A Charlie Brown Christmas (album)

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A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas cover
Studio album by Vince Guaraldi Trio
Released 1965
Recorded 1965
Genre Christmas music
West Coast jazz
Cool jazz
Contemporary jazz
Mainstream jazz
Length 34:09
Label Fantasy Records
Professional reviews

A Charlie Brown Christmas is an album by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, released in 1965 as the soundtrack to the CBS Christmas television special of the same name. It is among the most popular holiday music albums of all time. There was also a book-and-record set featuring music, dialogue, and stills from the Christmas special released in 1977 on a 45 RPM vinyl record by CBS Records.

Fantasy Records reissued the album on CD in 1988; this edition is identical to the original 1965 LP release and can still be purchased in stores and online. A somewhat controversial remastered version (see below) of the original album was released by Concord Records in conjunction with Fantasy on October 10, 2006. The new edition includes four previously unreleased bonus tracks — all are alternate versions of songs in the original track listing — and features Digipak packaging, new liner notes by “famed music critic/historian Joel Selvin”, and the original cover art.[1]

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "O Tannenbaum" – 5:08
  2. "What Child Is This?" – 2:25
  3. "My Little Drum" – 3:12
  4. "Linus and Lucy" – 3:06
  5. "Christmas Time Is Here [Instrumental]" – 6:05
  6. "Christmas Time Is Here [Vocal Version]" – 2:47
  7. "Skating" – 2:27
  8. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" – 1:55
  9. "Christmas Is Coming" – 3:25
  10. "Für Elise" – 1:06
  11. "The Christmas Song" – 3:17
  12. "Greensleeves" – 5:26

[edit] 2006 remastered version bonus tracks

  1. "Christmas Is Coming" (Alternate Take 1)
  2. "The Christmas Song" (Alternate Take 3)
  3. "Greensleeves" (Alternate Take 6)
  4. "Christmas Time Is Here" (Alternate Vocal Take)

[edit] Controversy over 2006 remaster

Cover art for the remastered edition restored the original 1965 design
Cover art for the remastered edition restored the original 1965 design

The remastered version was met with criticism upon its release on October 10, 2006, by numerous fans who had become intimately familiar with the original 1965 album during the forty-one holiday seasons since its release. This was due to a number of aural differences — some that were considered major, and some minor — between the “classic” version and the remastered edition. Users of such online stores as Amazon.com noted the discrepancies in their remastered version reviews,[2] which included such differences as:

  • alternate takes in place of some of the original tracks
  • the use of noise reduction and digital sound manipulation to “clean up” the music — some reviewers believed that this led to the loss of definition in the bass
  • equalization that “compressed” and “limited” the mix, leading to a perceived loss of dynamic range in the music — many reviewers agreed with this point
  • an altogether too ‘modern’ sound to the album, apparently a result of the equalization and digital reverb effects

Concord Music Group, the parent company of both Concord Records and Fantasy Records, acknowledged the fan backlash in a post on its website entitled "Oh, Good Grief! A Charlie Brown Christmas Conundrum"; this was cited by a reviewer of the album on Amazon.com. The article explains what listeners were hearing, and notes that mistakes had indeed been made in the remastered version. It offers a free replacement disc for those who desire one, but makes clear that the offer would expire on March 1, 2007. Also, the post promises that all new copies produced from that point forward would be of the correct version of the remastered CD.[3]

[edit] Credits

  • Vince Guaraldi – piano, arrangement
  • Colin Bailey – drums
  • Monty Budwig – double bass
  • Fred Marshall – double bass
  • Jerry Granelli – drums
  • Ralph J. Gleason – liner notes (1988 Fantasy reissue)
  • Joel Selvin – liner notes (2006 remaster)
  • George Horn – mastering (1988 Fantasy reissue, 2006 Concord remaster)
  • Stephen Hart – mixing (2006 remaster)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Concord Music Group - A Charlie Brown Christmas [Remastered with Bonus Tracks]. Concord Music Group. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  2. ^ Reviews for 'A Charlie Brown Christmas': Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-26.
  3. ^ shurbuilders. "CONCORD EXPLAINS": Amazon.com Customer Review - A Charlie Brown Christmas. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
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