A Charlie Brown Christmas

I purchased this two-LP set on a whim while shopping for the single-LP version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for my nieces, who are about to receive their first record player and a collection of vintage vinyl dating to my spouse's childhood (mostly Disney) for Christmas. I wanted to round out their record collection with the things I loved growing up, of which "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and related TV specials top the list.I credit Charles Shulz — as I am sure many other children of my generation do — with opening up the world of music beyond Disney. No one in my family when I was coming up was a dedicated jazz fan but thanks to my love of Peanuts, I contracted the jazz bug and have never looked back.I own quite a bit of Vince Guaraldi and David Benoit in its various forms over the years — some on vinyl but most on CD. However this is so much more than the previous content released on CD over the years.The remastering is spectacular. I can't say I am a true audiophile but I'd like to think I have a good ear having grown up in a musical household (sister became a piano teacher). On my vintage JVC turntable with Grado cartridge, vintage Harmon/Kardon 7.1 receiver, Pyle preamp and vintage BOSE and Klipsch surround speakers, this album practically made me *cry*.During the pandemic I missed going to see David Benoit in concert, which is how I had obtained my Peanuts "fix" for the year (Christmas tradition). Worse yet, I moved to an area that the professional artists pass over when they book their venues for the year so going to any concert these days, with or without the pandemic to blame, entails about four hours of driving. In short, it's not the go-to pastime it once was. Listening to this music fill my living room with such lifelike sound, I came to appreciate that after years of mostly neglecting my modest vinyl collection that *this* is the way to listen to music (particularly jazz)!At this time of year, with Christmas just days away, my mind drifts to time spent many years ago at my grandparents' house during the holidays, with my cousins, aunts and uncles gathered around. I recall the warm, rich, buttery sound of my grandparent's Lawrence Welk records emanating from a large, wood console-style stereo system with built-in turntable (yeah, I'm dating myself but hey…). I had long since given up ever hearing music that way again, figuring that with the console itself lost to time, I would never be able to land in the high-fidelity ballpark.Like Citizen Kane and his elusive "Rosebud" I had attempted, albeit halfheartedly, to put together a solid audio setup that would reproduce that warm, rich sound of childhood Christmas's past. But in the era of DSP, CDs and MP3, I really did not think anything would elicit a "That's it!" response (cue Charlie brown at Lucy's psychiatric booth shouting "THAT'S IT!", lol). Thanks to Craft and the spectacular job they did on this deluxe edition, I finally found my audio Rosebud.

The sound on this new AAA edition is well worth it. Big upgrade from my green Target Exclusive. There is a lot more dynamic detail, making this the ultimate Charlie Brown Christmas edition! Very cool to here the outtakes as well! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This is a review of the CD version of the 2022 Charlie Brown Christmas Deluxe Edition.I'm glad there's an option to buy just the new mix. It's great there are so many additional tracks and outtakes on the Super Deluxe Edition, but I'm really only interested in what's changed for 2022. The new mix itself is very good. It should please everyone from the biggest Peanuts/Charles Schulz fans to the discerning audio geek. There is less "tape hiss" on this mix than previous versions, and overall sounds a bit fuller and more detailed than what I previously know (the 2012 version and original CDs). There are some other subtle differences between this new mix and other versions (such as being able to hear the bass more clearly), but all of them I found pleasing and/or interesting.I guess the only real negative, if there was one, is that the case is a cardboard sleeve instead of digipack. An insert for the CD would be nice.Highly recommend adding to your playlists this holiday season. Two thumbs up.

We played this cd on New Years Eve, and we all were reminiscing about our childhood. This CD is a great way to remember the past. The musical talent of Vince G is still memorable.

This record is beautiful and just embodies the joy of childhood Christmas in its design and music.

The 2 LP 45rpm pressing by AP is supposedly still the grail, but if you want the best of what’s available, this is it by a long shot. The single LP pressing that is available each year in a different color is ok at best. If you want fancy colors, get your nails painted. If you want great sounding vinyl, buy this Craft recording. The second LP with studio cuts is great. I usually end up listening to the final release most of the time.

Back in the day, soundtrack albums seldom contained the actual music used in the movie or TV show but was rather re-recorded later in a studio with alterations to fit a record album format. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was one such album. In this latest version, I believe that some of the actual music used in the classic TV special appears in the bonus tracks, but unfortunately each track begins with unwanted studio conversation, countdowns, soundchecks, false starts, etc. Fans who have waited for decades for the actual music from the TV special would feel this unwanted studio chatter detracts from the album.

I gave this to my husband as an early Christmas present. Works from home played it all the time!

I love this old favourite!

Die Platte ist gerade und hat einen übertreffenden klaren Sound! Ich bin mehr als begeistert!

Excellent,highly recommended 👌😊

Really enjoyed the stereo version album and the extra demoes! Loving this LP!

Perfect album for Christmas