Santa´s Sleigh Ride, China Replacements Mug

Album review: Naxos' four discs of Leroy Anderson 's complete orchestral music with Leonard Slatkin leading the BBC Concert Orchestra was a boon for the composer's advocates. Here, at last, were the collected works of the acknowledged king of American light classics in performances delightful enough to charm and dignified enough not to seem silly. For less voracious Anderson listeners, this single disc drawn from those four discs of the composer's complete holiday music will likely be enough. Coupling...

Whether or not one likes Sleigh Ride: The Best of Leroy Anderson depends on how much one likes Leroy Anderson in general. These recordings were made with the best East Coast studio musicians of the era, Anderson was more than able as conductor of his own music, and these Decca singles reflect his intentions exactly. The monophonic sound on the recordings made between 1950 and 1954 is a little gritty, as both "hi-fi" technology and the art of recording on tape were still in a state of relative infancy...