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

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
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

Tracks:

Oh, Good Grief
Pebble Beach
Happiness Is
Schroeder
Charlie Brown Theme
Linus And Lucy
Blue Charlie Brown
Baseball Theme
Freda (With The Naturally Curly Hair)
Fly Me To The Moon

Amazon.com

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

Customer Reviews:

Fills that void... and then some! .......2007-07-08

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.

Guaraldi Sparkles, With or Without Animation!.......2007-05-20

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.

Not quite the movie.......2006-12-13

Okay, first of all, 'A Boy Named Charlie Brown' was a feature film, not a CBS television special. Second of all, it opened in 1969-not '64. So, actually, it came AFTER both TV specials 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' & 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'. I agree with others here that this 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!) I also agree that this is probably the best the features ever got, this being the first of four, but really only the third film is the one to miss, 'Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown', a pretty pathetic waste of time.
Technically, although the two previously mentioned TV specials are in a box set, they're paired up with the Thanksgiving special, which, like most of the other specials, was pretty forgetfull, really. However, a good feature film box set would be 'A Boy Named Charlie Brown' and 'Snoopy Come Home'. After these, there's really very little in the cinematic or television entries that are worth a glance, with the TV pieces into the 90s being the ultimate in awful.

Great Music, BUT not the score from the movie.......2006-11-02

I love Charlie Brown music. The CD from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is one of my all time favorites. After watching "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" for years and since I absolutely love Vince Guaraldi's rendition of Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata", the music while Snoopy skates at Rockefeller Square, and the nice theme while Snoopy and Linus are on the bus to New York, I finally broke down and bought the CD. None of my favorites are here. They don't even have the silly song that Lucy, Frieda & Violet sing to Charlie when they learn that he is entering the school Spelling Bee. So for me this was a HUGE HUGE let down. The music is all good, but none of them are the main themes from the movie. Even "Linus & Lucy" is the exact same stripped down, generic version that is on the "Christmas" CD (none of the extra instruments that are in the movie version). If you listen closely, Guarldi miss hits a piano key about half way through in both tracks. Yes, I'm being nitpicky, but when you absolutely adore something and the product you bring home doesn't live up to the original, you can't help but feel disappointed.

A trip back into childhood...and to musical genius.......2005-12-13

As this show hits its' 40th anniversary, I bought this CD. I generally don't like Christmas music (yeah I'm somewhat of a Scrooge about it), but this is timeless. The fun of this music and the sheer musical artistry of Guaraldi makes this CD a must have. Listening to the instrumental cut of "Christmas Time Is Here" brings tears to my eyes with the flowing piano work, the bass lines and the superb brush work...simply beautiful. I'm not a big jazz expert, but I'm now looking to expand my catalogue with more of this master's music. At age 9, I got exposed to and learned to apprecite great jazz watching Charlie Brown and Snoopy...and there are many more like me I'm sure...Thanks Vince!

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