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There was nothing less cool than the sound of Muzak. "Elevator music" it was called: the apparentlly lifeless arrangements one could hear in almost any office or department store of the period. As much as anything else, it was the ubiquity of the sound that earned it scorn and the homogeneity of the arrangements--along with its seamless, programmed nature--that sealed its reputation as a cold and lifeless form.

Certainly, this strain of pop is not something I ever found myself craving. It seems to me to be more of a Greatest Generation format, a lovely cocoon of a sound that would shield one from the harshness of the world, a forced mundaneness that muted the hostility of a violent world.

But even though this genre is honored mostly by way of derision, it was actually a pioneering form and its pleasant devotion to rote a marvelous affectation, an affectation so mesmerizing that its name has come to encapsulate the faceless impersonality of modern society like no other. It became, in fact, the musical equivalent of "Have a nice day."

But not so fast. Dismissal of this form was a generational reaction to the impersonal, manufactured nature of modern consumer society, a reaction that oftentimes sought to destroy the old regime's valuables as it assassinated its royals.

What has any of that to do with the Robert Way Orchestra? Very little, I suppose. Like Robert Way, who composes impressionistic arrangements of well-known tunes, I like to fancy myself something of an impressionist, describing my reaction to music using a broad brush and a pallette of muted pastelles. As much as I would hope to maintain my derisive, post-modern edge, I have in fact crossed over to a place where I can enjoy the smoothness of this music and no longer be put off by its homogeneity. Like the background radiation from the Big Bang, Robert Way's arrangements announce the greatness of the Greatest Generation by encapsulating its songbook in an easy-to-swallow sugar coating that I find have no trouble hearing to 40 years hence. New England Sleigh Ride Plus contains no irony. It eye-rollingly corny earnestness endears it to post-modern ears, in the same way as the unmistakable sound of a Victrola has become almost a musical part of early 20th century recordings.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2009)

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From the liner notes:

The first 12 selections were initially released in an album for Mobil Oil Corporation in 1967. Because of so many requests, the music was transferred from the original tape recorded master to digital format. The music was then remixed to the present CD format. As much of the original mix was retained as possible. I then added 6 current recordings for the PLUS section.

Scoring calls for: 3 flutes - oboe - bassoon - 2 french horns - 2 trombones - harp - celesta - cimbalom - 2 guitars - drums - percussion - 10 violins - 4 violas - 3 celli - and acoustic bass.

A Christmas Yuleblog has compiled more information about the original release for Mobil Oil.

Robert Way Orchestra

New England Sleigh Ride Plus,
Music for the Christmas Season

Artist link

Track List