Super Deluxe Box Set with Original Stereo Mix, New Stereo Mix and 3 Discs of Unheard Session Outtakes Plus Blu-ray with Hi-Resolution Audio of the New Mix as well as a Dolby Atmos Mix
Ever since its debut in 1965, the Vince Guaraldi Trio's album A Charlie Brown Christmas has reigned supreme as a Yuletide classic. The beloved Peanuts animated special from which it sprang was a sensation the first time it aired on CBS-TV, and so was its cool soundtrack by the veteran Bay Area pianist, which introduced countless children to the joys of jazz. Buoyed by annual airings of the program, the album has remained extremely popular ever since and was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA in late 2016.
While A Charlie Brown Christmas may well be Vince Guaraldi's best-known recording (it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry five years later), it was by no means his first success. The San Francisco native emerged as vibraphonist Cal Tjader's rock-solid pianist before forming a trio and launching his own recording career during the mid-50s on the Bay Area-based Fantasy label. In late 1962, Guaraldi's irresistible original "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a surprise national hit - a rare example of a jazz pianist cracking the upper reaches of the pop charts.
Television producer Lee Mendelson heard "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and asked Guaraldi to write the score for A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was such a triumph that Guaraldi composed the music for 17 Peanuts television specials in all, a spectacular streak ended only by his untimely death in 1976 at the age of 47. However, A Charlie Brown Christmas remains the pianist's crowning achievement! Peanuts and Vince Guaraldi historian Derrick Bang even goes so far as to say, "Back people into a corner and limit them to just one holiday album for the rest of their lives, and I suspect that an impressive number of folks, jazz fans or not, would select this one!"
This super deluxe 5-disc set features a new stereo mix remastered from the original 3-track and 2-track sources, plus the original stereo mix on CD1. Discs 2-4 offer a trove of unheard outtakes from five recording sessions and place listeners in the studio as the musicians work through their arrangements. The accompanying Blu-ray disc includes hi-resolution audio of the new mix as well as a Dolby Atmos mix. This book style box set also includes new liner notes from Peanuts historian, Derrick Bang.
- Super Deluxe 5CD + Blu-ray box set from Craft Recordings
- CD1 features new stereo mix remastered from the original 3-track and 2-track sources plus the original stereo mix
- Discs 2-4 include unheard outtakes from 5 recording sessions
- Blu-ray disc with hi-resolution audio of the new mix as well as a Dolby Atmos mix
- Book style box packaging and new liner notes from Peanuts historian, Derrick Bang
Disc 1 – A Charlie Brown Christmas (2022 Stereo Remix)
1. O Tannenbaum (2022 Stereo Mix)
2. What Child Is This (2022 Stereo Mix)
3. My Little Drum (2022 Stereo Mix)
4. Linus And Lucy (2022 Stereo Mix)
5. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental / 2022 Stereo Mix) 06:06
6. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal / 2022 Stereo Mix)
7. Skating (2022 Stereo Mix)
8. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing (2022 Stereo Mix)
9. Christmas Is Coming (2022 Stereo Mix)
10. Für Elise (2022 Stereo Mix)
11. The Christmas Song (2022 Stereo Mix)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Original Stereo Mix)
12. O Tannenbaum (Original Stereo Mix)
13. What Child Is This (Original Stereo Mix)
14. My Little Drum (Original Stereo Mix)
15. Linus And Lucy (Original Stereo Mix)
16. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental / Original Stereo Mix)
17. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal / Original Stereo Mix)
18. Skating (Original Stereo Mix)
19. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing (Original Stereo Mix)
20. Christmas Is Coming (Original Stereo Mix)
21. Für Elise (Original Stereo Mix)
22. The Christmas Song (Original Stereo Mix)
Disc 2 – The Recording Sessions (September 17, 1965)
1. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 1)
2. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 2)
3. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 3)
4. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Takes 4–5)
5. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 6)
6. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 7)
7. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental) (#2, Takes 1–2)
8. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental) (#2, Take 3)
9. Skating (Unnumbered)
10. Skating (#3, Takes 1–2)
11. Skating (#3, Take 3)
12. Skating (#3, Takes 4–6)
13. Skating (#3, Take 7)
14. Linus And Lucy (#4, Take 1)
15. Christmas Is Coming (#5, Take 1)
16. Christmas Is Coming (#5, Take 2)
17. Christmas Is Coming (#5, Take 3)
18. Christmas Is Coming (#5, Take 4)
19. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental) (#6, Take 1)
20. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental) (#6, Take 2)
Disc 3 – The Recording Sessions (September 21-22, 1965/Recording Date Unknown)
1. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 1)
2. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 2)
3. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 3)
4. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Takes 4–6)
5. Christmas Is Coming (#1, Take 7)
6. O Tannenbaum (#2, Take 1)
7. O Tannenbaum (#2, Take 2)
8. O Tannenbaum (#2, Takes 3–4)
9. O Tannenbaum (#2, Take 5)
10. Jingle Bells (#3, Takes 1–4)
11. Goin’ Out Of My Head (Unnumbered)
12. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental) (#6, Take 3)
13. Skating (#7, Take 1)
14. Skating (#7, Take 2)
15. Für Elise (Takes 1–2)
16. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 1)
17. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (#1, Takes 2–3)
18. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 4)
19. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 5)
20. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (Rehearsal)
21. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 6)
22. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (#1, Take 7)
Disc 4 – The Recording Sessions (October 28, 1965)
1. Greensleeves (Take 1)
2. Greensleeves (Takes 2–4)
3. Greensleeves (Take 5)
4. Greensleeves (Take 6)
5. Greensleeves (Take 7)
6. Greensleeves (Take 8)
7. Greensleeves (Takes 9–10)
8. Greensleeves (Take 11)
9. Greensleeves (Take 12)
10. The Christmas Song (Take 1)
11. The Christmas Song (Takes 2–3)
12. The Christmas Song (Takes 4–7)
13. The Christmas Song (Take 8)
14. The Christmas Song (Take 9)
15. The Christmas Song (Take 10)
16. The Christmas Song (Take 11)
Disc 5 – Blu-ray Audio
1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (2022 Stereo Remix) (Hi-Resolution Audio)
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (2022 Dolby Atmos Mix)
