Oh Good Grief!

by

Vince Guaraldi

Edit

I've owned this CD since it first came out; and it's vinyl counterpart long before that. In fact, it was the first Vince Guaraldi recording I ever bought. At first, I was a bit disappointed because it didn't sound like the tracks from the CBS-TV specials; the infamous harpsicord being added to these tracks; but as you listen to it, you realize it didn't alter the feel of his music at all. If anything, it just added a bit more "zing." Let's face it, Vince's music is timeless; and what we have here is perhaps the best compilation of his Charlie Brown music. Slightly different? Yes. Enjoyable? Definately! Some of the best tracks on the disc are "You're in Love Charlie Brown," "Great Pumpkin Waltz," "It's Your Dog Charlie Brown," and "Rain, Rain Go Away." Fans of the Peanuts TV specials that go spastic at any deviation may want to stick to Vince's original soundtracks. Fans of Vince's music will definately want this compilation. And as of this writing, January 2000, the Weather Channel is using selections from this disc during the Local Forecast segments. I personally think that is a nice testament to this timeless music. But for those of you that don't like it, all I can say is, "Oh, Good Grief!"

If you are buying this CD expecting these tunes to sound like they do in the Peanuts specials, you're going to be disappointed; they have been altered quite a bit from their original versions. As one other reviewer stated, these recordings have a dated feel to them. I would give this album 5 stars if I was basing my rating just on the tunes themselves, but the re-arrangements of the songs knocks off a couple of stars. Do yourself a favor and get the original soundtrack albums instead. (A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits, or A Boy Named Charlie Brown.) Timeless music, but this is not the one to buy.