‘Sleigher,’ the first-ever holiday disc from Ben Folds, offers comfort & joy

Every fall, when the leaves start flying, music aficionados can count on a new batch of holiday-themed releases. Among this year’s crop is “Sleigher” by singer-songwriter Ben Folds, featuring original works and his versions of yuletide favorites. 

In the liner notes, Folds outlines his raison d’être for the disc, his first-ever holiday release: “Christmas is constant, allowing you to take stock of what’s different, to understand who you are and all the ways you’ve grown and changed.” (Later this season, Ben Folds joins the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Reineke, for a concert June 16.)

The All Music Guide describes “Sleigher” (on New West) as "Parts Vince Guaraldi, Randy Newman and ’The Lawrence Welk Show.’ "  The self-produced “Sleigher” features seven new Christmas tunes (five songs and two piano instrumentals) and three covers. "In true Folds fashion, there is no shortage of despondency, wistfulness, humor or mischief on the set, which, with its middle-aged perspectives, valiantly resists giving in to the holiday spirit but ultimately does, anyway."

The offbeat covers consist of an acoustic guitar-and-piano rendition of Robert Wells and Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song”; Burt Bacharach and Larry Kusik’s "The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle" — originally recorded by Paul Evans in 1962, then memorably covered by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass on their "Christmas Album" (1968), and “You Don’t Have to Be a Santa Claus” by jazz pianist Seger Ellis.

" ‘Sleigher’ is full of humor and lyrics sung with a twinkle in the eye, however it is also laced with melancholy, which is apt, for though the festive season is a time of great happiness for many, the dark December nights can be particularly painful if you are lonely or suffering," observes Anna Murphy on the blog For Folk’s Sake. “Christmas has the ability to amplify emotions, especially the extreme ends of joy and sadness.”

These two emotions are crystallized by two songs: "at one end, there’s ’Me and Maurice,’ a poignant track that reflects on how quickly life can change direction, with festive hope and melancholy vying for attention, and then there’s ’We Could Have This,’ on which Folds and Kraft celebrate a couple’s first Christmas together and all their hopes for the future."

For the holiday-averse, Folds’ "South of Lapland (Santa’s Gory Yuletide)" mashes up holiday standards “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “The Carol of the Bells” with heavy-metal guitar licks and rock pageantry. 

Let’s go back to Ben for the finale: “I love those holiday classics that are totally broad and timeless. But I’ve only ever been able to be myself, and I realized the most generous thing I could do with this album was write the best songs I could, no matter where that took me. Anything else just wouldn’t ring true.”