rockofallages81-tvgda

The first album we discussed was a bit softer than one would expect of Seventies rock, but at least Neil Young and Stephen Stills are musicians who get played on classic rock stations to this day. The same cannot be said of Phoebe Snow.
Phoebe, a New York City native, released her self-titled debut album in 1974 and scored her biggest hit, “Poetry Man.” In 1975, she scored a modest hit with a Paul Simon duet called “Gone At Last.” Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Phoebe would never make the top 40 on the Hot 100 ever again. She got very close in the early Eighties, but let’s stay on topic.
In January 1976, Phoebe released her sophomore album, Second Childhood. It would be her second and final album to be certified Gold in the U.S. Even though it’s a huge stretch to call Phoebe Snow’s music “rock,” I will spoil now that the same will be true of a lot of the material that was played on rock radio until grunge and alternative took over in the Nineties.
For example, Joni Mitchell also made the 1976 year-end. We’ll talk more about her soon, but I can only assume Phoebe got played on AOR stations for the same reason as Joni, given that both women were making jazzy soft rock in the mid-to-late Seventies. However, Joni got a single from her album onto the Hot 100. The two singles from Second Childhood – “Two-Fisted Love” and “All Over” – both failed to chart on the Hot 100, though the former was a hit on rock airplay.
I legitimately can’t imagine why the listening public got tired of Phoebe so quickly. I really like Second Childhood, but I should disclose that this type of music will not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you like Amy Winehouse or the non-disco material from the Bee Gees, then you might enjoy this album.