I was in Qobuz tonight and A Charlie Brown Christmas was in the main suggested album screen at the top. It is listed as a Deluxe album. I clicked on it and noticed 24 tracks. Far more than what is on the normal album. As I started looking through it, there were a bunch of unofficial session takes from the master. I started listening to the cuts as It was music I had never heard before. Very raw cuts with the artist and other talking. I listened to all these as I had never heard it before. When done I went to the main album songs and started from the top. Immediately I was struck with how alive it all sounded. I am thinking, dang, this is streaming???? My HQPlayer is usually my best source, but this is sounding real good.
I am very familiar with this album. I have 5 or so copies. A 1967, a few from the 80s. Even a pressing from South Africa. I am also highly confident I have a copy of a master tape on 15 ips tape. I have a couple digital versions that I ripped with DB Poweramp. What I was hearing was nothing like what I heard before. To be sure, I closed Qobuz and opened HQplayer and put on one of my digital versions. The music is the same, but the performance is very different. The new Deluxe Qobuz version is far more dynamic. In addition, they have pulled the drums and bass forward a little. What I mean is they are not as in the background as in the original versions. They are more present and whole. This is by far the best version of the album I have ever heard. So good I purchased the copy to make sure it does not disappear from Qobuz like so many other albums I like on the streaming service, that go away over time.
If you like this album, take a listen. It's very very good. Whoever was a part of the remaster did a fantastic job.
I am very familiar with this album. I have 5 or so copies. A 1967, a few from the 80s. Even a pressing from South Africa. I am also highly confident I have a copy of a master tape on 15 ips tape. I have a couple digital versions that I ripped with DB Poweramp. What I was hearing was nothing like what I heard before. To be sure, I closed Qobuz and opened HQplayer and put on one of my digital versions. The music is the same, but the performance is very different. The new Deluxe Qobuz version is far more dynamic. In addition, they have pulled the drums and bass forward a little. What I mean is they are not as in the background as in the original versions. They are more present and whole. This is by far the best version of the album I have ever heard. So good I purchased the copy to make sure it does not disappear from Qobuz like so many other albums I like on the streaming service, that go away over time.
If you like this album, take a listen. It's very very good. Whoever was a part of the remaster did a fantastic job.
