New music: 20/20, Vince Guaraldi, He's Dead Jim, Joe Giddings, Harakiri For The Sky

A wide range of recommended titles are available to add to any music lover's library.

Artist: 20/20

Title: Back To California (Spyderpop Records / Big Stir Records)

You might like if you enjoy: R.E.M., Action Skulls, The Plimsouls, Psychic Rain

Tell me more: The return of 20/20 is one of the most exciting realities of early 2025. The beloved Tulsa, Oklahoma-spawned power pop legends have just released Back To California, the band's first new album since 1998's Interstate. Steve Allen (vocals, guitar), Ron Flynt (bass, vocals) and Ray Flynt (drums, percussion) have delivered a new studio album that expands 20/20's discography and legacy. The opening title track is undeniably catchy while simultaneously tapping into sorrow-tinged overtones that are wonderfully palpable. The album's strengths continue to reveal themselves across the 11-track masterwork via literate and instantly-memorable originals. The shimmering "The End Of The Summer" is a melodic juggernaut, bolstered by great lead vocals, sublime harmonies, jangly guitars and an artful arrangement. The edgy guitar-anchored rocker "Springtime Love Song," driving "Lucky Heart," sumptuous "Laurel Canyon" tapping into the mythology of the fabled mountainous area in the Hollywood Hills, infectious romance-minded ear candy "Spark" and heartfelt closer "Farewell" are among the other terrific cuts on the album. Back To California is one of the first great albums of 2025. Information: bigstirrecords.com.

Artist: Vince Guaraldi

Title: Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown [50th Anniversary Extended Version] (Vince Guaraldi Film Productions)

You might like if you enjoy: Vince Guaraldi's music scores for other "Peanuts" animated classics in the 1960s and '70s

Tell me more: Although it has been 50 years since the beloved "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown" debuted on CBS-TV, composer-pianist Vince Guaraldi's full score has finally been issued via an expanded 30-track edition available on audio CD, vinyl and via streaming services; the title includes the complete 22 cue score and eight never-before-heard bonus tracks. Guaraldi layers his Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano to bolster his signature jazz sound, and his own artistry is enhanced by a trio completed by Seward McCain (electric bass) and Vince Lateano (drums). Among my favorite selections on the wonderful collection are the playfully uptempo "Paw Pet Overture," wistful "Freddie's Mood (Chopin's Nocturne in E flat major, Op.9 No.2)," emotive "Never Again," a decidedly alternative take on "Linus and Lucy," the jazzy delight "Last Call for Love," and a number of alternate versions of his memorable "Heartburn Waltz." The CD includes an 8-page insert, and the vinyl includes a 4-page insert. Both the CD and vinyl include art from the special and liner notes that give a track-by-track analysis by producer Sean Mendelson and notes by producer Jason Mendelson and Derrick Bang (author of "Vince Guaraldi at the Piano"). The vinyl has additional photographs and images from historical documents. For more information on the CD version, go HERE. For details on the vinyl edition, go HERE.

Artist: He's Dead Jim

Title: Head Like A Toyshop (Kool Kat)

You might like if you enjoy: Jellyfish, the Move, Blue Öyster Cult

Tell me more: Lovers of power pop, art rock, synth pop, post punk and classic rock will all find something to love on He's Dead Jim's wonderful new album Head Like A Toyshop. The Scotland troupe featuring Andy Milne (drums), Neil Christie (guitar, vocals) and Allan Bell (vocals, bass) isn't afraid to mix it up across the 14-track album, incorporating a number of musical genres and wide-ranging topics (ranging from science fiction and trash comics to literature, war and more) along the way. The speedy "On The Beach" and "Ticket To Explode," confessional "Why I Gave Up," power pop gem "Wire Buddha," indie rocker "Haywire," electronica foray "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" and other tracks on the album collectively add up to something very special. In addition, the trio's bewitching cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is an absolute delight. Information: koolkatmusik.com.

Artist: Joe Giddings

Title: Stories With Guitars (Kool Kat)

You might like if you enjoy: Cheap Trick, Matthew Sweet, Rick Springfield, Jeff Lynne's ELO

Tell me more: Joe Giddings' second album for the Kool Kat label is a solid collection of great songs that are as infectious as they are smart. The singer-songwriter began writing and recording the collection in March 2024, starting things off with the scintillating harmonies-filled gem "Then Came Madeline" for his daughter before quickly embarking on a quest to complete the 11-track masterwork. Memorable tracks abound on the release, including the soaring opener "Tonight Tonight," Queen-flavored "My Riviera," the decidedly timely melodic punk rocker "A.I. Lover," 12 string guitar-fueled "David Stepanski," and the enticing closer "Won It All Before Saying Goodbye." Information: koolkatmusik.com.

Artist: Harakiri For The Sky

Title: Scorched Earth (AOP Records)

You might like if you enjoy: All That Remains, The Halo Effect

Tell me more: Austria's leading post black metal band Harakiri For The Sky is back with a new studio album (Scorched Earth) that finds the band unleashing a fiery mix of atmospheric hard hitting rock, hardcore and metal in the service of songs that pry into the our torn modern day society. Scorched Earth clocks in at over an hour and features seven tracks tapping into our uncertain times; highlights on the disc include the blistering opener "Heal Me," "Keep Me Longing" with its lovely piano opening and subsequent rapid fire anger, sweeping "Without You I'm Just A Sad Song," and assaultive "Too Late For Goodbyes." Information: aoprecords.de.

Robert Kinsler

'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Music From The Soundtrack)' available for the first time ever on CD and Digital October 5, 2018

It's not too early to begin thinking about Halloween, especially when a media release alerting you to the first time ever release of the soundtrack from the timeless "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" this fall!

IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN 

(MUSIC FROM THE SOUNDTRACK)

BY COMPOSER/PERFORMER VINCE GUARALDI

AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON CD AND DIGITAL

COMING OCTOBER 5, 2018

 

CD OFFERINGS INCLUDE AN INTRODUCTION FROM 

PEANUTS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER LEE MENDELSON

AND LINER NOTES FROM PEANUTS HISTORIAN DERRICK BANG

One of the most sought-after soundtracks in the beloved collection of music from the iconic Peanuts animated TV specials, It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is being made available for the first time ever on Friday, October 5 via Craft Recordings. Featuring music by GRAMMY®-winning composer/performer Vince Guaraldi, the CD package includes a new introduction from the TV show's executive producer Lee Mendelson and insightful liner notes by Derrick Bang, Peanuts historian and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano.

 

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Music from the Soundtrack) features some of the most iconic tracks in pop culture, including the instantly recognizable "Linus and Lucy," as well as the languid, lyrical "Great Pumpkin Waltz." The music was recorded on October 4, 1966 at Desilu's Gower Street Studio in Hollywood, California by Guaraldi (piano) and his longtime friends and trio sidemen - bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey - joined by Emanuel Klein (trumpet), John Gray (guitar) and Ronald Lang (woodwinds). The entire scoring process was overseen by composer, arranger and conductor John Scott Trotter, well-known for a three-decade run as Bing Crosby's music director and close friend.

 

Pre-order It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, on Amazon, via the Craft Recordings Web Store, or find a copy at your local indie record store.

 

Following the astounding popularity of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip and the first two successful Peanuts television specials - A Charlie Brown Christmas and Charlie Brown's All-Stars - It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuted October 27, 1966 with a phenomenal 49 percent audience share, meaning 49 percent of the people watching television during those 25 minutes had tuned in to see Charlie Brown.

 

"This is the quintessential Vince Guaraldi for our Peanuts' specials...some of his best atmospheric jazz," Mendelson shares. "Vince's score carries the gang with the autumn leaves, through the scary and cold Halloween night. This music comforts the indomitable faith of Linus, still waiting for his hero since 1966 - forever in our ears, hearts and memories."

 

"Guaraldi had a strong sense of how music could - and should - be employed to maximize the viewing audience's emotional response," writes Bang. "[He] emphatically established the Peanuts 'musical personality' with this third outing, and all subsequent prime-time specials owed much to the groovin' atmosphere that is so prevalent in Great Pumpkin. Guaraldi had a gig for life...and his legacy lives on, expand[ing] by the year, thanks in great part to the jazz swagger given to an insecure blockhead and his lovably crazy beagle."

 

 

Track listing:

1. Linus and Lucy

2. Graveyard Theme

3. Snoopy and the Leaf/Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair)

4. The Great Pumpkin Waltz

5. Linus and Lucy (Reprise)

6. Charlie Brown Theme/Happy Linus

7. The Great Pumpkin Waltz (Reprise)

8. The Red Baron/Military Drum March

9. The Great Pumpkin Waltz (2^nd Reprise)

10. Trick or Treat

11. Fanfare/Breathless/Trick or Treat (Reprise)

12. Charlie Brown Theme (Reprise)

13. Breathless

14. It's a Long Way to Tipperary/There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding/Pack up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag/Roses of Picardy

15. Trick or Treat (2^nd Reprise)

16. Linus and Lucy (2^nd Reprise)

17. Charlie Brown Theme (2^nd Reprise)

 

Pre-order It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, on Amazon, via the Craft Recordings Web Store, or find a copy at your local indie record store.

 

For more info, visit Craft Recordings on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.