You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1967 Original Off-Broadway Cast) [Extra tracks]

Clark Gesner (Artist), Bob Balaban (Artist), Gary Burghoff (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Decca Broadway
• ASIN: B000050HZZ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,758 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

2. Schroeder (Moonlight Sonata)

3. Snoopy

4. My Blanket & Me

5. The Kite

6. Dr. Lucy

7. Book Report

8. The Red Baron

9. T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game)

10. Queen Lucy

11. Peanuts Potpourri

12. Little Known Facts

13. Suppertime

14. Happiness

15. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown -- Clark Gesner (piano), Barbara Minkus (vocalist) (bonus track)

16. The Doctor Is In -- Clark Gesner (piano), Barbara Minkus (vocalist) (bonus track)

17. My Blanket & Me -- Clark Gesner (piano), Barbara Minkus (vocalist) (bonus track)

18. The Kite (bonus track) -- Clark Gesner (piano), Barbara Minkus (vocalist) (bonus track)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Off-Broadway cast has the edge..., October 31, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1967 Original Off-Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is a disarmingly small show which is preserved very well in this original, off-broadway cast recording. Compared to the recent broadway revival, this recording is more charming and less "brassy," and is overall much sweeter and childlike in performance. Especially noticable is the difference in "The Baseball Game" which is sped up significantly in the revival, giving it a rushed, frantic tempo, but here, slowed down, it becomes a humorously poignant song/story. The remastering, liner notes, and bonus tracks are superior, especially interesing are the bonus tracks of "demo" material that is very rare. Decca Broadway deserves public applause for re-releasing this fine, long-out-of-print score. Both this CD and the New York revival disc are worth owning, for there were significant changes in several songs made for the revival, but this disc has the edge in performance.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The original Off-Broadway cast is still the best, December 10, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1967 Original Off-Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

The Original Off-Broadway Cast album of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" was probably the first musical I really listened to as a kid. I listen to a lot of musicals and I have lots of revival albums. As a general rule I am usually interested in how different singers deal with classic songs. But the latest revival album of this musical does nothing for me for the simple reason that those singers do not sound like Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, and Linus. The "real" characters are on this original album. Reva Rose singing "Schroeder" is ingrained in my brain in a way that allows no substitutes. No other version of "Happiness" can touch me the way that this one does, totally capturing the sense of friendship between these characters. Yes, I now know intellectually that it is Gary Burghoff playing Charlie Brown, but that means nothing. It is Charlie Brown singing and you will never convince me otherwise. In this case I am willing to argue the first version is the best, and if you loved this album as a kid you certainly will want to hear it again as a former kid.

Composer/lyricist/librettist Clark Gesner had simply written a bunch of "Peantus" songs based on Charles M. Schulz's beloved comic strip and was persuaded to turn them into a stage musical in 1967 and ran for four years. The cast consists of Bill Hinnant (Snoopy), Gary Burghoff (Charlie Brown), Reva Rose (Lucy), Karen Johnson (Patty), Bob Balaban (Linus), and Skip Hinnant (Schroeder). One of the treats of this CD version is that we get to hear these songs in their original versions, with Gesner on the piano and Barbara Minkus doing the singing. Even in these earlier forms, the charm and the heart are readily apparent. It is really nice to see that the bonus tracks on this album live up to the name.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charlie Brown Rocks Your World., August 29, 2002

By 

tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1967 Original Off-Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

It is so nice to have this album of the original cast on cd. YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN has been delighting audiences for nearly half a decade and the revival version sparked an even greater interest in the show. However, this was the production that began it all. Keeping in tune with the sweet spirit of the comic strip, this version of the musical is simple and relies upon the actors skill to portray the characters rather than a cartoonish tone and big instrumental score. Many of the songs are memorable and the performances bring the beloved comic to life. My favorite songs on the album include:

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"

"T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game)"

"Peanuts Potpourri"

"Suppertime"

"Happiness"

The bonus tracks on the album are interesting and the booklet that comes with the cd is quite informative about the history of the original show. A great album for any Peanuts fan or Broadway buff.