Vinyl madness 2021

Well, they clearly see us coming.

The "vinyl variants" of A Charlie Brown Christmas must be selling quite well each holiday season, because this promotional gimmick has been going strong since 2015. By my count, we've seen slightly more than two dozen, with more to come this year.

I'm curious ... has anybody reading this blog faithfully purchased all of them? If so, let me know; I'd love to acknowledge your devotion.

Anyway...

The fun begins this year in an unexpected manner, with Craft's (believe it or not) pumpkin-shaped orange vinyl edition of its recently issued soundtrack for It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It's expected to ship September 17. (I'm pleased to see they found a clever way to include the liner notes I wrote for that release.)

Moving on to A Charlie Brown Christmas, Wal-Mart's offering -- a red glitter vinyl disc packaged in silver foil -- is available now:

Barnes & Noble will offer an exclusive limited-edition picture disc, packaged in silver foil, and with an embossed jacket, expected to be available on October 1:

Urban Outfitters is unleashing a clear vinyl disc with red and green splatters, also scheduled for October 1 (Actually, this is merely new packaging; it's the same "exclusive LP" as 2020, but in a foil sleeve instead of last year's lenticular sleeve):

Target has a metallic gold swirl vinyl, along with a new art poster. It's also available now:

And you have to love the peppermint vinyl soon to be available from RSD Essentials, due out October 15:

Newbury Comics also will unveil their variant on October 15, with green swirl vinyl:

Craft will hit us with a "glitter-infused clear vinyl" LP, scheduled for October 1. But I can't help quoting the caveat the label includes, in the description of this one: "Please note that vinyl additives such as glitter may, but should not, affect sound quality." 

Is this what we've come to? "Exclusive" LPs that aren't (necessarily) designed to be played?

Anyway...

In addition to these vinyl variants, numerous retailers also will offer the standard LP — which is to say, plain black vinyl — in a "silver foil" edition with the foil "wrapped" onto the outer sleeve, and the Peanuts characters embossed. This short video gives a better sense of how that will look, than any of the still photos I've found.

And here's a late entry from vinylmeplease.com, in "red and green marble vinyl" ... although -- be advised -- the price point on this one is much higher than the others.

This is all I know about at the moment, but it's entirely possible that one or more other outlets will jump on board, as autumn arrives. If so, I'll add them to this post ... so keep checking back.

Another vinyl attack

We're just about to enter the fourth quarter of 2018 — or, as we view it in our household, the increasingly rapid slide into the holiday season — and you know what that means:

More new packaging for vinyl editions of Guaraldi's original album score for A Charlie Brown Christmas.

This seems to have become an annual tradition. I have to assume that folks keep snapping them up, or else we'd not be getting more every year.

First up is the Target exclusive, which features the classic cover and LP, and also comes with a "limited edition original art poster." It went on sale September 28.

Not to be outdone, two weeks earlier Barnes & Noble released a much more tempting version, which boasts a cute "limited edition picture disc."

Mind you, I'm not complaining. Anything that keeps the album relevant is cool in my book, and it's great to see that these large chains regard Guaraldi's 1965 album as a hot ticket. It's the best possible way to ensure that his music keeps getting introduced to the ears of new generations of young listeners.

Unfortunately, it still has a long way to go before overtaking the all-time best-selling holiday albums: a list topped by (in order) Elvis Presley, Kenny G, Josh Groban, Now That's What I Call Christmas!, Mannheim Steamroller (twice), Nat King Cole, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Barbra Streisand. Guaraldi does have the best-selling jazz Christmas album (assuming one regards Nat King Cole's release as pop). (And no, Kenny G ain't jazz.)

But who knows? With special annual releases such as these, and the ongoing steady sales of CDs and downloads, Vince may catch up with at least some of the folks on that list...

Once more unto the breach, dear friends...

In what has become an annual tradition, we have yet another re-release of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Craft Recordings, the catalog division of Concord Music, has produced a high-end vinyl reissue that will hit retail outlets on November 17. The LP was pressed onto 180-gram vinyl, and housed in an old-school style, tip-on jacket, featuring the artwork from the original 1965 LP. Lacquers for the album were cut by George Horn and Anne-Marie Suenram at Fantasy Studios, while the vinyl was pressed at Quality Record Pressings.

This have given Concord a good excuse for some proud boasting, and I'll let them quote some fun statistics:

A Charlie Brown Christmas, certified 4X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2016, is one of the best-selling jazz albums in history, second only to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. It's no surprise: Guaraldi's engaging score to the synonymous holiday television special has introduced generations of children and their parents to the joys of jazz, with tracks such as the instantly recognizable "Linus and Lucy," and the yuletide favorite "Christmas Time Is Here." The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry five years later, and continues to be a perennial favorite, thanks in part to annual airings of the TV special.

The price isn't too bad, either; pre-orders can be made at Amazon.

But wait; that's not all! Barnes & Noble has released a new picture-disc vinyl LP, which you can order here. (B&N did the same thing last year, albeit with a different image; that album has become quite difficult to find.)

Just in case you need another copy ... or two!