| Never Letting Go | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Studio | A&R Recording, New York City | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
| Phoebe Snow chronology | ||||
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Never Letting Go is the fourth album by singer–songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1977.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| AllMusic | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[2] | 
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote "...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."[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."[2]
Track listing
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
- 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
- Phil Ramone – producer, remixing
 - Jim Boyer – engineer
 - Gene Grief – design
 - Paula Scher – design
 
Reception
- 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Never Letting Go > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
 - 1 2 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.
 
