It Looks Like Snow

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. It Looks Like Snow is a major work from a fabulous performer traversing styles and genres with ease and elegance. The loving mom appears with her daughter on the back cover in a photo by collaborator Phil Kearns