Customer Reviews

A Charlie Brown Christmas [Expanded]

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

No, this is not your father's A Charlie Brown Christmas album. As has been pointed out here already, there's a different mix and alternate takes. But some points should be brought to a prospective buyer's attention so as to truly appreciate what's been done here.

The remix by Stephen Hart serves 1 purpose - to clean up a poorly recorded (even by mid-sixties standards)soundtrack. Noise reduction was used to remove excessive hiss, and the new mix was re-eq'd to accomodate listening by today's standards. It had been suggested that some left hand work by Vince is lost in this mix, but that is highly unlikely since, although probably recorded on a 4-track machine, the trio appeared to have had each of their instruments recorded in mono. Stephen merely places each instrument slightly to the left,center, or right in order to give a "live club" spaciousness to the sound, rather than the typical studio panned mixes we hear today.

In my opinion, people who are disgruntled with the actual sound of this disc have just been used to the original mix for so long that this appears foreign to them. They're just not used to it. If they long for a 60's sounding disc - they should simply convert their vinyl album to cd-r!

As for the replaced takes...that's another story altogether. Regarding the "wrong take" of "Linus & Lucy": the one presented on this reissue is actually the one that was used in the film (and this marks the first time this take was made commercially available). All previous issues of this soundtrack album used the version from the A Boy Named Charlie Brown documentary soundtrack.

We've NEVER had a commercially available version of the take of "Christmas Time is Here" (either the vocal or instrumental version) from the film, and this reissue is no exception, it is as the initial Fantasy release had it. The excerpt from "Christmas is Coming" in the film is to short to determine what take was finally used in it. The version on the new disc is NOT the one on the original issue, nor is the alternate bonus track.

Also, the take of "O Tannenbaum" is not an alternate version, but rather offers an arpeggiated chord introduction that apparently was overdubbed as an afterthought and was later cut out from the initial release. The version of "The Christmas Song" is the same as the original, not another take which was previously reported.

On a last note, there's a pleasant surprise at the end of "Skating," which is the same take as the original issue, but dosen't fade out and we're able to hear Vince's trio finish the song outright. Ditto for the instrumental track of "Christmas Time is Here" (though the effect is less dramatic). Jazz tunes were not meant to fade out!!

Should more care have been taken in letting the consumer know about these changes? Absolutely! But in spite of their...um... carelessness, this new reissue is a must have for all Vince & Charlie Brown Christmas fans.

I bought the original CD reissue of this album back in 1986; it has remained an essential part of my holiday listening ever since. I skipped the subsequent reissue, since I really didn't need to have "Greensleeves" badly enough to warrant buying the disc again.

That said, I was happy to hear that A Charlie Brown Christmas had been given the proper remastering treatment and reissued with bonus tracks and restored artwork.

However, I was not happy once I started listening.

1. The recordings have clearly been squashed using compression and limiting. As a result, the average level is comparable to that of a current pop release. Like classical music, jazz is supposed to have dynamic range. This new master doesn't have all that much (or not as much as it should, anyway). Sure, there was plenty of room to increase the volume somewhat (since early CDs often failed to take advantage of the headroom that was available), but there was simply no good reason to resort to compression. When it comes to remastering old(er) recordings, the number-one rule should be to provide the most faithful reproduction of the original recording possible, not to re-create the recording as if it had been made today. If I wanted to induce listening fatigue, I'd listen to whatever this month's new flavor is instead.

2. The mix sounds sterile, and bears little resemblance to the mix we've all been living with.

3. As folks have already pointed out, the version of "Linus and Lucy" presented here is a different version.

So, I think I'll ditch this edition and go buy that 1988 reissue instead. I'd recommend that you do the same.

The perrenial Christmas favorite returns for its third incarnation on compact disc. The original Fantasy release (which is still in my possession) is now 20 years old. George Horn returns to master this new edition as he did the previous releases, but the entire project is shaken up by going back to the original multitrack master tapes, and being newly remixed by Stephen Hart, and this is where the new project no longer bears a resemblance to its original (and well-mixed) parent.

More than one track on this issue has been mistakenly taken from incorrect alternates (and yet we have a few additional alternate takes as bonus material), notably 'O Tannenbaum' and the signature tune 'Linus And Lucy', and modern noise reduction and digital effects have reduced tape noise, but have also sacrificed definition in the left-handed work of composer Vince Guaraldi, especially on the "wrong" take of 'Linus And Lucy'. The choral tag 'Hark, The Herald Angels Sing' is the most noticeably changed, with a more dominanant organ, and considerably reduced vocal levels. In this case, it isn't necessarily a bad thing, since I always cringed at the extreme difference in volume from the childrens' "Ooh"'s to their off-key, boisterous lyric performance.

On the whole, the entire album has a sound that is too 'modern', thanks to current digital reverb technology, a far more sterile environment than the huge echo and reverb chambers of vintage recording studios. They do go the extra mile in the packaging, in attempts to provide new liner notes, as well as vintage album artwork in an all-new digipack, but on the whole, consider this a supplement, and not the authentic broadcast version we're used to hearing.

POSTED ON THE CONCORD WEB SITE:

"Wednesday December 20, 2006 12:50:35 PM

"OH, GOOD GRIEF!

"A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS CONUNDRUM!

"Some of you may have noticed that the new remixed, remastered version of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' had two mishaps -- these are as follows:

"Track 4: Linus And Lucy -- the original LP version was an edit of two different takes, in the remix for the new CD we ran one of the takes in its entirety. New pressings of the CD will revert back to the original stereo mix -- if you want to replace your copy, please see the instructions at the end of this explanation.

"Track 9: Christmas Is Coming -- the original LP version and the version on the new CD are entirely different takes. This is an unintentional mistake (those keeping close score will note that both versions are identical in length, thus confusion ensued during the final master assembly). Our sincere apologies, if you want to replace your copy, please see below.

"The master has already been updated and versions hitting the stores from this point forward will be corrected.

"For those of you who have noticed that some of the songs have things you've never heard before -- you're right! And these things are NOT mistakes:

"Track 1: O Tannenbaum -- the original LP version had the introduction to the song cut off, on the new CD we reinstated the intro.

"Track 5: Christmas Time Is Here (instrumental) -- the original LP version fades out at the end of the song almost losing the last chord, on the new CD we intentionally left the last chord in.

"Track 7: Skating -- the original LP version fades during the bass solo at the very end, on the new CD we intentionally let the song run to its conclusion adding about ten seconds to the track.

"Finally, there has been great speculation and conjecture over whether or not any noise reduction was employed to generate the new CD. The new CD is remixed from the original three-track so the fact that you're not hearing that old familiar hiss is NOT due to the use of noise reduction, it is rather that the new mix is much quieter than the two-track stereo master. The only place a touch of noise reduction was utilized was on Track 10, 'Fur Elise,' as there is no three-track for that master -- it was originally recorded direct to two-track.

"So, should you like to trade in your CD with the the two alternate takes (Linus And Lucy & Christmas Is Coming) for one with corrected masters, please send your disc (not the digipack, just the disc please) or a receipt for your original purchase (if you wish to keep the disc with the alternates) to:

"Good Grief!

"Concord Music Group, Inc.
100 N. Crescent Drive;
Suite 100
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

"We will send you a replacement CD gladly in keeping with the spirit of the holiday. Please note that this replacement offer is only valid through March 1st, 2007. Thank you."

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

For all those wondering if, as promised, Fantasy/Concord fixed the major mistakes they made with initial pressings of the 2006 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" remaster, the answer is a resounding "YES"!

After much comparing and contrasting of the waveforms from three editions of the album (the original 1988 reissue, the original 2006 remaster, and the updated 2006 remaster) I can, without a doubt, tell you that the two songs in question ("Linus And Lucy" and "Christmas Is Coming") on the updated 2006 remaster match the original 1988 reissue note for note.

Purists may scoff, but if you've been putting off purchasing the 2006 remaster of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," due to what you may have heard about the epic wrongs committed by Fantasy/Concord on the initial pressings of the album, don't wait any longer! Buy it for the nostalgia factor, listen to it because it's the edition you've always wanted (in the too cool digipak!), and keep it because of the first rate sound quality. Honestly, this album has never sounded so full and rich!

And even if you lovingly own the 1988 CD reissue (like I do), you may surprise yourself by how often you reach for the 2006 edition instead. There IS room for two "A Charlie Brown Christmas" albums in your life, trust me!

Like others have said, if you're used to hearing the original album this one is going to sound a little weird. Also, I don't think the sonics are really an improvement over the original CD.

Get the SACD if you have the hardware, it is the best version by far. I played it side by side with this CD and there is no comparison.

As you may have noticed by the mixed reviews, this is a newly remastered version of A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special released in 2006. I'm a fan of the new version, although the old one is certainly not bad and has its own charm. A lot of effort went into this remaster, because I've heard plenty of things that have been 'remastered' and either not improved or actively made worse. There is a significant difference, though. The 'old' version sounds exactly like what you hear when you watch the TV special, so if you want pure nostalgia, buy that one instead.

I actually bought both recordings so I could compare them back-to-back. I didn't do blind A-B testing, but I did listen to both CDs, both as a whole and in pieces. To me, the 'new' versions of the songs sound cleaner and more spacious, but not compressed. The effect produces something that sounds more like a recording of a live performance. I do not understand the comments related to the piano part being muddled or lost -- because to me, if anything, I can hear more of Guaraldi's subtleties in the new mix. The 'old' version does sound a bit brighter at the high end, but it's hard to say if that was intentional or an artifact of the noise (since there is just a lot of high-end hiss in general in the 1988 version). The average volume level *is* noticeably higher on the new recording (which another reviewer pointed out as a negative), but I feel that better use has actually been made of the available dynamic range on the new remaster. The volume levels of the different parts have been brought more into balance on several tracks.

As noted by other reviewers, several of the tracks have slightly different/longer versions from the 1988 CD release. This is not really stated anywhere -- the lengths of the first 12 tracks on the back of the two CDs are listed as exactly the same, but some of them are not actually the same length on the CD! Apparently, however, just to confuse things more, the alternate takes of "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmas is Coming" have been restored to the 'old' version in the later pressings of the 'new' CD. (The explanation given was that the 'old' version of "Linus and Lucy" was actually a composite of two takes, and they originally used the full version of one take on the 'new' recording -- and they just flat-out used the wrong take of "Christmas is Coming" on the first batch of CDs.)

Ultimately, you may have to listen to it yourself to make up your mind. To me, this version is probably truer to what Guaraldi was hearing in the studio when he laid down the tracks. But is it what you heard on your television in 1965? No, not quite.

I wish I had read some of these other reviews before buying this CD. The original soundtrack album of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has been a favorite of mine for years, but the other reviewers are correct in stating that much of this album is made up of alternate takes, and I'm not referring to the bonus tracks at the end of the disc, either. Because of this, it's NOT the same album that I've listened to over and over again every Christmas season, but feels more like a remake. (And what's up with the alternate version of "Linus and Lucy"? It's too darn fast!) Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group has done the buyer a disservice by labeling this as being "remixed and remastered", and leading us to believe we're getting an improved version of the familiar when it's actually anything but. If if they're going to make substitutions like this, it should be stated clearly on the cover, but of course, it's nowhere to be found. Sure, the sound is improved, but if you're a die-hard fan who is expecting the same performances you've loved for years, skip it. Even though I'm a huge fan of Peanuts, I feel cheated and would return my copy if I could.

For the first time in my life, I truly heard the upright bass in "Linus & Lucy". I felt the church organ in "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" and got nervous that I didn't have anything to offer the kids chorus that was obviously singing right in front of me... This essential holiday record needs to be (re)experienced by anyone who loves it and played for the unlucky few who've never heard it. The packaging is beautiful (the animation cell in the front window is SO fitting & clever and the original design is a welcomed and appreciated change) and the sound - well, it's exquisite. Oh, did I mention there are bonus tracks? Do yourself a favor - add this reissue to your collection. It's mandatory listening for the holiday season. Even if you think you know it - you've never heard it like this before. And, while it would be nice to pass your old copy onto someone who doesn't know what a great album this is - if you like that person, you'll have them get this reissue, too.