Talk:A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack)

Album release date
Although the TV special was broadcast in 1965 can we be certain that the album was also released that year and not the following year once the success of the show was known? The 2006 remaster album I believe was an anniversary reissue. These day coordinated releases of films and soundtracks are rudimentary marketing strategy, but back in the 1960s things were less assured, especially for a relatively small record label like Fantasy. It's too easy to take note of recording /copyright dates and assume these are proof of the actual release date. Just asking the question... Ricadus (talk) 07:46, 10 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, we can be certain, if we are to believe Billboard Magazine (on Google Books), Dec. 4 1965, p.40, which lists the LP under "New Album Releases." 71.162.113.226 (talk) 20:08, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

Untitled
I've gotten the album, but parts of the tracks are ... silent. Right in the middle of the piano playing, it cuts out. I have also downloaded mp3s of some of the songs, with these same mysterious missing sections. Perhaps the reason there are two versions of this album (as the article says) is that the original version was defective? Or am I way off on this and am just having no luck with an old CD? --Nerd42 00:06, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Hmmm... what parts of the album, specifically, are you referring to? Wahkeenah 02:11, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
 * I'll have to listen to the whole CD again ... no wait! all I have to do is open the files in adobe premiere and see which ones have large sections of silence. OK. :) I'll put up a list of tracks ... --Nerd42 02:30, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
 * OK ... I've looked at all the tracks and compared my mp3 version of the album to my rip the actual CD, and confirmed that it's that the CDs are old. I actually have every song except Linus and Lucy intact in one version or the other. So it must just be me. False alarm. sorry people. --Nerd42 02:46, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

Controversy
According to Wikipedia policy the controversy section over the 2006 remastering of the album violates multiple point of view as well as original research rules. The use of Amazon as a source for actual information is prohibited, furthermore user reviews are NEVER to be used a source for controversy, criticism, or opposing views for good measure. Utilizing user reviews makes it possible for any contributor to state their opinion on a controversial issue on a third party publisher and then push their bias onto Wikipedia's supposed neutral articles. Had a professional reviewer such as AGM elaborated on this controversy it would be acceptable to upload a direct quote from this and only this review; however some of the content in this section--such as the nefarious description of Concord Music Group and the heroic portrayal of the mysterious Amazon warrior and his "role" in the controversy--is just unacceptable. The information proceeding the unfavorable reviews should all go under a section which includes information concerning the 2006 remastering, not one solely devoted to critiquing the subject matter. I'll correct some of the more obvious errors in the article such as the non NPOV information, however so nothing is lost in translation I will not alter the other content. 72.152.134.181 (talk) 03:51, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

dates of the recording sessions
Please add details about the actual dates of the recording sessions.-96.237.7.252 (talk) 00:26, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas
40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas - Brand new recordings of a timeless classic from MonsterMusic

2 Disc Limited Edition #12927 = UPC# 050644441523 Disc 1 is a "High Definition Surround Sound" DVD that will work with any DVD player Disc 2 is a "Audiophile Mastered" CD that works with any CD player

Features the following artists: Gerald Albright David Benoit Rick Braun Toni Braxton Norman Brown Chaka Khan Dave Koz Eric Marienthal Brian McKnight The Rippingtons Vanessa Williams

Track Listing: Christmas is Coming Just Like Me Linus and Lucy It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year My Little Drum Skating Christmas Time is Here O Tannenbaum Red Baron The Christmas Song Fur Elise (Beethoven) Christmas Time is Here (Reprise) UPC:	013431853428 Recording information: Castle Oaks, Calabasas, California. With its sentimental tie-in to the beloved television special and its all-star roster, this curious project has all the trappings of a holiday-driven commercial venture. Musician/composer/arranger David Benoit organized a cast of adult contemporary musicians to interpret songs associated with A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS to commemorate the show's 40th anniversary. Vince Guaraldi's joyous solo piano pieces are sorely missed, but the performances by Toni Braxton, the Rippingtons, Vanessa Williams, and others, have an accessibility and charm that will appeal to children and adults alike. -96.237.7.252 (talk) 00:37, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

Requested move 9 January 2016

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: moved. Ultimately unopposed after several weeks. Jenks24 (talk) 07:53, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (album) → A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack) – Should be a "soundtrack", although this is the only album of the same name up to date. George Ho (talk) 23:20, 9 January 2016 (UTC) Relisted. Jenks24 (talk) 07:07, 24 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Comment indifferent on the move, however it appears to actually have elements of both. If I understand the history, parts of the album were created before the movie. While that doesn't negate it as a soundtrack (since many soundtracks contain previously released material), it is interesting. It might be more technically correct to be called a soundtrack, although I'm not sure it's significant. Tiggerjay (talk) 17:15, 19 January 2016 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Song Heard on the Radio
In an interview with Lee Mendelson I seem to recall that he was driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and heard "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the radio, pulled over to a pay phone, called Bill Melendez and said something along the lines off "here is the sound we're looking for" and held the phone up to the radio... and the rest is history! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Decaia (talk • contribs) 22:21, 16 December 2016 (UTC)

Year of release
This article is asserting a very fundamental piece of information with no source, and possibly incorrectly - that the album was released in 1965. I find no source for this claim, in fact other sources suggest it was release in 1978 https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=VINCE+GUARALDI+TRIO&ti=A+CHARLIE+BROWN+CHRISTMAS
 * See https://www.discogs.com/Vince-Guaraldi-A-Charlie-Brown-Christmas/release/1627731 Christopher Rath (talk) 11:00, 7 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Which is it? It seems unlikely to me that this would have been released along with a special that had no prospects for enduring success. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Derick1259 (talk • contribs) 15:17, 6 October 2019 (UTC)
 * The source is Billboard Magazine (on Google Books), Dec 4 1965, p.40, which lists the LP under "New Album Releases." 71.162.113.226 (talk) 20:05, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

LP contents
Article says: "Not all music featured in the holiday special was released on the soundtrack. For example, "Surfin' Snoopy" (aka "Air Music") did not make the cut, but was belatedly released in 1998 on Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits.[4] Additionally, tracks "What Child Is This" and "The Christmas Song" are on this recording but were not featured in the special."

Yes, Surfin' Snoopy is not on the soundtrack LP. But no, it is wrong to say it "didn't make the cut," for the simple reason that when the show first aired and the LP released in 1965, Surfin' Snoopy wasn't yet on the show. In fact, it didn't even exist, being composed for the second special "Charlie Brown's All-Star" which aired in June of 1966. Christmastime Is Here was used for the doghouse decorating scene in 1965, then Surfin' Snoopy substituted in 1966 and thereafter.

Also not on the LP are the 3 cuts from the "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" soundtrack: Charlie Brown Theme, Frieda, and Happiness Is. And for the same reason: they were not part of the original 1965 airing, but were added in 1966. In 1965, the play rehearsal scenes had no music, except the dancing scenes.

And finally, the soundtrack cut My Little Drum was also not in the special. 71.162.113.226 (talk) 17:02, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

Track listing - what should and shouldn’t be there?
I have to say, I fail to see why those countless bonus tracks should be listed. I understand that they’re all cited, but they don’t seem to be nearly notable enough to all be listed. The only bonus track that would be notable enough, to my knowledge, would be the extended version of “What Child is This?” (Aka the one titled “Greensleeves”) that’s appeared on basically every pressing (even on vinyl) ever since it was first added in 1988.

as for the use of the track listing template, I find the whole “use in more complicated situations” guideline to be extremely vague. I see more albums than not using that format already and that’s why I just tend to default to using that (that, and it looks a bit cleaner and allows for the listing of the total length). My interpretation of that guideline would be that singles and EPs fall under “less complicated” due to their smaller number of tracks, and a full album would be the right place to use the template. Hell, the numbered list is by far usually the one used in situations that actually are complicated, such as bonus tracks, live box sets, etc.

(Also, the WP:ALTTRACKLIST page shows examples of regular studio albums, including Dave Matthews Band’s Before These Crowded Streets using all three templates - numbered list, tracklist box, and table (ew), so I think an album falls under the right situation.)

The massive list of bonus tracks kinda makes a mess, in my opinion, and doesn’t deserve to be there.

Elephantranges (talk) 22:27, 25 September 2022 (UTC)


 * Thanks so much for being willing to talk. I really appreciate it. Could we start off with at least a simple thing, which is that the duration in the infobox should only have the original value in it? And then we can discuss how it makes the most sense to present the various track listings upon re-releases. ―Justin ( koavf ) ❤T☮C☺M☯ 09:17, 27 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Usually I wouldn't have added the length of the bonus track edition in the infobox; This is just a case where a certain bonus track ("Greensleeves") has, as far as I can tell, basically been incorporated as part of the full album. Doesn't matter what format you buy it on, ever since 1988, I'm pretty sure that's always the final track, regardless of whether there's other bonus tracks or not, so it's kind of a grey area I guess? I sorta compare it to the way The Final Cut has, ever since 2004, always included "When the Tigers Broke Free" and lists it as part of the full album. If it should still just be the original 1965 length in the infobox, then sure, just wasn't sure which was correct and I don't exactly feel too strongly about it either way lol —Elephantranges (talk) 17:28, 27 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Good deal. So since we have both "Greensleeves" on many editions of the album and we now have a new version of the album released with many extra discs (in addition to variations in between), how do you think is the best way to present this, per your understanding of the style advice guide and policies? ―Justin ( koavf ) ❤T☮C☺M☯ 19:57, 27 September 2022 (UTC)
 * I guess just having the original 1965 time. Not ideal, but I guess better than anything else if it's really not supposed to list more than one time. Elephantranges (talk) 17:28, 28 September 2022 (UTC)
 * What do you say about the tracklist format? Elephantranges (talk) 19:46, 30 September 2022 (UTC)
 * It seems like if we didn't have all the various track listings, that would be a disservice to readers, especially if there are several variations that are pretty available out there: I can easily imagine someone buying one of the many editions and comparing it to the article here and thinking we're wrong or something is off. I think readers are definitely well-served by having a comprehensive set of the track listings. ―Justin ( koavf ) ❤T☮C☺M☯ 09:26, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

Maybe so, but WP:ALTTRACKLIST states:

Include track listings for alternative editions only when they are significantly different and when the tracks are the subject of extensive commentary in the article. In such cases, additional track listings can be listed under subheadings. Otherwise, notable differences can be summarised in the prose in lieu of additional track lists.

I don’t think bonus tracks tacked onto different releases is what “significantly different” refers to; I think of that as more along the lines of US and UK versions of an album with completely different track listings.

Furthermore, I don’t see any “extended commentary” on the bonus tracks that go in depth on their background and, more importantly, shows why those track listings are notable.

“Otherwise, notable differences can be summarized in prose”

I think this is a much better way to go about this. Having a few paragraphs explaining the different reissues the album has would be a lot more organized instead of lists showing 10 different takes of “My Little Drum” or something.

I doubt the example of someone buying the album and thinking something is off when seeing the article’s track listing is likely to happen, to be honest, and that’s not the article’s purpose either, it’s not a consumer’s guide. – Elephantranges (talk) 18:54, 2 October 2022 (UTC)