Never Letting Go
| Never Letting Go | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Studio | A&R Recording, New York City | |||
| Genre | Pop jazz | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
| Phoebe Snow chronology | ||||
| ||||
Never Letting Go is the fourth album by singer–songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1977.[1]
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [1] |
Robert Christgau wrote of the album: "By now Snow projects a jazz singer's assurance, and the originals are still overshadowed by the covers ... the tempos are invariably too reflective, and the reprises invariably too much."[3] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote that "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."[2]
Track listing[edit]
All songs written by Phoebe Snow, except where noted.
- "Love Makes a Woman" (Carl Davis, Eugene Record, William Sanders, Gerald Simms) – 3:21
- "Majesty of Life" – 3:36
- "Ride the Elevator" – 3:55
- "Something So Right" (Paul Simon) – 4:02
- "Never Letting Go" (Stephen Bishop) – 3:12
- "We're Children" – 3:01
- "The Middle of the Night" – 3:33
- "Electra" – 3:53
- "Garden of Joy Blues" (Clifford Hayes) – 4:31
Personnel[edit]
- Phoebe Snow – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (2, 6)
- Ken Ascher – acoustic piano (1, 7, 8), electric piano (1, 5, 7), organ (1), keyboards (3, 9), synthesizers (7), orchestration (7)
- Richard Tee – electric piano (2, 4)
- Bob James – acoustic piano (5), electric piano (6)
- Hugh McCracken – electric guitar (1, 4, 5, 7), acoustic guitar (2, 5, 6), slide guitar (3), harmonica (3)
- Steve Burgh – electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar (5), acoustic guitar (6)
- Steve Khan – electric guitar (1, 3, 7, 8), 12-string electric guitar (8), electric guitar solo (8), acoustic guitar (9)
- Will Lee – bass (1, 5, 6, 7)
- Tony Levin – bass (2, 3, 4, 8, 9)
- Chris Parker – drums (1, 4-7)
- Grady Tate – drums (2, 7)
- Steve Gadd – drums (3, 8, 9)
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion (1, 2, 4, 6)
- Michael Brecker – tenor sax solo (1, 6)
- Hubert Laws – flute solo (2)
- Eddie Daniels – clarinet solo (3)
- Phil Woods – alto sax solo (5)
- William Eaton – orchestration (1, 2, 8), woodwind orchestration (4)
- Robert Freedman – orchestration (3, 5), string orchestration (4)
- David Nadien – concertmaster
- Gwen Guthrie – backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
- Lani Groves – backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
- Patti Austin – backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
- Kenny Loggins – vocals on "We're Children"
Strings
- Janet Hamilton and Charles McCracken – cello
- Russ Savakos – double bass
- Lamar Alsop and Emanuel Vardi – viola
- Sanford Allen, Joyce Flissler, Harry Glickman, Marvin Morgenstern, Tony Posk, Herbert Sorkin and Carol Webb – violin
Brass
- Dave Taylor – bass trombone
- Barry Rogers – trombone
- Randy Brecker, Victor Paz and Alan Rubin – trumpet and flugelhorn
- Jonathan Dorn – tuba
Woodwinds
- Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone
- Ray Beckinstein, Leon Cohen, Dave Tofani and George Young – alto flute and clarinet
- Phil Bodner, Harvey Estrin, Walter Kane and George Marge – bass flute
- Eddie Daniels – Bb clarinet
- Michael Brecker and Eddie Daniels – tenor saxophone
Production[edit]
- Phil Ramone – producer, remixing
- Jim Boyer – engineer
- Gene Grief – design
- Paula Scher – design
Reception[edit]
- ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 652.
- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Never Letting Go > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
