Something Real (Phoebe Snow album)

Last updated
Something Real
Phoebe Snow - Something Real.png
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1989
Studio The Hit Factory and The Power Station (New York City, New York).
Genre Pop
Label Elektra [1]
Producer
Phoebe Snow chronology
Rock Away
(1981)
Something Real
(1989)
The New York Rock and Soul Revue: Live at the Beacon
(1991)

Something Real is the seventh studio album by the American musician Phoebe Snow, released in 1989 by Elektra Records. [2] [3] It was her first album in eight years. [4] While caring for her disabled daughter, Snow spent five years making demo tapes and mailing them to labels. [5]

Contents

The album peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard 200. [6]

Background

According to music executive Charles Koppelman, who had headed Columbia Records music publishing department at the time Snow was on the Columbia roster, his interest in Snow was captured after he recognized her voice singing the jingle for a Bloomingdale's television commercial. Koppelman attended Snow's Bottom Line gig in July 1986 and—deeming her performance a "knockout"—he began to champion Snow's return to recording. With Koppelman's support, Snow was signed to Elektra by the year's end: [7]

Production

The album was produced by Rob Fraboni and Ricky Fataar; Russ Titelman also worked on the album. [8] [5] Mick Taylor played guitar on "Cardiac Arrest". [9] Lou Marini and Tom Scott led the horn section. [10]

Snow shot a video, her first, for the album's first single, "If I Can Just Get Through the Night". [11] The track "Something Real", which served as the second single and video, was hailed by Washington Post music critic Joe Brown as "'Poetry Man' revisited...[The earlier] song's ingenuously adulterous protagonist has wised up in a decade. This time around, she wants—quoting the lyrics of "Something Real"—something real - something I don't have to steal." [12] Snow would state her vision for the song was "not [as] a vulnerable fragile song...I thought it could be a more powerful R&B ballad like something Whitney Houston might sing But everybody who heard my homemade demo thought [that acoustic version] was too good to change." [13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [16]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Vancouver Sun Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]

The Los Angeles Times thought that, "while this album is classy and polished, there isn't much that approaches classic Snow territory, aside from 'We Might Never Feel This Way Again', with its touching, grab-the-moment romanticism, and the softly tender 'I'm Your Girl', which Snow wrote for her late mother." [16] The Buffalo News wrote that the singer "still has trouble resisting instrumental sucrose in the background, but the sound of Phoebe Snow singing 'I'm Your Girl' or 'If I Can Just Get Through the Night' is the essence of pop authenticity." [19] The Boston Globe concluded that Something Real "has a couple of slick, poorly chosen cover songs, but her four original songs on the album are sparkling." [9]

The Vancouver Sun opined that "the highly produced musical packaging feels too slick and hip for conveying truly honest emotions." [18] The Washington Post declared: "With a voice that's equally suited to pop, R&B and gospel, she has no difficulty reviving the old Emotions' hit 'Best of My Love' or emulating James Taylor's tuneful insouciance on 'Soothin'', but other song choices don't pan out nearly as well." [20] The New York Times deemed Something Real Snow's "most coherent album," writing that her "excesses are reined in just enough to make her sound bighearted and benevolent rather than overwrought." [21]

AllMusic called the album "a sturdy, respectable set," writing that Snow "tends to de-emphasize the more unusual aspects of her voice, although not so much that you'd confuse it with anybody else's." [14]

Aftermath

At the time of the album's release, Snow would say of Something Real: “We’ve made our statement on this record: it's got the right amount of everything. But I want my next [album] to reduce the margin for error - [to have] strong powerful music...that expresses how I envision myself." [13] Snow would abandon the recording of her second Elektra album after cutting six tracks which (Phoebe Snow quote:) "were just wrong. They weren't who I am. I was like the gal singer who phoned her part in." Snow asked for release from her contract, recording what would be her final two studio albums: I Can't Complain (1998) and Natural Wonder (2003), for indie labels. [22]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Something Real"Phoebe Snow3:50
2."Mr. Wondering"Don Yowell3:21
3."Touch Your Soul"Snow4:36
4."We Might Never Feel This Way Again"Rhonda Schuster3:50
5."I'm Your Girl"Snow5:21
6."If Can Just Get Through the Night"Peter Anders4:09
7."Stay Away"Sue Sheridan, Sue Shifrin4:14
8."Soothin'"Jae Mason4:06
9."Best of My Love" Al McKay, Maurice White 3:48
10."Cardiac Arrest"Snow3:34

Personnel

Session players/ singers

  • Robbie Kondor – keyboards (1, 6, 8), synth string arrangements (2)
  • Joy Askew – keyboards (2, 6–8), acoustic piano (2)
  • Jeff Bova – keyboards (3, 5)
  • Robbie Kilgore – keyboards (3, 5)
  • Rob Mounsey – keyboards (3, 5)
  • Eric Rehl – keyboards (4), drums (4)
  • Ivan Neville – keyboards (8), acoustic piano (10), Hammond B3 organ (10)
  • David Frank – keyboards (9), arrangements (9)
  • Pat Thrall – guitars (2, 6–8)
  • John McCurry – guitars (4)
  • Mick Taylor – guitars (5, 7, 10)
  • Larry DeBari – guitars (6)
  • Shane Fontayne – guitars (10)
  • Ricky Fataar – bass (1), percussion (1, 2, 7, 10), drums (2, 5–8, 10), additional drums (3), acoustic guitar (7), guitars (8), backing vocals (8)
  • Anthony Jackson – bass (2, 6–8)
  • Jimmy Bralower – drum machine programming (3, 5)
  • Errol "Crusher" Bennett – percussion (8)
  • Carol Steele – percussion (9)
  • Paul McGovern – saxophone (2)
  • Tom Scott – alto saxophone (9)
  • Lou Marini – saxophones (9)
  • Bob Mintzer – saxophones (9)
  • Dave Bargeron – trombone (9)
  • Randy Brecker – trumpet (9)
  • Jon Faddis – trumpet (9)
  • Darryl Johnson – backing vocals (6, 7, 10), bass (10)

Session players/ singers (cont.)

  • Blondie Chaplin – backing vocals (8)
  • Lani Groves – backing vocals (9)
  • Brenda King – backing vocals (9)
  • Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals (9)

Production

  • Phoebe Snow – pre-production
  • Ricky Fataar – producer (1, 2, 6–8, 10)
  • Rob Fraboni – producer (1, 2, 6–8, 10)
  • Russ Titelman – producer (3, 5, 9)
  • Phil Ramone – producer (4)
  • Steve Boyer – recording (1, 2, 6–8, 10), mixing (1, 2, 6–8, 10)
  • Steve Rinkoff – recording (3, 5, 9), mixing (3, 5, 9)
  • Jay Healy – recording (4), mixing (4)
  • Joe Pirrera – recording (4), mixing (4)
  • Bruce Calder – additional engineer (1, 2, 6–8, 10), assistant engineer (1, 2, 6–8, 10)
  • Dan Gellert – assistant engineer (3, 5, 9)
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City, New York)
  • Karen Fine – production coordinator (1, 2, 6–8, 10)
  • Jill Dell'Abate – production coordinator (3, 5, 9)
  • Alexandra Saraspe-Conomos – production assistant (3, 5, 9)
  • Carol Bobolts – art direction
  • Michele Clement – photography

Related Research Articles

<i>Longing in Their Hearts</i> 1994 studio album by Bonnie Raitt

Longing in Their Hearts is the twelfth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1994. The album contained the mainstream pop hit, "Love Sneakin' Up On You," which reached #19 on the Billboard singles chart, and "You", which remains to date her only UK Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 31.

<i>Phoebe Snow</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Phoebe Snow

Phoebe Snow is the debut album by American roots music singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1974. It contains her Top 5 Billboard hit, "Poetry Man", and opens with her cover of Sam Cooke's R&B hit "Good Times".

<i>Second Childhood</i> 1976 studio album by Phoebe Snow

Second Childhood is the second album by the singer and songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1976. Second Childhood was certified gold by the RIAA on July 9, 1976.

<i>Still Crazy After All These Years</i> 1975 studio album by Paul Simon

Still Crazy After All These Years is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released on October 17, 1975, by Columbia Records. Recorded and released in 1975, the album produced four U.S. Top 40 hits: "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", "Gone at Last", "My Little Town", and the title track. It won two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1976.

<i>Souls Alike</i> 2005 studio album by Bonnie Raitt

Souls Alike is the fifteenth studio album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 2005 on Capitol Records. The album peaked at No. 19 on the US Billboard 200.

<i>Barry Manilow</i> (1989 album) 1989 studio album by Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow is a studio album released by singer and songwriter Barry Manilow in 1989. It was Manilow's thirteenth studio album overall and second studio album on his second tenure with Arista Records. The album represented a hint of future album releases in that many of the songs were not written/co-written by Manilow, which until that point had been rare for him. After the release of this album, Manilow embarked on introducing contemporary audiences to pop music of the 1930s through the late 1940s.

<i>The Other Side of the Mirror</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Stevie Nicks

The Other Side of the Mirror is the fourth solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. Released on May 30, 1989, through the Modern Records label, the album was recorded in California, New York, and Buckinghamshire in England, and is loosely based around the theme of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865).

<i>Fade into Light</i> 1996 studio album by Boz Scaggs

Fade into Light is the twelfth studio album by American musician Boz Scaggs, released in Japan in 1996 and the U.S. in 2005. The album was a mix of new original compositions and new recordings of Scaggs' classic hits.

<i>Real Live Woman</i> 2000 album by Trisha Yearwood

Real Live Woman is the eighth studio album by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood, released on March 28, 2000.

<i>Be Yourself</i> (Patti LaBelle album) 1989 studio album by Patti LaBelle

Be Yourself is the ninth solo album by American singer-songwriter Patti LaBelle. It was released by MCA Records on June 26, 1989 in the United States. Her second album with the company following her 1986 platinum album Winner in You, it features the single, "If You Asked Me To" which was also featured on the soundtrack to the James Bond movie, Licence to Kill (1989), and the R&B top ten Prince-written hit "Yo Mister." The album marked LaBelle's foray into new jack swing music with the tracks "I Got It Like That", produced by Full Force, and "Love 89", another Prince contribution.

<i>Never Letting Go</i> 1977 studio album by Phoebe Snow

Never Letting Go is the fourth album by singer–songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1977.

<i>Émigré</i> (album) Album by Wendy Matthews discography

Émigré is the debut solo studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Wendy Matthews released by rooArt in Australia in November 1990. It was produced by Ricky Fataar and reached No. 11 on the Australian Albums Chart. It yielded three singles: "Token Angels", "Woman's Gotta Have It" and "Let's Kiss ". Matthews won the ARIA Award for Best Female Artist at the ARIA Music Awards of 1991.

<i>Anne Murray</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Anne Murray

Anne Murray is the twenty-eighth studio album by Canadian country vocalist Anne Murray. It was released by SBK Records on August 6, 1996. It was Murray’s last album of all new material. The album peaked at number 10 on the RPM Country Albums chart.

<i>Against the Grain</i> (Phoebe Snow album) 1978 studio album by Phoebe Snow

Against the Grain is the fifth album by singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1978.

<i>Working Girl</i> (soundtrack) 1989 soundtrack album by Carly Simon

Working Girl (Original Soundtrack Album) is the soundtrack album to the 1988 Mike Nichols film Working Girl, released by Arista Records, on August 29, 1989.

<i>Dig In Deep</i> 2016 studio album by Bonnie Raitt

Dig In Deep is the seventeenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Bonnie Raitt. The album was released on February 26, 2016. The album once again primarily features her longtime band composed of Ricky Fataar on drums, George Marinelli on guitars and James "Hutch" Hutchinson on bass with newer member Mike Finnigan on keyboards.

<i>Two Hearts</i> (Dave Mason album) 1987 studio album by Dave Mason

Two Hearts is the tenth studio album by English singer Dave Mason, released in 1987 on MCA Records.

<i>Rock Away</i> 1981 studio album by Phoebe Snow

Rock Away is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, recorded in 1980 and released in 1981.

<i>Just Like That...</i> 2022 studio album by Bonnie Raitt

Just Like That... is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bonnie Raitt. Released on April 22, 2022, it is her first studio album since 2016's Dig In Deep. The album was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Americana Album in 2023. Its title track won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Best American Roots Song and lead single "Made Up Mind" won Best Americana Performance.

<i>I Cant Complain</i> 1998 studio album by Phoebe Snow

I Can't Complain is the ninth studio album by American singer/songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1998.

References

  1. Jones IV, James T. (27 Mar 1989). "Her new LP packs a wallop". USA Today. p. 1D.
  2. "Phoebe Snow Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  3. Holden, Stephen (April 26, 2011). "Phoebe Snow, Bluesy Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 60". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  4. "Phoebe Snow Returns with an Introspective 'Something Real'". Orlando Sentinel.
  5. 1 2 Moon, Tom (9 Apr 1989). "Phoebe Snow: The Voice Is Back with a New Gloss". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F1.
  6. "Phoebe Snow | Billboard". Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  7. New York Daily News June 25 1989 "Phoebe Snow: second time around" by Roger Friedman p.257
  8. 1 2 MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 526.
  9. 1 2 Morse, Steve (7 Apr 1989). "Phoebe Snow's Comeback". Arts and Film. The Boston Globe. p. 37.
  10. Persall, Steve (2 Apr 1989). "Phoebe Snow sings of survival and sadness in latest offering". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2F.
  11. Takiff, Jonathan (10 Apr 1989). "Acting Their Age". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 41.
  12. Washington Post August 18 1989 "Snow Flurries of True Power" by Joe Brown
  13. 1 2 Miami Herald August 25 1989 "New Power Charges Phoebe Snow's Welcome Return" by Doug Adrianson p.168
  14. 1 2 "Something Real". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  15. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 585.
  16. 1 2 Johnson, Connie (23 Apr 1989). "Phoebe Snow 'Something Real'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 69.
  17. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 652.
  18. 1 2 Todd, Douglas (29 July 1989). "Recordings". Vancouver Sun. p. D2.
  19. Simon, Jeff. "In the Nick of Time, Something Real for Pop Music". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  20. Joyce, Mike (26 Mar 1989). "Phoebe Snow: 'Something Real'". The Washington Post. p. G2.
  21. Pareles, Jon (19 Mar 1989). "Lifted Voices from Women of a Certain Age". The New York Times. p. A28.
  22. Star Tribune 23 August 1998 "Where is the Phoebe Snow of Yesteryear? She's back on track album and a 'turned-around life'" by Michael Anthony p.85