Search - Vince Guaraldi :: Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites

Excellent

Tritone | United States | 03/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are the Charlie Brown tunes -arranged for jazz orchestra by Vince Guaraldi. Vince and the trio are front and center throughout.



It takes a little bit of musical maturity to be able to appreciate these tracks.



So listen to the clips. They speak for themselves."

Respectable music, spoilt by apalling performance

D. P. French | London, England | 08/01/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Other reviewers slate this recording because it's not in keeping with the Guaraldi trio sound that made Charlie Brown so distinctive. That is in a way, a completely valid concern, but the fact remains, this recording is an interpretation, and not entirely a bad one.

Getting the negative points out the way first, the orchestra here is stunningly bad - possibly the most dreadful performance ever captured on tape. The amateur status of the musicians is very much on show, and is highly distracting as half the time, you're not hearing the music - you're wincing in pain at yet another instrumental flub. For some people, it will be very difficult to look through the deficient performance through to the music. As for that, a Toe Fungus diatribe it most definitely isn't (though one could argue, such a document would make fascinating reading to a chiropodist and proves the point that one man's garbage is another man's gold) - neither is it great. It's definitely interesting, diverting, and fun. Some sections do tend to drag on a little, without feeling like much progression is happening - Peppermint Patty in particular, feels considerably longer than it's six minutes.



I would - and so would you - enjoy this album considerably more if it were performed well.



As it stands, it's hard to recommend unless you're a Guaraldi completist or a Charlie Brown obsessive, or maybe if your son or daughter were playing in this orchestra - though I doubt anybody would want to commemorate their playing in any detailed fashion.



This recording will forever blot their reputations."