The song
"Snoopy's Christmas" is actually
part of a larger work called "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron".
It's part
concept album (before there was such a thing), part rock
opera
(before there was such a thing), but predates both.
Side A of the old vinyl SVTRB was 6 tracks - three songs
each
preceded by the "Story of" the song. The stories were in the
form of
mock (and campy, to be frank) radio broadcasts from the
First World
War (bit of artistic license there, I know). The songs were
different
manifestations of the recurring Snoopy vs. The Red Baron
fantasies in
the popular Peanuts comic strips.
Side B was a collection of pop-rock tunes themed around WWI
- "Down
Behind the Lines" and "Sopwith Camel Time" are two of the
better
tracks. All-in-all though, Side B pales in comparison to
Side A.
Because of the subject matter (and the talents of the band,
if we're
being honest) it could be very easy to dismiss the whole
thing as a
novelty act. But somehow, as a whole, SVTRB transcends all
that.
SVTRB was one of my favorite albums as a child, and remains
special
to me to this day. I have now owned the album on vinyl,
cassette
(twice - the first one wore out on me) and now on CD. Only
the final
track of Side A, my entry this time around, is specifically
Christmas-
related but any of the 9 songs on the album instantly evoke
the
feeling of Christmas for me.
