Oh, Good Grief displays a re-interpretation of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts classics as Guaraldi experimented with electric keyboard and electric harpsichord in preparation of the release of his next album, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi. The members of this trio were pianist Vince Guaraldi, guitarist Eddie Duran, drummer Carl Burnett, and bassist Stanley Gilbert. This album shows lively new versions of the classic tunes of Peanuts.
In his first album for Warner Bros., Vince Guaraldi serves up another delightful, though pitifully short (27 minutes) helping of his themes for the Peanuts TV specials. 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. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
