Music Review: A Merry Holloween & A Happy Christmas Are Here With Stephanie J. Block's New Holiday Single SLEIGH RIDE!

Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow tribe, welcome back to Bobby’s CD sandbox where we offer our broken-down breakdowns of new music releases. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record.

This week’s music entry in the BobbyFiles comes from FabuMarvelous Tony® Winner Stephanie J. Block, whose upcoming Christmas Album MERRY CHRISTMAS, DARLING is due from CLUB44 Records on November 3, but for the month of October she has put out a nice Xmas treat for you ghouls and goblins, with her new single of an old chestnut, SLEIGH RIDE. Now, before your eyes start to roll, allow Little Bobby to say that, while this very early entry for the season might seem a touch unseasonable, La Block’s version is more than well worth a listen, even now, and certainly will be more so, once the entire album rolls out in November. If you google the song you get the following:

“Some 75 years after Leroy Anderson created Sleigh Ride, the composition is still ranked as one of the 10 most popular pieces of Christmas music worldwide and frequently the #1 most popular holiday song in the United States according to ASCAP.”

That’s impressive, for sure. Anderson wrote the music as an orchestral number originally - sans lyrics - in 1948, and it became a staple of Arthur Fiedler and his Boston Pops - so much so, that the two, the Pops & SLEIGH RIDE, are basically married for life. Those now just-as-famous lyrics by Mitchell Parish were added in 1950 - 2 years after the song’s publication - and they are a fine poetic verse whose afterthought creation still merged seamlessly with the notes. Stephanie’s is a bright, bouncy, jazz-infused recording of the Anderson/Parish classic, and her voice, with its happy lilt, brings a nice new upholstery to a comfy old chair by the fire. Opening with sounds of cold wind and horse hooves clopping, the instruments sneak in with slow and easy flutes and clarinets before the strings bring in the lushness. Stephanie’s vocals start with a very smooth legato, then go up-tempo to something a little more like we’re used to but with a Jazz beat to it - a real dance floor sound of a big band playing foxtrot music. It’s still old-fashioned but with a slight modern sensibility. The jazz alto-sax solo at the bridge is hot and then rhythms from the upright bass and baritone sax join, adding heft to the whole. Speaking of heft, Lady Block stays mostly in her lower belt voice, bringing that aforementioned weight to an otherwise oh-so-light piece of holiday fluff. She leans into the jazz beats and has a little fun within the lines of a standard song sung in a relatively standard way until her build-up to the final verse frees up her voice to go places that make it all fresher. Her final notes are a real gas.
 

There’s no real story to this wonderful old song. As we said, it was written originally as an orchestral piece, so it wasn’t intended to have one, neither was it meant to be a holiday staple. Anderson, inspired by an unseasonably warm summer in Connecticut (where he eventually settled), wrote it to evoke Winter - the sounds of winter that everyone loves. Wind, fires, icicles falling and breaking Ralphie’s glasses - oh wait… that was a lie!! etc. In keeping with the song, Parish’s added lyrics follow Anderson’s intent and evoke images from start to finish with no real feeling of place or events-of-the-day-type storytelling. This isn’t the three-act play of the life of Frosty or Rudolph. It is a painting in words and music and a simply gorgeous one sung in Block’s gorgeous voice. The music and words are about feelings, sights, and sounds, and though we’ve heard this one over and over again, it never fails to evoke all of it. Honestly, if this song does not give you the Christmas jingles, your name is Ebenezer. 

Does Stephanie J. Block reinvent the wheel with her recording of SLEIGH RIDE? Nope, but with her voice. she doesn’t have to. She keeps it bright and fun, and, despite the fact that fall only just fell, we are a little geared up for the holidays, thanks to her and this treat, and for that, she gets a hearty…

4 Out Of 5 Rainbows

Put this one in your collection/streams today, and remember Stephanie’s Album MERRY CHRISTMAS, DARLING will be out on November 3. Watch This space for Little Bobby’s review.

Jump In the Amazon & Stream This Xmas Treat: HERE

You Can See And Hear Everything About Stephanie J. Block On Her Webbysite: HERE

Learn More About Composer Leeroy Anderson: HERE

And About Mitchell Parish At The Songwriters Hall Of Fame: HERE

CREDITS & THINGS
Club44 Records will release Merry Christmas, Darling – the debut holiday album from Tony Award-winning Broadway star Stephanie J. Block – on November 3 on CD and in digital and streaming platforms. The album is produced by Wayne Haun and Stephanie J. Block, with Joel Lindsey and Sharon Terrell serving as executive producers. The orchestra is conducted by Payton Altman. Starting today Friday, October 6, customers who pre-save or pre-add the album will be able to stream or download the single “Sleigh Ride.” Pre-add or pre-save at Merry Christmas, Darling

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