Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail

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Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail - A Soul Jazz Extravaganza
Snaildartha - The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail.jpg
Studio album by
The Snaildartha 6
ReleasedJanuary 11, 2004[1]
GenreJazz, spoken word, holiday
Length44:16
LabelInnova Recordings, Stand Up! Records
ProducerChris Strouth
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4.5/5 stars[2]
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity4/5 stars[3]

Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail - A Soul Jazz Extravaganza is a 2004 jazz and spoken-word holiday album. It was composed and produced by Chris Strouth, and performed by the Snaildartha 6 combo, which includes saxophonist George Cartwright of the jazz group Curlew and storyteller and comic Matt Fugate, who wrote the text with Strouth. The album retells the story of Buddha through a small snail, Jerry the Christmas Snail, who achieves enlightenment after meeting and having adventures with other Christmas-themed animals on a pilgrimage to the North Pole, eventually meeting and bonding with Santa Claus.[1] The title is a pun on the Buddha's birth name, Siddhartha.[4]

Snaildartha was created in 1993 for a performance-art series at Red Eye Theater in Minneapolis. 10 years later, Strouth and Fugate recorded a revised version with saxophonist Cartwright. First issued privately as a Christmas gift, the album was later given a wider release by Innova Recordings. A remastered digital edition of Snaildartha was released by Stand Up! Records on November 13, 2020.[5]

The album has developed a cult following thanks to its regular inclusion in DJ Jon Solomon's daylong marathon of Christmas music on Princeton, New Jersey radio station WPRB-FM,[6] as well as an annual Christmas broadcast on KFAI in Minneapolis.[5] Solomon has played the album in its entirety annually since 2004. It is routinely the highest-streamed portion of the broadcast, and has inspired some listeners to hang snail ornaments from their Christmas trees in tribute.[7][8]

Critical reception[]

MinnPost arts critic Pamela Espeland called Snaildartha a "weird but endearing" Christmas tradition, comparing it to the Arlo Guthrie song "Alice's Restaurant" and its ties to Thanksgiving.[9] Avant Music News called it a "future holiday classic" and "a twisted take on the holiday season."[10] Jason Victor Serinus, writing in Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, was more ambivalent, but called the story "charming", especially Fugate's "deadpan delivery".[3]

Track listing[]

All songs composed by Chris Strouth and performed by Snaildartha featuring Matt Fugate. Text written by Matt Fugate and Chris Strouth.

No.TitleLength
1."Rhapsody in Snail"1:05
2."A Snail Is Born"4:22
3."Interlude in Snail"2:08
4."The Te of Bob"2:05
5."Snail Night, Holy Night"1:50
6."Gift of the Menagerie"2:26
7."Snails Pacing"1:51
8."A Pilgrims Progress"1:51
9."Frostbitten Paws"2:00
10."Waiting For Claus"2:12
11."A Childs Christmas in Snails"1:27
12."Breakfast With Santa"3:02
13."Escargot a Go Go"1:03
14."Santa's Little Helper"3:12
15."Snail on the Keys"1:24
16."Claus and Effect"2:46
17."On the Half Shell"1:27
18."Discovering the Snail Within"4:39
19."Happy Glitter Trails"3:26

Credits[]

  • As told by: Matt Fugate
  • Sax: George Cartwright
  • Drums: Terry Haanen
  • Organ: Scott LeGere
  • Mixed by: Brian Jacoby
  • Mastered by: Bob DeMaa
  • Produced and directed by: Chris Strouth

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Snaildartha 6: Snaildartha". Innova Recordings. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  2. ^ "Snaildartha: Snaildartha: The Story of Jerry the Christmas Snail - A Soul Jazz Extravaganza" at AllMusic. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Serinus, Jason Victor (December 2005). "Holiday Music Reviews". Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. No. 55. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  4. ^ "My Favorites: Jon Solomon's Holiday Tunes". Northwestern Magazine. Fall 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Mason Butler (November 12, 2020). "11/12/2020 A.M. Drive". KFAI (Podcast). Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Waits, Jennifer (December 20, 2018). "WPRB DJ Jon Solomon Celebrates 30 Years of Christmas Marathons". Radio Survivor. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  7. ^ Solomon, Jon (December 13, 2018). "How did the story of a snail seeking enlightenment become a cherished Xmas tradition?". City Pages. Minneapolis-St. Paul. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  8. ^ Edelstein, Jeff (December 3, 2018). "Jon Solomon's Christmas music marathon turns 30 this year, will go for 30 hours". The Trentonian. Trenton, New Jersey. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  9. ^ Espeland, Pamela (December 14, 2018). "Artscape: Soap Factory faces sheriff's sale; Roy Hargrove tribute at the Dakota". MinnPost. Minneapolis-St. Paul. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  10. ^ Borella, Mike (November 15, 2004). "New on Innova". Avant Music News. Retrieved November 9, 2020.

External links[]

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