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Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas Audio CD

A fair review of the Vince Guaraldi "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Vince Guaraldi reviews here, or go back to the Vince Guaraldi tabs.

Vince Guaraldi Band: Vince Guaraldi
Title: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Rating:
Release Date: 2006-10-10
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: O Tannenbaum 2: What Child Is This 3: My Little Drum 4: Linus and Lucy 5: Christmas Time Is Here [Instrumental] 6: Christmas Time Is Here [Vocal Version] 7: Skating 8: Hark, The Herald Angels Sing 9: Christmas Is Coming 10: Für Elise 11: Christmas Song 12: Greensleeves 13: Christmas Is Coming [Alternate Take 1] 14: Christmas Song [Alternate Take 3] 15: Greensleeves [Alternate Take 6] 16: Christmas Time Is Here [Alternate Vocal Take 5]

Another review, 3 years on.
I was especially amused by people's VERY strong reactions to it here on Amazon. As an audiophile and recording engineer, I was excited by the prospect of this remaster. Pretty strong stuff!

Maybe deservedly so. It does sound different than the original release. The piano for instance, contrary to a few baffling reviews here, is MUCH fuller sounding now than in the original release. I think people calling it "tinny" aren't actually comparing it to the original, slightly thinner sound of the piano on the '88 release.

RE: Linus and Lucy. . . the choice to include this version is a little difficult to understand, as the bass is noticeably out of tune with the piano! It's cool as a novelty/different take, but why leave off the one we're all used to? Like many other reviewers, I would have preferred this as a bonus cut.

RE: "clams" and other "mistakes". . . I have a feeling that most of these can be attributed to poor documentations as to what was used for the original master. Most of the piano takes here are the ones used on the original release, but there are moments of "what's this?" I suspect that this is due to the current engineers not having notes about which 2 bars of this or that were used as edits/minor piece replacements. They don't sound like entirely different takes to my ears.

It would also seem that the intention was to leave the endings of songs whole instead of fading them out. As a novelty, this almost works, but there is obviously a reason that, say, "Skating" has a fade out on the original release: it gets sloppy!

So yes, strange editing choices were made. As a fan of the original, I would have liked liner notes that explained the choices, which takes were used and why. The inexplicable use of obviously different material seems to have jarred all of us who knew the old disc inside and out.

As a Christmas album, though, it holds up. The sound is full and lovely, the songs are fantastic, the playing wonderful. I don't object to the remix, I think it retains and maybe enhances the sense of presence and space. And I LOVE the fuller piano. .


Brings back memories
A little jazzy, a little familiar, and very mellow. The Charlie Brown Christmas special was an integral part of my childhood growing up, and this CD is the perfect backdrop for an adult holiday party. For those complaining about the sound quality, I had a much better experience plugging in some very high quality external bookshelf speakers directly to my Mac (better than headphones, and better than downloading to the iPod and playing through a Bose Sound Dock). .


Fun!
I love that its from a children's tv show but that the music is legitimately good. This is such a fun CD. I love the jazz piano, the childrens voices are unpolished, but thats what the peanuts are all about. Plus there are only a few songs with singing. Loved it. .


A Christmas classic CD!
I have to admit that I bought this specifically for the vocal rendition of "Christmastime is Here," but after playing the whole CD only a couple of times, I grew to love all of the songs on this CD! I consider it one of the most cherished CDs in my Christmas CD collection!.


A Favorite Holiday CD
I have an assortment of holiday music but nothing that replaces Vince Guaraldi. I misplaced my original CD. I consider this a classic CD, one that I'll play every year and not get tired of. .


You can see a complete list of all Vince Guaraldi discography, or go back to the Vince Guaraldi tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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