Customer Reviews

Linus & Lucy: The Music Of Vince Guaraldi

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a beautiful musical tribute to the late Vince Guaraldi by George Winston! You're sure to love this cd if you are a fan of Guaraldi or Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanut's gang. The songs range in mood from light & lively to soft & serene. You'll find music from many of the different Charles Schulz cartoons...."It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," "A Charlie Brown Christmas," "You're In Love, Charlie Brown, "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown," and more. Probably the most infamous Peanuts song on this cd is "Linus and Lucy." You know.....Da,da,dat, da,da,dat, daaaaa, daaaaa.....

Also on the cd are such Guaraldi hits as, "Cast Your Fate to The Wind," "Monterey," "Remembrance," and "Theme to Grace/Lament." Most of which are from the 1960's. Most people are very familiar with the Charlie Brown tunes, but may not be aware of who wrote and played them. Winston does Vince Guaraldi good in his musical tribute to him. It's a great cd if you enjoy Winston, Guaraldi, The Peanuts Gang, or all three. I love this cd for all three of those reasons! Would be a great addition to your cd collection.

Also of interest are the liner notes in the cd cover. There's a brief bio on George Winston and Vince Guaraldi, as well as how Winston came to admire and play the music of Guaraldi. He also writes a brief overview of each song. Very interesting.

If you are a fan of the late Vince Guaraldi, the classic Peanuts cartoon strip and Charlie Brown specials, or a fan of George Winston, I recommend this CD to you.

It's obvious that George Winston has the greatest respect for Vince Guaraldi as seen in the liner notes. Ok, so Winston improvises a little bit (like on "Peppermint Patty" and the closing track) but isn't that found on all tribute albums? When I 1st heard "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", I thought it had a Charlie Brown special feel to it. Now I know why! Other pieces that I like are the brief and simple "Eight Five Five" (you know Winston was a fan if he picked this piece up!), the classic "Linus and Lucy", "Skating", "Great Pumpkin Waltz", the Latino-flavored "The Masked Marvel", "You're In Love, Charlie Brown" and "Bon Voyage". But this isn't all Charlie Brown music. There's also "Treat Street" which sounds a little like George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and the lovely melancholy "Theme to Grace" in which Winston throws in a piece of his own "Lament" into this poignant final track.

I believe Vince would be honored and I understand George Winston has another CD of Vince Guaraldi music.

George Winston delivers a technically well wrought reworking of the songs on "Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi." I understand that this session is a tribute and not an attempt to copy or co-opt the original, and on that level, Mr. Winston succeeds.Two issues can work against the material here if one is not prepared for them. First, most of the originals have worn grooves into my brain, and in some way, these songs are in part like a soundtrack to wonderful, fleeting years of childhood before adolescence. When I was a kid, I used to tape the Peanuts? shows on my small reel to reel tape machine (this was in the '60 so way before VCRs) in order capture the music. And since then, I have no idea how many times I've watched those shows, now with my own children. Hence, it's hard to follow Mr. Winston when he veers in another direction, adds a new twist, or tweaks the material---even though he does so masterfully.But the lightness and sweetness of these songs is mostly preserved, at least around the edges, and by reinterpreting the music, Mr. Winston provides a fresh take, though not exactly the same sentiment of the originals. Second, the contrast in styles between Mr. Winston and Mr. Guaraldi sometimes creates a bit of tension in my deep-rooted expectations of what this music "should" sound like. When Mr. Winston applies some of the stride piano playing or alters the beats a bit (see his liner notes for more better explanations), the songs no longer have the same lilting quality I expect from my prior conditioning and sometimes a note sounds more brittle than fluid. Some of this tension abates after a few listens, but there are a couple of spots where it proves more distracting than enjoyable. Listen to the middle of the title track, for instance, where some of the cords sound harsh. All this commentary aside, Mr. Winston treats the songs and heritage of Mr. Guaraldi respectfully. His revisions actually make me appreciate the original songs more.

I write this as my all-time favorite cartoonist Charles M. Schulz has passed away. Vince Guaraldi's music helped make all those Charlie Brown specials I loved so wonderful. And there's nobody better to pay tribute to Vince Guaraldi than George Winston. If you enjoyed the Charlie Brown specials as a kid, you'll love this CD.

This CD not only features Guaraldi's music in the specials (most noteworthy are "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving", "The Great Pumpkin Waltz", the obscure "Eight Five Five", and the classic "Linus and Lucy") but of other musical pieces by Guaraldi("Treat Street", "Requiem", and the classic "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", which I always thought had a Charlie Brown feel to it). I think Vince would've been honored to have George Winston pay tribute to him. I understand a 2nd collection of Vince Guaraldi's work as played by George Winston is in the making.

I recieved this CD as a Christmas gift about 4 years ago. When I unwrapped it, I was confused and dissapointed. I had never expressed any interest in piano music. (I mostly listened to pop and techno) I had no idea that this would be the greatest CD I'd ever own. I can still remember the way I felt the first time I listened to it. What a surreal experience! What euphoria! It was like nothing I had ever heard before. I remember my jaw dropping as I was litteraly brought to tears when I heard the boogie woogie part of track 2. The speed of this man's hands is mind-boggeling. I can honestly say that this CD has changed my life in a big way. BUY THIS CD!

Jazz composer Vince Guaraldi played with a drummer and a bass player for good reason. On solo piano, the inventive wildness of his pieces often make it hard to get a good groove going and keep it reasonably steady. At least, it seems hard for the otherwise talented George Winston. His appreciative but labored interpretations of Guaraldi's famous "Peanuts" music sound incomplete and uneven. His take on the classic "Linus and Lucy" theme alternates ridiculously between the high, thin range of his piano and the low, fuller sound it deserves. Indeed, I don't know what microphone or production techniques they were using, but this piano doesn't even *sound* very good. It has almost no resonance and seems pretty dead. In short, if you admire George Winston, you would be better served listening to some of his own mellower improvisations. If you want Vince Guaraldi music, there's no point at all in listening to this Winston CD when the original Guaraldi trio versions are still available.

This is one of the best solo piano albums I've ever heard. It has awesome little riffs strewn throughout I am enamored by the brilliance of each and every solo piano piece.

I am working to transcribe these pieces by listening closely to the CD, so I can play them myself. So far I've learned half of 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' and 'Linus & Lucy' (working on the solo part). The first song, and several others, sends chills up my spine with the various transitions George provides. It is unfortunate that not all people can experience this.

It sounds like the negative reviews stem from comparing this music to that of Vince Guaraldi, instead of judging the music on its own merit. As a tribute album, one does not have to recreate the original music exactly as it was, or it would not be a tribute - just a copy! I love solo piano, because as a pianist myself I sometimes like to hear the piano sound on its own, without drums or bass.

I love the sound of each song, and I think you will too.

When I was 14, my grandmother got me this albulm for Christmas. I was quite unenthused at the time as I had no interest in piano music. Regardless, I popped it into my cd player a couple days later, not expecting much. During track 9, (a moment I will never forget) my life actually changed forever. His boogie woogie improvisations BLEW MY MIND in a very litteral sense.

The sound was so rich and amazing that the room got really bright (I think because my pupils dialated), I turned the volume way up and just pressed my head against my boom-box and I started uncontrollably laughing and crying at the same time. It felt like I was going mad, but it was just the first time I had ever been high on musical extasy.

I am now a 22 year old musician, and this is still the greatest solo piano albumm I have ever heard, and my most enduering favorite. This album broke me out of my pop music rut and started my life-long passion for jazz and classical music.

Buy this album for someone, especially if they're narrow minded when it comes to music. You might just change their life!

George Winston is a good pianist. I particularly like his seasonal works. I also admire his desire to pay tribute to Vince Guaraldi, who immortalized himself by composing music for the early Peanuts TV specials. Winston's album is good in that it expands beyond the Peanuts faire to some of the other sides of Guaraldi's music. That much being said, this is not Vince Guaraldi, and anyone wanting Vince Guaraldi should not look here to find it. Winston obviously tries very hard to do justice to the jazz great, but doesn't quite make par. One of the problems is that most of Guaraldi's compositions were composed for the jazz trio (piano, bass, and drums). Some of the special qualities of his music is lost on solo piano. This isn't a put-down to Winston, but a testament to the brilliance of he to whom he is paying homage. I think this CD is a great tribute album and is enjoyable to listen to, but it does not bring back the magic of Guaraldi, nor does it rank among Winston's better works.

As a Jazz Fan, and one NOT of the Smooth or Lite persuasion, I love The Vince Guaraldi Trio (Piano, Bass, Drum). So, I was very pleasantly surprised to hear this recording at a party my boss in his home. I must salute George for a job well done with these solo piano renditions of the Peanuts classics and other Guaraldi penned Jazz tunes (Cast Your Fate To The Wind is my favorite). George may not be a jazz musician, but he sure knows the music of Vince Guaraldi. Buy this CD!