A Boy Named Charlie Brown: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special

The jazz trio recordings that made up most of West Coast pianist Vince Guaraldi's output often leaned more in the pop direction. Guaraldi had played with Cal Tjader and Woody Herman, scored a niche with Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, and hit a commercial high point with his melodic melodrama "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," but he will forever be tied to his score for the cartoon A Boy Named Charlie Brown. These performances are memorable for the program they set out to accomplish. The bright little skirmish of "Linus and Lucy" is the perfect accompaniment to these mimetic characters. "Blue Charlie Brown" contains some catchy piano soloing from Guaraldi. "Baseball Theme" works perfectly, as does the samba "Pebble Beach" and the Chaplinesque rag, "Schroeder." --John Swenson Amazon.com

As Expected

The CD is exactly as I expected. I had listened to some tunes from one like it that a friend has. Service, shipping, etc, was fine. January 7, 2008

Happiness is...

Ultra smooth lounge jazz without the turgid kenny g solos and canned beats and whatever the _________ plauges fake "jazz". Charlie Brown? Who gives? This is great laid back jazz. Of course, it may seem awfully familiar to you, which may just make you laugh. Plenty of these songs are known well, especially Linus and Lucy. Kick yourself if you don't recongize it and are past the age of 13. You managed to miss Peanuts. Not sure how somebody can do that!

Aside from the fact that this has to do with Charlie Brown, you must give credit to the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Vince's piano playing is always melodic, and there are no horns like Miles Davis. It's non stop jazzy, or whatever you want to call it. I'll put it simple. If you are looking for music to dim the lights too and pour a glass of wine, then put on this cd. OR going anywhere. Heck, just listen to some of the clips on this cd. Unless you totally hate jazz, I don't see how you could not enjoy this.

I still can enjoy it, even though the ________ cd is so scratched it's a wonder the damn thing still runs. Fortunately, the songs are pretty implanted into my brain, so I can still listen to the songs on autopilot go on and on in my head while doing homework or other random _____. The music will stick with you. IF you are a Peanuts lover, chances are this cd will be worth more to you. However, I haven't seen enough Peanuts to reconize all of the songs, and those songs are still as catchy and good as any songs I've heard. Enough ranting. Best of all, it's not Christmas themed, which is refreshing because: 1. Christmas songs haven't impacted me in 12 years because they are so _______ overdone by heartless ______ corporations, and 2. It will never feel out of place. Christmas albums in the summer?

(Laughs)

9.0/10 December 22, 2007

Fills that void... and then some!

This music evokes such wonderful, fond memories for me of jiffy-pop popcorn, skinned knees, sleeping bags, pillow fights, legos, lincoln logs, etc... etc... It's too darn bad that children have to grow up to be people one day. However, thank the heavens above that we have music like this to bring us back to those simpler, much more tranquil times. Long before there was "Sponge Bob", "Beavis & Butthead", "South Park", "The Simpsons", "Family Guy", etc... there was "Peanuts". A toon about a lovable loser, his daffy, dexterous dog and their group of colorful, memorable pals. Yet it was so much more than that. As a child of the 70's, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Schroeder, Woodstock, et al... were not merely just cartoon characters, they were a part of us of all. How many of you remember how excited you got whenever a "Peanuts" special was on? It was huge, momentous occasion, and the world for us, seemed to stop completely during that special hour. What made it even more special was the fact that even our jaded, pooped-out parents seemed to enjoy it almost as much as we children did. This CD awakens those childhood memories, memories full of harmony and joy. In fact, every time I hear "Linus & Lucy" I feel as if I want to cry... and for a burnt-out, cynical guy like me, that rarely happens anymore.

This is excellent music folks. Read all the glowing, wonderful reviews below me and my Amazon amigos will tell you the exact same thing. As an avid jazz fan, this trio needs to be taken seriously. Vincent Guaraldi, Monty Budwig (bass) & Colin Bailey (drums) all play tight, straight, clean lines, and simple melodies... nothing too ornate, but beautiful all the same. I really loved their version of "Fly Me to the Moon", which was an added bonus track on this dynamite recording.

You don't have to be a jazz fan to love and appreciate this one! FIVE STARS without even blinking an eyelash. July 8, 2007

Guaraldi Sparkles, With or Without Animation!

Imagine, for a second, that this is just an album, rather than a soundtrack. Think about what it would be like if "Linus and Lucy" was not a cue to think about animated chracters, but just a really cool jazz standard.

Do you find it difficult? Actually, I don't. Why? Because when I listen to this album, and others in Guaraldi's Peanuts series, I find the music so dang good that it doesn't need Charlie Brown's endorsement. Vince's compositions are memorably memorable, his trio is tight, and his single-line style of piano is as melodic as ever there has been.

So, no doubt, you have heard this album, either as an album or as a soundtrack. What I urge you to do is to try - and it might be hard - to listen to this album as a stand alone deal. Because it really is that good! Vince Guaraldi really was a swingin' pianist and excellent songwriter. And this CD really is jazz - cool, smooth, and sparkling jazz.

The only downside to this CD, and what seperates it from many 'regular' albums - is that the album, and some of the songs, are shorter than one might come to expect. The disc chimes in just shy of 30 minutes. And the shortest song ("Schroeder") is just over a minute. But 30 minutes worth of delectable music is worth more to me than 60 minutes of average.

So listen to the disc, and try out my suggestion. The album is Vince Guaraldi, rather than Charlie Brown. And, in my opinion, it is better that way. May 20, 2007

Not quite the movie

Well, apparently, 'A Boy Named Charlie Brown' was originally intended(the title, anyway) as a TV special in 1964 on Charles Schulz and his 'Peanuts' newspaper comic-thanks to Steve G. for this info! However, Steve's informed me that it was never released. So, this should make the holiday TV specials 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'(65) & 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'(66) the first animation for the Peanuts gang, w.'A Boy Named Charlie Brown' following this, in 1969, @ the theatres. However, I've also found that the gang apparently appeared in TV car ads in the late 50s-early 60s. On the subject of this soundtrack for 'A Boy Named Charlie Brown', though, I agree with other reviewers here that it is definitely missing a decent part of the score, including Guaraldi's rendition of Beethoven's 'Pathetique Sonata' and, especially, the Rod McKuen title song(I mean, c'mon, whether it's liked by one and all or not-it's the film's title song, for crying out loud!) Still, this is a pretty decent jazz CD, just not as good as it could have been, like 'A Charlie Brown Christmas', probably the reigning champion of all Christmas albums(@ least I feel so). I do agree, though, that this is probably the best the Peanuts features ever got, this being the first of four. I feel, anyway, that the 2nd film, 'Snoopy Come Home', is extremely overrated by critics and fans, alike. I've recently gone back, after several years, and watched the film again and, although, it's quite funny @ times, it's also painfully looonnngggg-and, often, pretty dry and uninteresting. The soundtrack for that one is just plain B-A-D!(Where's Guaraldi when you need him?) The 3rd film, 'Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown', is completely worthless, so I won't even waste time here with that one, but I seem to remember that 'Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown' wasn't too bad(I picked up a copy some time ago, so I'll edit this review, again, after I've viewed it). On a side note, although the two original holiday TV specials are in a box set, they're paired up with the Thanksgiving special and these 70s followups are little better than the films that followed 'A Boy...'. So, if you purchase these first 2 specials, pick them up separately(unless you'll save more buying the set). The TV pieces that followed the 1970s & into the 90s, though, are the really bad ones. December 13, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...