokin'", adding that the song is "dominated by Guaraldi's percussive piano attack in the foreground, augmented by harpsichord shading in the background. His acoustic improv bridges never have been better, making this his most vibrant recorded version of what, by now, had become his second signature tune, after 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind'." Bang also pointed to "Red Baron" as the "stand-out", noting that it begins with a "similarly ferocious left-hand piano vamp and then cuts to a fast-paced arrangement of the melody on both piano and harpsichord." [5]
Both Ginell and Bang agreed that the length of the album was "maddeningly short." [1] [5]
All tracks are written by Vince Guaraldi except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Linus and Lucy" | 2:59 |
| 2. | "You're in Love, Charlie Brown" | 3:09 |
| 3. | "Peppermint Patty" | 2:40 |
| 4. | "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" | 3:36 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown" (mistitled "It's Your Dog, Charlie Brown") | 3:10 | |
| 6. | "Oh, Good Grief" |
| 2:38 |
| 7. | "Red Baron" | 4:50 | |
| 8. | "Rain, Rain Go Away" | 5:01 | |
| Total length: | 27:31 | ||
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard) [7] | 20 |
Vince Guaraldi Quartet
Vincent Anthony Guaraldi was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. His compositions for this series included their signature melody "Linus and Lucy" and the holiday standard "Christmas Time Is Here". Guaraldi is also known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. Guaraldi's 1962 composition "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition. He died of a heart attack on February 6, 1976, at age 47, moments after concluding a nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California.
"Linus and Lucy" is a popular instrumental jazz standard written by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. It serves as the main theme tune for the many Peanuts animated specials and is named for the two fictional siblings, Linus and Lucy Van Pelt. The jazz standard was originally released on Guaraldi's album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown in 1964, but it gained its greatest exposure as part of A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack the following year. It is one of the most recognizable pieces by Guaraldi and has gained status as the signature melody of the Peanuts franchise.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the eighth studio album by the American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. Coinciding with the television debut of the Christmas special of the same name, the album was released in the first week of December 1965 by Fantasy Records.
Play It Again, Charlie Brown is the seventh prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on March 28, 1971.
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown is the eighth prime-time animated TV special produced based upon the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, and the 10th one to air. It originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1972, nine days before the 1972 United States presidential election between incumbent Richard Nixon and Senator George McGovern. It was the first new Peanuts special to air since the spring of 1971.
You're in Love, Charlie Brown is the fourth prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It originally aired on CBS on June 12, 1967. This was the second non-holiday-oriented Peanuts special, following Charlie Brown's All Stars!.
From All Sides is a collaboration between pianist Vince Guaraldi and guitarist Bola Sete released in February 1965 by Fantasy Records. It was Guaraldi's seventh studio album and the second of three collaborations with Sete.
Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown is the sixth studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, released in the U.S. by Fantasy Records in December 1964. It is the soundtrack to the unreleased television documentary film entitled A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi is the 11th and penultimate studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, released in the U.S. by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in March 1969. In a departure from his standard jazz output, Guaraldi experimented with electric keyboard and electric harpsichord in preparation of the release of the album, which he also produced and arranged.
Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials is a compilation soundtrack album by Vince Guaraldi released by D & D Records in 2007. The album consists of select music cues featured on several Peanuts television specials produced between 1972 and 1975.
Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volume 2 is a compilation soundtrack album by Vince Guaraldi released by D & D Records in 2008. The album is a follow-up to the 2007 release, Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, which consisted of previously unreleased music cues featured on several Peanuts television specials produced in the 1970s.
The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites is a 2003 compilation album by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released by RCA/Bluebird Records. The album is a mix of previously released material, newly discovered studio recordings, plus an archived 1969 live concert recording entitled The Charlie Brown Suite.
Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits is a compilation soundtrack album by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released by Fantasy Records in 1998. The album was the first of several posthumous releases containing a mix of previously released material in addition to nine previously unavailable songs featured in prime-time animated television specials based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz.
Alma-Ville is the 12th and final studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, released in the U.S. by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in December 1969.
Oaxaca is a compilation album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released by D & D Records in 2004. The album is a mix of previously unreleased studio and live recordings taped in 1970 and 1971.
The Definitive Vince Guaraldi is Fantasy/Concord Records compilation album of songs by American jazz pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi released on November 3, 2009. It contains 31 tracks over two CDs, highlighting Guaraldi's Peanuts work as well his collaborations with guitarist Bola Sete.
Greatest Hits is the second compilation album of songs by American jazz pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi released in 1980 in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings is a double CD compilation of songs by American jazz pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi released by Omnivore Recordings on July 6, 2018. It contains 30 tracks, containing remastered versions of Guaraldi's complete recorded output for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, plus four bonus tracks.
The 1969 animated film A Boy Named Charlie Brown, based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts, had two different soundtrack albums. These albums were released individually in 1970 and 2017.
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording is a soundtrack album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi released on July 5, 2024, in the U.S. by Lee Mendelson Film Productions. It is the soundtrack album to the summer camp-themed Peanuts television special of the same name first broadcast on the CBS network on September 27, 1969.
