Phoebe Snow - Albums (5CD) (Sony Japan and DCC Gold) (1974-1978)

Tracks:


Phoebe Snow - Phoebe Snow (1974)
DCC 24 Karat Gold Compact Disc 1994 Re-master

In 1974 singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow released her self-titled debut album on the Shelter label. All the songs were written by Phoebe except for "Good Times" (by Sam Cooke) and "San Francisco Bay Blues" (by Jesse Fuller). The single "Poetry Man" was a massive hit, reaching No. 5 on the Pop Singles Chart and topping the Adult Contemporary Chart. Produced by Dino Airali and Phil Ramone.

Tracks:
01. Good Times 2:45
02. Harpo's Blues 4:26
03. Poetry Man 4:39
04. Either or Both 3:56
05. San Francisco Bay Blues 3:32
06. I Don't Want the Night to End 3:57
07. Take Your Children Home 4:18
08. It Must Be Sunday 5:52
09. No Show Tonight 3:08

Bonus Tracks:
10. Easy Street (Original B Side of "Harpo's Blues" Single) 3:27
11. Good Times (Original Demo) 2:49
12. Harpo's Blues (Original Demo) 5:00
13. I Don't Want the Night to End (Original Demo) 4:29
14. It Must Be Sunday (Original Demo) 5:48
15. San Francisco Bay Blues (Original Demo) 4:15
16. Poetry Man (Original Demo) 3:44

Credits:
* Phoebe Snow – acoustic guitar, guitar, vocals
* David Bromberg – acoustic guitar, dobro, guitar, rhythm guitar
* Steve Burgh – electric guitar
* Ron Carter – bass
* Chuck Delmonico – bass, acoustic bass
* Steve Gadd – drums
* Chuck Israels – bass, acoustic bass
* Bob James – organ, keyboard
* Hilary James – organ
* Ralph MacDonald – percussion
* Dave Mason – guitar
* Hugh McDonald – bass, electric bass, electric guitar
* Steve McDonald – electric guitar
* Steve Mosley – percussion, drums
* The Persuasions – vocals, background vocals
* Margaret Ross – harp
* Zoot Sims – saxophone, tenor saxophone
* Teddy Wilson – piano


Phoebe Snow - Second Childhood (1976)
Sony Music Japan 2011 DSD Re-master

Although it lacked a hit single to match "Poetry Man," Phoebe Snow's second album was another folk-pop-jazz confection that effectively showcased her one-of-a-kind voice in musical settings featuring the cream of New York's session musicians, and produced by Phil Ramone. It was a classy job on which Snow contributed seven originals and displayed her versatility on covers ranging from Motown to Gershwin.

01. Two Fisted Love
02. Cash In
03. Inspired Insanity
04. No Regrets
05. Sweet Disposition
06. All Over
07. Isn't It A Shame
08. Goin' Down For The Third Time
09. Pre-Dawn Imagination
10. There's A Boat That's Leavin' Soon For New York


Phoebe Snow - It Looks Like Snow (1976)
Sony Music Japan 2011 DSD Re-master

David Rubinson's production of Phoebe Snow on the 1976 release It Looks Like Snow is an overpowering collection of pop-jazz-funk-folk that puts this amazing vocalist's talents in a beautiful light. Whether it's the Bowen/Bond/Hazel blues classic "Shakey Ground," which Elton John, Etta James, and so many others have explored, or her exquisite interpretation of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down," there is no doubt the material here should have ruled on the airwaves the year after her Top Five smash, "Poetry Man." How could Columbia Records not have this material saturating radio across America is the question. There are string arrangements by Sonny Burke and horn arrangements by Kurt McGettrick; the guests galore -- from David Bromberg and Ray Parker, Jr. on guitars (along with Snow, Greg Poree, and Steve Burgh) to David Pomeranz on keys -- make the Snow/Pomeranz co-write "Mercy on Those" into a majestic and extra-special showstopper. The singer's solo composition "Drink Up the Melody (Bite the Dust, Blues)" has her dipping into Maria Muldaur territory, and a duet between the two divas here would've been sensational. "My Faith Is Blind," soaked in gospel introspection, takes the album to another level with its soul searching and sense of spiritual discovery.

01. Autobiography (Shine, Shine, Shine)
02. Teach Me Tonight
03. Stand Up On The Rock
04. In My Girlish Days
05. Mercy On Those
06. Don't Let Me Down
07. Drink Up The Melody (Bite The Dust, Blues)
08. Fat Chance
09. My Faith Is Blind
10. Shakey Ground


Phoebe Snow - Never Letting Go (1977)
Sony Music Japan 2011 DSD Re-master

Phoebe Snow made it onto the soul charts with her version of Barbara Acklin's 1968 hit "Love Makes a Woman" (#87), which served as the leadoff track of her fourth album. But the record marked a fall-off in both her commercial success and her artistic accomplishment. The tasty studio musicians and Phil Ramone's pop-jazz production were still in place, and Snow remained a remarkable singer, but her synthesis of styles was beginning to seem not so much inspired as muddled.

01. Love Makes A Woman
02. Majesty Of Life
03. Ride The Elevator
04. Something So Right
05. Never Letting Go
06. We're Children
07. The Middle Of The Night
08. Electra
09. Garden Of Joy Blues


Phoebe Snow - Against The Grain (1978)
Sony Music Japan 2011 DSD Re-master

Phoebe Snow should have, could have, had hits with her covers of Paul McCartney's "Every Night" and the Roches' "The Married Men," but by her fourth Columbia album and fifth release overall, the company seems to have been content to let her records find their audience without pushing them. (Actually, "Every Night" did hit number 79 in the U.K.) Maybe they'd given up trying to figure out whether she was a folk singer, a pop singer, a soul singer, or a jazz singer, and forgot that she was a great singer. The decision to add Barry Beckett as co-producer with Phil Ramone helped add an R&B depth and fervor, but Against the Grain was just a more impassioned effort than its predecessor. That didn't keep Columbia from dropping Phoebe Snow when it didn't hit, though.

01. Every Night
02. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
03. He's Not Just Another Man
04. Random Time
05. In My Life
06. You Have Not Won
07. Mama Don't Break Down
08. Oh, L.A.
09. The Married Men
10. Keep A Watch On The Shoreline