# Never Letting Go

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

## Reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
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." In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann wrote that "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."

## 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 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 652.
* 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.