Phoebe Snow (real name Phoebe Laub) was a folk-jazz-blues contralto who seasoned the ballads of Phoebe Snow (1974) with scat and melisma. The easiest (if not catchiest) of the melodies is Poetry Man, which also provides one of the most upbeat moments of the collection, not too dissimilar from the easy-listening styles of Burt Bacharach and bossanova that were popular in those years. Second easiest would be Either Or Both, a folkish ballad accompanied only by David Bromberg's guitars. But Snow's real skills are to be found elsewhere. She best displays her mixture of rational and poetic singing in the elegant I Don't Want The Night To End, strolling casually amid the jazz-rock inflections of the rhythm section and the grandeur of Bob James' electronic organ. Harpo's Blues is night-time swing music for philosophers, the austere vocals dueting with a lonely saxophone, a timid piano, harp and organ. It Must Be Sunday is a bit more lively, again with Zoot Sims' saxophone echoing her words, but more of the same mind-expanding experience. Even the simple lullaby of Take Your Children Home and and the straightforward guitar-bass-drums folk-rock of No Show Tonight are actually each an impressive show of vocal poignancy.

However, Second Childhood (1976) It Looks Like Snow (1976), Never Letting Go (1977), Against the Grain (1978), Rock Away (1980) marked a rapid decline. She returned after a long hiatus with Something Real (1989). But it was followed by mediocre collections of covers.

Phoebe Snow died in april 2011.