The UHQR "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Is Here Just in Time! It Almost Didn't Exist At All In Any Format

60 years later and it's never sounded better or even close to this good

The enduring charm of this soundtrack and the 1/2 hour animated special associated with it—the one that everyone loves no matter age or religion—had an unusually troubled beginning. It almost wasn't produced. No one at the three networks was interested in an hour long Charlie Brown special having nothing to do with Christmas so it was trimmed to a half hour version but still in 1964 no one wanted it. But Fantasy had commissioned Vince Guaraldi to produce a soundtrack and his trio had recorded it so out it came as Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown—the soundtrack to a non-existent television special.

What happened next was a near miracle. In 1962 "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol", the first animated Christmas musical created specifically for television aired on NBC and was a big hit for the network and for the sponsor, Timex watches. It starred Jim Backus (best known as Thurston Howell III on the television show "Gilligan's Island") but also as Mr. Magoo—a character he'd also voiced on popular cartoon shorts and later on an early RCA Victor "hi-fi" LP. The joke was that he was nearsighted and almost blind—always a laugh sensation of a disability.

Next up in 1964 came "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" another television hit, this time with a more "woke" storyline about a herd outcast with a glowing nose subject to cruel taunts, who becomes a hero by...well you know the story. That was a big hit for General Electric. A Coca-Cola exec who'd seen and enjoyed the initial unsuccessful pitch for "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" contacted an exec at McCann Erickson the soft drink's ad agency and asked about a possible Charlie Brown Christmas special.

The whole story is well-told in the album's 2022 double LP edition's annotation featuring a re-mix and re-mastering by Paul Blakemore to high resolution digital from the 3 track original tape. A second album of outtakes/blown takes/studio chatter rounds out the package, well-produced by Craft's Mark Piro (late of the Analog Spark label). As that annotation notes, when this was recorded none of the participants thought they were involved in something that would become legendary and well loved through multiple generations. When first broadcast "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was a huge success, coming in second to "Bonanza"—a 45 percent share of the audience.

The cast of creators (pardon my thumb)

CBS execs were surprised by that and then by the show's longevity. They thought it was a "one off" showing but now more than half a century later the show about good ol' forlorn Charlie Brown and his miserable little Christmas tree is more popular than ever as is the curiously downcast yet deeply meaningful and penetrating music Vince Guaraldi created for it. The album went quadruple platinum some years ago and is second in jazz sales to Miles Davis's Kind of Blue.

The sound of the 2022 digital remix, by the way, neat and tidy, didn't attempt a Steven Wilson "re-imagining" or anything like that. It was done out of necessity because the original two track master tape had some irreparable damage and couldn't be used.

When Analogue Productions decided a UHQR was in order, it asked Concord/Craft for the master tapes and after determining the extent of the damage, convinced it could be seamlessly repaired (this happens more often than you might imagine), asked for the original pre-mix elements. "Oh Tannenbaum" and the vocal version of "Christmas Time" had originally been recorded directly to two-tracks and arrived on 7" consumer-type reels. According to The Mastering Lab's Matthew Lutthans, those were transferred to 30 IPS 1/2" tape. Only Mel Tormé's "The Christmas Song" the album's final track was re-mixed from the original 3 track tape. In addition, Lutthans said, "Over the course of the entire album, there's something like 8 seconds of digital repair work physically spliced into the tape to repair damaged sections".

Sounds pretty simple but it wasn't! According to Lutthans,

"(The lacquers were cut) running two synchronized (preview head equipped) tape machines. One held the original quarter inch stereo tapes, and the other held the half inch tape at 30 IPS that was used for any new copies or any digital repair work. I could switch back and forth between the machines as needed. This is why sides A and B required two people at the console. (PLP in the runout = Paige Piper [Acoustic Sounds' YouTube person]). It was a pretty crazy cutting session. Too much going on -- but doable.”

Chad Kassem told me that an EQ tape copy Concord at first supplied was too far EQ'd and not useable. Negotiations followed and finally the company decided it was willing to supply both the original master tapes and separate elements as described above so a UHQR worthy release could be created.

And how does it sound? Wow, it's so much fuller, richer, and more natural sounding timbrally and texturally than either the 2022 remix (which don't get me wrong is quite good!) and the double 45rpm-single pocket edition Analogue Productions released in 2006 (AJAZ-8431-45). The Whitney Recording Studio in Glendale, CA where the sessions were tracked was built in 1957 to house a large pipe organ removed from a movie theater in Redwood City, and used mostly for Christian albums and radio broadcasts—an appropriate location for "A Charlie Brown Christmas". It's probably the organ heard on the short "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".

Guaraldi's piano, center stage has greater "physicality" and a more "woody" sound than on the other two versions, and when he pounds hard, as on the driving "Linus and Lucy", you'll feel it. On "Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental)" the bass played either by Fred Marshall or Monty Budwig (both claim credit as do Jerry Granelli and Colin Bailey for the drums)—(Guaraldi kept bad production notes but played good ones) digs deep, while the brushes on the left channel have a rich texture and appear well back on the soundstage.

The children's chorus on "Christmastime" (occupying the left channel, while the mix wisely puts Guaraldi in the right channel to give the kids their proper due) is eerily present, with each child's voice clearly delineated within the chorus.

Side four opens with "Christmas Is Coming", which for some reason has a far more direct "in your face" sonic perspective and sounds far louder than the rest of the tunes. You'll definitely be turning down the volume. Not sure what happened there.

The finale, "The Christmas Song", the one track remixed from the 3 track sounds "in the pocket" correct in every way. It's the perfect closer to an album that in some ways is a trifle and in others has proven itself to be an enduring holiday classic that like the holiday itself will be celebrated for generations to come. If you buy this UHQR you'll surely be passing it down to future generations of vinyl fans.