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Reissues of Vince Guaraldi's classic jazz score to the immortal 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas are common enough for even the most faithful fan to utter "Good grief." But Craft Recordings' newest package of the classic material looks to offer a treasure trove of unheard audio that'll fill your hearts this season.
Craft today announces a 4CD/1 Blu-ray deluxe edition of the classic album that features not only multiple mixes of the original LP - the original stereo mix alongside new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes - but a whopping 60 unreleased alternate takes from five sessions. (Smaller deluxe editions on CD and 2LP pair the new stereo mix with 13 of the session highlights; new pressings of the original album will also be available, with a gold foil embossed jacket coming to stores everywhere and color and picture variations headed to different retailers.) It's the perfect seasonal complement to Craft's forthcoming restoration of Guaraldi's music to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez's unforgettable holiday special was the first time the public had seen Schulz's Peanuts comic strip characters - anchored by good ol' Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy - make a full-length jump to the screen. (An unaired documentary on Schulz, assembled two years prior, was the first time Mendelson, Melendez and Guaraldi - a pianist whose "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" was an unorthodox crossover pop hit in 1962 - all lent their talents to the Peanuts world.) Guaraldi and his trios (bassists Fred Marshall and Monty Budwig, and drummers Jerry Grannelli and Colin Bailey) crafted a distinct soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring not only traditional carols like "O Tannenbaum" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" but the wistful "Christmas Time is Here" (featuring lyrics by Mendelson) and the joyous "Linus and Lucy," Peanuts' de facto theme song.
The deluxe book-style package includes 59 pages of liner notes by Guaraldi historian Derrick Bang and - of course! - classic illustrations by the late Schulz himself. And you won't have to wait to find it under the tree: A Charlie Brown Christmas is back in stores October 14.
Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas (Super Deluxe Edition) (Fantasy/Craft CR00442, 2022)
4CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP deluxe: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD 1: Album Mixes (1-11 2022 stereo mixes, 12-22 original stereo mixes released on Fantasy 85019, 1965)
- O Tannenbaum
- What Child is This
- My Little Drum
- Linus and Lucy
- Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal)
- Skating
- Hark the Herald Angels Sing
- Christmas is Coming
- Für Elise
- The Christmas Song
CD 2: The Recording Sessions (9/17/1965)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 1)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 2)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 3)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 4-5)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 6)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 7)
- Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental) (#2, Takes 1-2)
- Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental) (#2, Take 3)
- Skating (Unnumbered)
- Skating (#3, Takes 1-2)
- Skating (#3, Takes 3)
- Skating (#3, Takes 4-6)
- Skating (#3, Take 7)
- Linus and Lucy (#4, Take 1)
- Christmas is Coming (#5, Take 1)
- Christmas is Coming (#5, Take 2)
- Christmas is Coming (#5, Take 3)
- Christmas is Coming (#5, Take 4)
- Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental) (#6, Take 1)
- Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental) (#6, Take 2)
CD 3: The Recording Sessions (9/21-22/1965 and unknown date)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 1)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 2)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 3)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Takes 4-6)
- Christmas is Coming (#1, Take 7)
- O Tannenbaum (#2, Take 1)
- O Tannenbaum (#2, Take 2)
- O Tannenbaum (#2, Takes 3-4)
- O Tannenbaum (#2, Take 5)
- Jingle Bells (#3, Takes 1-4)
- Goin' Out of My Head (Instrumental)
- Christmas Time is Here (Instrumental) (#6, Take 3)
- Skating (#7, Take 1)
- Skating (#7, Take 2)
- Für Elise (Takes 1-2)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 1)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal) (#1, Takes 2-3)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 4)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 5)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal) (Rehearsal)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 6)
- Christmas Time is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 7)
CD 4: The Recording Sessions (10/28/1965)
- Greensleeves (Take 1)
- Greensleeves (Takes 2-4)
- Greensleeves (Take 5)
- Greensleeves (Take 6)
- Greensleeves (Take 7)
- Greensleeves (Take 8)
- Greensleeves (Takes 9-10)
- Greensleeves (Take 11)
- Greensleeves (Take 12)
- The Christmas Song (Take 1)
- The Christmas Song (Takes 2-3)
- The Christmas Song (Takes 4-7)
- The Christmas Song (Take 8)
- The Christmas Song (Take 9)
- The Christmas Song (Take 10)
- The Christmas Song (Take 11)
Blu-ray: Original album in new stereo and Dolby Atmos mix
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I'll wait till next year, when they include a fifth disc of the kids having tantrums between takes. And another of same in surround sound for 2025.
lolololol...exactly...i got a reissue a couple years ago, then bought the snowflake picture disc, and the dvd...i am well and truly set...but i guess, if this is totally your thing...congratulations!
Derrick Bang, who did the liner notes, also wrote an article that detailed every re-re-re-re-reissue of this album. He was very enthusiastic about the 2006 CD, which revealed more of the original recordings... but which was taken off the market because people complained it was "different." I hope nothing from that version is missing here...
Here's that article, by the way:
http://www.fivecentsplease.org/dpb/cbxmas.html
It was more than “different”. It was an unlistenable remix that used the wrong takes in many instances. There was also a mastering defect that led to a replacement operation. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.
Still looking forward to this edition, though - strictly for the outtakes. It doesn’t need a(nother) damn remix.
I listen to A Charlie Brown Christmas almost daily in November and December. It is truly one of the most beautiful suites of music ever recorded. I have several reissues already, along with David Benoit's lovely recording from 2020. I preordered the 1 cd version of this newest reissue. I wish there was an option to buy the book separately.
Sorry, Mike, but as a lifelong Peanuts fan, I see a couple of erroneous statements in your piece: The first time Peanuts was seen in animated form wasn't ACBC or even the earlier documentary you mentioned--It was in a series of commercials for the Ford Motor Company (focusing on the Ford Falcon) that began running in 1960. Also, Schulz didn't illustrate the original 1965 storybook that was replicated for this set--Artwork for that project was by Dale Hale.
Great looking set, though a missed opportunity to add the mono mix to the set as well!
Wasn't the mono just a fold down and not a unique mix? Nothing special there. I'm curious about the Atmos mix even though there are only 2 and 3 track masters to work with.
I'm interested in this set, but for that price it is going to have to wait. I wouldn't pay half that price for it.