''The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi'' is the 11th and penultimate studio album by American jazz pianist

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

, released in the U.S. by

Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc. was a short-lived American entertainment company active from 1967 until 1969. History Seven Arts Productions acquired Jack L. Warner's controlling interest in Warner Bros. Pictures for $32 million in November 19 ...

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.

Background

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 Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

. Warner signed Guaraldi to a three-record deal, and insisted that his inaugural release consist of his ''Peanuts'' songs. Guaraldi responded with new renditions of eight of his most popular scores from those programs on his first release, ''

Oh Good Grief! ''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. Background Vince Guaraldi's final three ...

''. Guaraldi was then given complete artistic control over his sophomore, self-produced Warner effort, ''The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi'', resulting in an unfocused and overindulgent album that was not well received by both critics and consumers. Only one track, "Lucifer's Lady", would eventually be featured in the film ''

A Boy Named Charlie Brown ''A Boy Named Charlie Brown'' is a 1969 American Animation, animated musical film, musical comedy film, produced by Cinema Center Films, distributed by National General Pictures, and directed by Bill Melendez. It is the first feature film base ...

'' (1969) and the television special, ''

Play It Again, Charlie Brown ''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. This was the first ''Peanuts'' TV special of the 1970s, ai ...

'' (1971). The album includes a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

’ song " Yesterday". A remastered edition of ''The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi'' was released in July 6, 2018, by

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...

as part of the 2-CD set '' The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings''.

Critical reception

''The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi'' received mixed reviews from critics. In a retrospective review by Richard S. Ginell on ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'', he commented that Guaraldi "roams farther afield than ever — playing piano and electric harpsichord, experimenting with sleek string backdrops, dabbling with the guitar." Ginell also called Guaraldi's "amateur Bohemian vocal" attempts at singing

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", becam ...

's "Black Sheep Boy" and "

Reason to Believe "Reason to Believe" is a song written, composed, and first recorded by American folk singer Tim Hardin in 1965. It has since been recorded by artists including Bobby Darin in 1966, Karen Dalton also in 1966, Glen Campbell in 1968, the Nitty Gritty ...

" "rather endearing." Ginell concluded by saying Guaraldi "generally keeps things at a low-key level, which gives this scattershot album at least a veneer of unity." Guaraldi historian Derrick Bang offered a mediocre review, saying "everybody's allowed to be grotesquely self-indulgent once, but this overproduced album...is well-named even by the most magnanimous standards," added that Guaraldi's vocals are "untrained at best, off-key at worst, and ill-advised in both cases." Bang points out that Guaraldi's "traditional acoustic jazz persona" is only represented by "Once I Loved" and

Ervin Drake Ervin Drake (born Ervin Maurice Druckman; April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015) was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "I Believe (1953 song), I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year". He wrote in a variet ...

's "

It Was a Very Good Year "It Was a Very Good Year" is a song composed by Ervin Drake Ervin Drake (born Ervin Maurice Druckman; April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015) was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "I Believe (1953 song), ...

Track listing

Personnel

– piano,

electric harpsichord An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

, guitar, lead vocals ("Black Sheep Boy", "Reason to Believe") *

Eddie Duran Edward Lozano Duran (September 6, 1925 – November 22, 2019) was an American jazz guitarist from San Francisco. He recorded often with Vince Guaraldi and was a member of the Benny Goodman orchestra during the 1970s. Career Duran started on p ...

, Robert Addison – guitars *

Bob Maize Bob Maize (January 15, 1945 – November 20, 2004) was an American jazz double bassist born and raised in Ontario California. Maize played piano from age seven and switched to bass at 13. After moving to San Francisco in 1963, Maize worked in the ...

, Jim McCabe – electric bass *Peter Marshall – bass *

Jerry Granelli Gerald John Granelli (December 30, 1940July 20, 2021) was an American-Canadian jazz drummer. He was best known for playing drums on the soundtrack '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'' with the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Early life Granelli was born to Jack ...

, Al Coster – drums *Gloria Strassner, Jesse Ehrlich – cello

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eclectic Vince Guaraldi 1969 albums Vince Guaraldi albums Warner Records albums Peanuts music