Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas (Monster Music High Definition Surround Sound CD SUPERDISC)

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Here are three unique surround experiences remixed from the original 1965 masters. You can select the "On Stage Concert Hall" surround mix and hear what it would be like to be onstage with Vince Guaraldi, with a larger-than-life orchestral sound. And you can also hear the trio in a small piano bar by selecting the "Jazz Club" mix, or experience them from the front row of Carnegie Hall with the "Front Row" surround mix.

A Charlie Brown Christmas has been released many times, but never before have they been remixed from the original masters. Head Monster Noel Lee and star producer John Burk lifted them from the vaults so they could work with the original tape. The only problem was that they were recorded on 3-track, which was a fleeting format that only lasted a few years in the early sixties. Once the rare 3-track analog masters were located and we had secured a 3-track tape head, they were converted into PCM digital audio at 96k/24bit.

Then we simulated a home theater environment in the mixing studio. Stephen Hart, John Burk and Noel Lee worked on Pro Tools HD within the matrix of a surround field of Monster THX speakers driven by a 5-channel Monster Power amp. The result is breathtaking. You can practically hear the bristles on the brushes of drummer, Jerry Granelli. You can hear Guaraldi happily tapping on his grand piano and imagine the honest smile beneath his famous mustache. This SuperDisc also includes the original stereo recording for your CD player.

More About Vince Guaraldi

It just isn’t Christmas without Schroeder sitting on the floor, crouched over his miniature piano, playing the tune he named after his neighborhood pals. "Linus and Lucy" is one of the most recognizable jazz standards of all time. It has been covered by artists as diverse as Oscar Peterson and Steve Vai, and is indelibly connected to the life and work of Charles Schulz.

For some reason, the CD included is NOT the remastered stereo version. Well, this is true if you just take the CD that came with this package and rip the files -- because you are then comparing the original release with the remastered version.Not good enough.So I went back to the store and bought the remastered CD, and ripped those to iTunes using the Apple Lossless conversion. The remastered CD is great for the car or office, and provided the best files for my iPod. The result. The files that I ripped myself have about twice the bit rate as the ones provided on the DVD here.

This DVD, on the other hand, is great for a home theater or DVD-based audio system that can take advantage of the surround and/or hi-definition stereo, and hey, it includes the original recording on CD as a bonus.I would call this a 5-star release, but I am deducting one star just because of the lack of clarity and slight misrepresentation in the packaging about what's included. On this release, you get a DVD and a CD. Without the remastering, the sound is brighter, but also much noisier. I haven't played them on a surround system, but even just listening to the high-definition stereo tracks through headphones was truly wonderful. Musically, they appear to be identical in terms of the take, the mix, etc. They don't sound "twice as good," but on good headphones they do sound clearer, more distinct, and more alive than the pre-made versions on the DVD. (I haven't confirmed this for every single track).It's a bit misleading that on the back of the package, this DVD/CD release mentions compatibility with "Apple Lossless," as if they had provided digital files already encoded for you in Apple Lossless.

The files provided have a bit rate of 320 kbps, less than half the bit rate of the Apple Lossles files I ended up ripping from the remastered CD release.Overall, I'm certainly not sorry I purchased this DVD/CD package, or the remastered CD. They have not. The liner notes claim that these files provide a better sound than if you were to rip them from the CD yourself. Well, I've ended up purchasing both of the new releases of the original Charlie Brown Christmas music: this one (the DVD/CD release) and also the remastered version just on CD (with the yellow background cell artwork on the cover). Oddly, the songs are not in the same order as on the original release.Now, about the digital sound files that are included on this DVD for your iPod. It appears to be just a reissue of the original Fantasy Records release on CD. Some, however, seem to prefer the original, especially if it's what they grew up listening to.The DVD, on the other hand, has the new, beautifully remastered (some would say re-mixed) versions, in a variety of surround formats, etc.

I applaud Monster Music for the job they have done with these recordings, but they should know that people who invest in these sorts of releases would like to have as much ACCURATE information as possible about what they are buying.

It is just like they are in the room with you with Vince spread across the front channels and the drums and bass coming from the rear. This was amazing-it is hard to believe that they have never gone back to the original session tapes and remixed this before now. A real must for all fans.