David Benoit, 40th Year Anniversary Charlie Brown Christmas (Monster Music High Definition Surround Sound CD SUPERDISC) | List Price: $14.98
Discount Price: $4.49
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Brand: Monster
Binding: Audio CD
Release Date: 2006-11-28
Features: - MONSTER CHARLIE BROWN XMAS DAVE BENOIT *E*
leave well enough alone [Posted on 2006-12-01]
This CD is horrendous! Today, Nov 30, I got out my Christmas CD's to start getting in the holiday mood. This CD is so bad that it ruined my entire mood - I'll be lucky if I recover by Christmas!
The first track, "Christmas is Coming" butchers a great song with clumsy unwelcome horn arrangements. The second, "Just Like Me" is a breathy, flat, overwrought waste of 4 minutes. The third, "Linus and Lucy" is a depressingly boring arrangement with repetitive saxophone riffs, an annoying percussion track and a lobotomized version of Vince Guaraldi's original harmonies. I could go on and on but there isn't a bright spot in this entire disaster of a CD ... oh, except "Fur Elise" which is a note for note rendition of the original.
This CD is an affront to the musical genius of Vince Guaraldi and I'm sick and tired of lesser artists cashing in by rehashing his great music - no one has done it better, in fact they aren't even close. Buy the original Charlie Brown Christmas CD and save yourself the aggravation. Have a happy holiday, I just hope I recover in time to salvage some of mine.
I'll second the motion... [Posted on 2006-12-02]
...and I haven't even bought this CD. I got the email today from Amazon advertising it, and my first reaction (because the original CD soundtrack from Guaraldi is the GREATEST CHRISTMAS ALBUM OF ALL TIME) was that I'd give it a try. I mean, come on, surround sound? How cool is that? Little did I know, before reading the previous review, that it was a whole new album/arrangement of all the songs. Horendous indeed!!!! Now, if they had simply taken the original tracks and put them in surround, maybe improved the mix....who knows....? But I can tell you this: for me, part of the beauty of the original recording is the flat out INNONCENCE and glorious LO-FI of the mixes. It immediately takes me back to that one night of the year when CBS would air the special. I lived for that evening, as did many of you.
Why am I taking the time to write a review for something I haven't even heard? Because I don't want to know that anyone else had their Christmas almost ruined over another modern-day artist trying to cash in on a true genius' talents, just like the previous reviewer so correctly stated. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Benoit, but really......compose your own Christmas songs and leave the classics alone, David. Some things in life should simply be off limits.
In other words.....I SECOND THE MOTION!!!!! LONG LIVE THE ORIGINAL RECORDING!!!!!!!
(oh, and God bless us....every one.....)
THE SOUND IS WONDEROUS -- THE SOUNDS ARE SPURIOUS [Posted on 2006-12-05]
I FIND AGREEMENT WITH SOME OF THE COMMENTS OF THE EARLIER REVIEWERS IN THAT A RE-DO OF THE CLASSIC PEANUTS SCORE (WHICH WAS FANTASTIC AND ALSO AVAILABLE AS A MONSTER DISC) WAS NOT ONE OF RECORDED MUSICS GREATEST NEEDS. ALSO, THE VOCALS BY MS. WILLIAMS AND MS. KHAN ARE SADLY PATHETIC AND COULD BE READILY SHAMED BY ANY OF THE KIDS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR. MS. BRAXTON'S EFFORT COULD EASILY BE THE MOST HIDEOUS NOISE I HAVE EVER HEARD. AS I WAS PLAYING THE DISC SOMEWHAT LOUDLY TO APPRECIATE THE SPECTACULAR SURROUND IMAGERY, HER VOCAL TORTURES DROVE MY CAT TO SEEK SOLACE AND REFUGE UNDER THE SOFA. SHE MAY STILL BE THERE. BUT THE SOUND,THE FANTASTIC SOUND. THIS IS WHAT 5.1 SURROUND IS ALL ABOUT. ASIDE FROM SOME IMPRESSIVE FILM AUDIO TRACKS, I HAVE NEVER HEARD A DISC SO SKILLFULLY UTILIZING THE SURROUND TECHNOLOGY. THE MONSTER ENGINEERS HAVE CREATED A SONIC MASTERPIECE EQUAL TO TWO OF MY FAVORITE 5.1 RECORDINGS: MIKE OLDFIELD'S TUBULAR BELLS UPDATE AND A JEAN MICHEL JARRE IMPORT TITLED AERO. I EAGERLY AWAIT WHATEVER THE MONSTERS PUT THEIR HANDS TO NEXT. I ORDERED THE RAY CHARLES MONSTER DISC TODAY. AT LEAST THERE THEY HAVE GREAT SOUNDS TO EVOLVE INTO GREAT SONICS. WITH THIS CHARLIE BROWN DISC, THE WRAPPING SOUND SURROUNDS SOME MUNDANE SOUNDS.
David Benoit, 40th Year Anniversary Charlie Brown Christmas [Posted on 2007-01-09]
This HD CD which really works fine. Even the MP3's and AAC's are high quality files.
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