Something Real (Phoebe Snow album)

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Something Real
Studio album by
Phoebe Snow
Released1989
GenrePop
LabelElektra Records[1]
ProducerRob Fraboni, Ricky Fataar
Phoebe Snow chronology
Rock Away
(1981) 		Something Real
(1989) 		The New York Rock and Soul Revue: Live at the Beacon
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Vancouver Sun[7]

Something Real is an album by the American musician Phoebe Snow, released in 1989.[8][9] It was her first album in eight years.[10] While caring for her disabled daughter, Snow spent five years making demo tapes, and mailing them to labels.[11]

The album peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard 200.[12]

Production[]

The album was produced by Rob Fraboni and Ricky Fataar; Russ Titelman also worked on the album.[5][11] Mick Taylor played guitar on "Cardiac Arrest".[13] Lou Marini and Tom Scott led the horn section.[14]

Snow shot a video, her first, for the album's first single, "If I Can Just Get Through the Night".[15]

Critical reception[]

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."[4] 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."[16] 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."[13]

The Vancouver Sun opined that "the highly produced musical packaging feels too slick and hip for conveying truly honest emotions."[7] 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."[17] 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."[18]

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."[2]

Track listing[]

No.TitleLength
1."Something Real" 
2."Mr. Wondering" 
3."Touch Your Soul" 
4."We Might Never Feel This Way Again" 
5."I'm Your Girl" 
6."If Can Just Get Through the Night" 
7."Stay Away" 
8."Soothin'" 
9."Best of My Love" 
10."Cardiac Arrest" 

References[]

  1. ^ Jones IV, James T. (27 Mar 1989). "Her new LP packs a wallop". USA Today. p. 1D.
  2. ^ a b "Something Real - Phoebe Snow | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01 – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 7: MUZE. p. 585.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. ^ a b Johnson, Connie (23 Apr 1989). "PHOEBE SNOW 'Something Real'. Elektra". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 69.
  5. ^ a b MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 526.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 652.
  7. ^ a b Todd, Douglas (29 July 1989). "RECORDINGS". Vancouver Sun. p. D2.
  8. ^ "Phoebe Snow Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  9. ^ Holden, Stephen (April 26, 2011). "Phoebe Snow, Bluesy Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 60". Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ^ "PHOEBE SNOW RETURNS WITH AN INTROSPECTIVE 'SOMETHING REAL'". Orlando Sentinel.
  11. ^ a b Moon, Tom (9 Apr 1989). "PHOEBE SNOW: THE VOICE IS BACK WITH A NEW GLOSS". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F1.
  12. ^ "Phoebe Snow | Billboard". Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  13. ^ a b Morse, Steve (7 Apr 1989). "PHOEBE SNOW'S COMEBACK". The Boston Globe. ARTS AND FILM. p. 37.
  14. ^ Persall, Steve (2 Apr 1989). "Phoebe Snow sings of survival and sadness in latest offering". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2F.
  15. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (10 Apr 1989). "ACTING THEIR AGE: FEMALE POP ARTISTS ARE LETTING THEIR WORK REFLECT THEIR YEARS". Philadelphia Daily News. Features. p. 41.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Joyce, Mike (26 Mar 1989). "Phoebe Snow: `Something Real'". The Washington Post. p. G2.
  18. ^ Pareles, Jon (19 Mar 1989). "Lifted Voices From Women Of a Certain Age". The New York Times. p. A28.
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