'A Charlie Brown Christmas' Vince Guaraldi Trio 45 RPM is here!!!!

Copy them to a tape, then back to CD - pretend they're tracks from a bootleg.

 

oh if only I'd kept my tape player. Yeah the difference between needledrop and new remaster is astonishing, but as I keep saying, the bonus tracks are essential, IMO.

I'm playing this one 3x a day as there is no other christmas music doing it for me this year. I'm completely burnt out on "holiday music" this year and have to "shop" with my ipod on, so i dont hear some horrific version of "sleigh bells" by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If you want 10 minutes of great charlie brown christmas cartoon satire, check this out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3nUMp6Um9g

with the cast of "Scrubs" making their own version of our favorite animated holiday classic...thanks Planbee for sending me this link.

 

I spoke too soon! A Charlie Brown Christmas #496 arrived via UPS, early this afternoon along with Fragile. I theoretically can't open it until Monday, since it's a gift. You know the type... One of those gifts that you have to order yourself to make sure you get what you want?

I have opened Fragile, which I have to say, has already impressed me with the quality of the whole package. Was the booklet standard with the original release? It didn't come with mine from around ~1981. I'll be checking my cartridge alignment and giving it a whirl sometime tonight!

 

I got #444. Haven't had a chance to clean it up and listen yet.

 

I have a copy under the tree. Not sure what number. I can hardly wait to play it

 

I don't own a turntable at the moment, but I just ordered this from Acoustic Sounds anyway! When I finally have a proper listening room (and turntable), I'll be glad to have bought this while I had the chance... I'll post back with the number when it arrives.

 

It'll be a nice incentive to get a table.

 

Does anyone have a higher number than mine? Mine is #0528
(I know it really doesn't matter, but I'm curious)

 

Mine is #0490

 

My last shopping errand of the holiday season was to drop by Bay Bloor Radio and purchase a new stylus for the Technics turntable -- or as Radar O'Reilly put it, a new fang for the tone-arm cobra.

Even on my pedestrian set-up, this recording is a revelation! I'm playing it once, and savouring it, then trying to keep it out of harm's way until the Thorens is overhauled. Though as I walked out, a red Pro-ject Debut III did catch my eye, priced at CDN$399...

As I put the needle onto side one, I called my wife into the room with this invitation: "Wanna hear what an $83 record sounds like?" Sort of like the five-dollar milkshake in "Pulp Fiction." She had to agree it sounds purty darn good.

Thanks, Steve, for making Christmas a little merrier in Riverdale.

 

Hehe... Nice analogy! Interesting price for the Pro-ject at Bay-Bloor. Considering what it would cost us to have it shipped here, plus exchange, that sounds very reasonable.

 

Wish I could afford this.

 

They had sold out of "Know What I Mean" and then got a restock, which I jumped on - it even said "restock" on my invoice. There was no number on the cover. *However*, I had purchased a used copy of this set in July or so, and it didn't have a number either.

Acoustic Sounds had a couple previously sold out titles available as restocks - "Duke's Big 4" and "88 Basie Street" are two others.

 

Michael Fremer

from musicangle.com

Vince Guaraldi Trio (reissue)
A Charlie Brown Christmas

Analogue Productions/Fantasy 8431 2 180g 45rpm LPs

Produced by: N/A
Engineered by: N/A
Mixed by: N/A
Mastered by: Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech

Music: 8/10
Sound: 10/10

This year's (2006) showing of this 1965 animated special drew a huge audience. I don't have the numbers but I think it beat everything in its time slot.

The music has held up equally well, beginning with Guaraldi's startlingly melancholic take on "Oh Tannenbaum," which shocked an America used to nothing but overblown musical good cheer. Even "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer," a sad story if there ever was one, was a chipper tune.

If the TV sound version of this is embedded in your sonic DNA as it is in mine, when you hear how superbly well recorded it really is, you'll be in for a more than pleasant shock.

Guaraldi's piano, along with the bass and drums, are given a natural, relaxed recorded treatment in the magical mid-sixties analog recording style.

The Hoffman/Gray, Gray/Hoffman collaboration yields another truly special-sounding LP. Even if you only whip this out around Christmas time, it's worth picking up, as it will put you in a real Christmas mood, not an artificial one.

Guaraldi's arrangements have a swinging, appropriately simple charm and his playing a clarity that suits the material to perfection.

Add a super recording that's also a model of clarity (though the instruments are a bit too isolated for the recording's own good) and you have a winning package that's easy to recommend, if a bit pricey.

 

My mistake. I thought it was 268 but in reality it is 266. We're still close though.

 

I got #427, it is highly worth every penny, it you truly love this album, you must get this 45 rpm. I have the original 88 Fantasy CD and this 45 really does sound much better. I do highly recomend cleaning your discs before playing them, I thought since they were brand new I didn't need to but there must have been some residue compound left on the 4th side cause I had some slight needle noise on Fur Elise, then I gave it a good cleaning with my Record Doctor machine and afterwards the noise was gone. I'm telling you this 45 is very quite, all you hear is the wonderful sounds the way they were meant to be heard. Some things I noticed:

*After several spins of this 45 rpm I tell you I am hearing sounds I did not hear on my 88 CD.

*On track 3, My Little Drum, On the vocals (the sounds they make to mimic the drum) they sound so much brighter to me they really pop out.

*On track 4 Linus & Lucy, this song sounds much cleaner and brighter. The piano is excellent. Of course I always anticipate Snoopy's ruff hidden in there.

*I really like the count 123 that is left on the LP that does not appear on my 88 CD, pretty cool to hear this. I swear I can almost hear the snow falling. This track is one of the most amazing to hear on this new 45.

*The track Skating the instruments are a lot more pronounced sounding just sounds crisper, hearing higher highs and deeper basses, pretty cool. Can't hear all this on the CD quite as nicely.

*Christmas is Coming one of my favorite tracks very up front and bright, this sounds so much better on this 45 rpm I was just blown away when I got to this track-Love it!! Love Love the Piano on this, excellent sound.

All in all I am very impressed, the piano is like you are in the same room the way it was meant to sound, there is so much "warmth" from listening to this on LP. I seriously did not think I would be this excited about this as I was pretty happy with my 88 Cd all these years, but this really surpasses the CD. Even the LP cover is very nicely done with nice inner sleeves to protect the Lp's and I also like the cool large photos inside about the making of this LP. Nice Christmas Gift that will last for many many years to come.

Edit: I am however waiting for Greensleves to appear Ha Ha, I am so use to this song being apart of this LP cause it's on my 88 CD but guess it was never suppose to part of the original LP? I don't know.

 

Re: Michael Fremer

???? Just a nitpick, but how does this music only rate an 8?

 

exactly what i was thinking. boggles.

 

Ditto.

 

#386 was under my tree. I'll be spinning it later today.

 

Santa brought me #377... Will also be checking it out later.

 

Man I wish I had paid attention to this detail.

 

Re: Michael Fremer

How does it rate a 10?

 

Spinning #377 right now and I'm completely blown away. I usually restrict all my Christmas music listening to between Thanksgiving and New Year's, but I have a feeling this one will be playing on the 4th of July!

I own this on vinyl (not original), the first CD issue and the SACD and none are even in the same league. Warm? This is an audio fireplace to cozy up against.

 

I just got through #433 for me and all of the above posted is ditto for me. Truely AMAZING ! ! However my copy had sides one and three pressed off center enough to wow a lot of piano notes. The wrong instrument to have on an off center pressing and at 45 RPM is even MORE noticable. The vinly DOES need to be cleaned first, I noticed a visual improvement right away. DEAD quiet surfaces, a shame that I have to return it and try all over again. I realized while listening to this album again this time why I like jazz in the first place. When this TV Christmas special was first aired in 1965 or so I remember liking the soundtrack very much. I was only nine at the time but that jazz piano stuck in my head and is the reason my tastes endure instrumental music so much, jazz or otherwise. Most of the people I know that are not musicians or very musically inclined tend to not like stricly instrumental music. ANyway this IS my favorite Christmas album and one of my favority Jazz albums!! It holds a special place in my heart of a simpler time of long ago. Jeeeez ! ! !