I Want A Dog For Christmas [Complete Vocal Removal Soundtrack] - David Benoit (2003)

Original Score By David Benoit
Original Broadcast December 9, 2003

"Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask "when will it all end?
Then a voice comes to me that says "right after the credits."
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SYNOPSIS
"I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!" centers on Rerun, Linus and Lucy's lovable but ever-skeptical younger brother. It's Christmas vacation, and as usual, Rerun's big sister is stressing him out, so he decides to turn to his best friend, Snoopy, for amusement and holiday cheer.
However his faithful but unpredictable beagle companion has plans of his own, giving Rerun reason to ask Snoopy to invite his canine brother Spike for a visit. When Spike shows up, it looks like Rerun will have a dog for Christmas after all - but then the real trouble begins. (courtesy Mykol Gantt)

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THE SOUNDTRACK
David Benoit performs the soundtrack for this Yule-Time special, repeating some classic Guaraldi tunes such as "christmastime Is Here", "Skating", "Pebble Beach", "Oh Good Grief" and "Christmas Is Coming".
Benoit, the successor of Vince Guaraldi does a great job duplicating Vince's style in these songs.

In addition to the Christmas tunes, Benoit gives us 4 different versions of "Spike's Theme", all varied slightly in tempo and content.
A recurring tune "Re-Run's Theme" appears no less than 14 times, sometimes ad-nauseam. Again he varies the tempo and content, sometimes eliminating bars or changing the key entirely.

After purchasing the "remastered" video for $7, I was disappointed in the "Dolby 2.0 Surround" mix; similar to the old 1980's quadraphonic matrix mixes.
Tweaking a Dolby decoder, I managed to remove about 90% of the vocals.
In addition I had to resort to using a "Vocal Remover" to eliminate the remaning vocals. Maintaining true stereo, the removal process left some artifacts (squeeks) and background noises behind.

It's not perfect but I'm hoping one day they will release a BluRay in 5.1 .
In the mean time, listen to this soundtrack and let me know what you think.

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YOUTUBE TRACKLIST

00:00 01. Re-Run's Theme, Linus & Lucy, Re-Run's Theme2, Linus & Lucy2 (01 : 59)
02:02 02. Oh Good Grief (03 : 19)
05:19 03. Pebble Beach (01 : 32)
06:51 04. Spike's Theme (slow intro) (00 : 39)
07:30 05. Re-Run's Theme3 (no intro, fast) (00 : 18)
07:49 06. Christmastime Is Here (01 : 01)
08:50 07. Skating (00 : 43)
09:33 08. Re-Run's Theme4 (fast) (01 : 42)
11:16 09. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 'Pathetique' III. Rondo Allegro (01 : 15)
12:32 10. Christmas Is Coming (00 : 23)
12:56 11. Red Baron alt. (little fx) (00 : 20)
13:16 12. Re-Run's Theme5 (slow, no intro) (01 : 06)
14:22 13. Re-Run's Theme6 (fast) (01 : 33)
15:56 14. Charlie Brown Theme (01 : 34)
17:30 15. Re-Run's Theme7 (very slow) (00 : 58)
18:29 16. Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 'Appassionate' III. Allegro Ma Non Troppo (01 : 10)
19:39 17. Christmastime Is Here2 (00 : 45)
20:25 18. Re-Run's Theme8, Jingle Bells, ReRun's Theme9 (02 : 01)
22:26 19. Oh Good Grief2 (00 : 33)
23:00 20. Red Baron alt.2 (00 : 10)
23:10 21. Spike's Theme2 (longest intro) (01 : 08)
24:18 22. Re-Run's Theme10 (alt. intro) (00 : 25)
24:44 23. Sonata No. 18, Op. 31, No. 3 Scherzo. Allegretto Vivace (00 : 18)
25:03 24. Re-Run's Theme11 (alt intro) (00 : 47)
25:50 25. Spike's Theme3 (no intro) (00 : 50)
26:41 26. Linus Lucy3 (01 : 57)
28:38 27. Re-Run's Theme12 (fast) (00 : 17)
28:55 28. Charlies Blues (00 : 54)
29:50 29. Spike's Theme4 (long intro) (01 : 00)
30:51 30. Christmastime Is Here (01 : 23)
32:14 31. Re-Run's Theme13 (alt. intro) (01 : 06)
33:21 32. Re-Run's Theme14 (credits) (00 : 44)
34:05 END