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Snow: At Last
Snow - At Last CD Album Review

Snow: At Last

Melodic Hard Rock
4.5/5.0

Website (Label) Facebook
Escape Music
Review: Craig Hartranft
Added: 13.07.2017

It's time for another look into the "They Should Have Been Big!" file. Started in 1973 as Speed Of Light by the Cavazo brothers, guitarist Carlos and bassist Tony, the band transformed to Snow with the addition of vocalist Doug Ellison and drummer Stephen Quadros. Several years later, while developing a following among the LA club circuit, Snow cut their one and only EP. The self-titled recording included No Way To Treat A Lady, Hell No, Crack The Whip, Bad Generation and Don’t Want Anymore. While this EP garnered more fans, the band was never able to get a label recording contract.

Snow Band Photo

Snow

Carlos Cavazo went on to success with Quiet Riot, which included the monster album Metal Health. His brother Tony helped co-write Quiet Riot's hit song Metal Health (Bang Your Head) and then toured with Hurricane. Now, in the present, Snow and England's Escape Music have gathered the band's early recordings for a two CD package. The appropriately titled At Last includes a collection of their studio recordings and a live set from LA's Starwood in 1981 (which was not provided for review).

While the larger genre context for Snow is melodic hard rock, their musical description needs to be tweaked just a bit. Their hard rock is definitely more Seventies, as opposed to sleaze or glam hard rock and metal of the latter Eighties. You'll hear some latent blues underneath the Snow sound, but mostly they remind me of a classic Seventies boogie rock band. One that's constantly getting it's groove on. Significant to that groove is the audible and thick bass line from Tony Cavazo that guides most every song, with notable tracks such as Oh Baby, Hell No, or Fever. After this, Carlos applies some assertive riffage and lays down some blistering solos. In some songs the riffs are acerbic and raw as with We're Gonna Make It or Don't Want Any More, where he seems to be going for a raw punk feeling. As for Cavazo's guitar solos they both sting and soar. But the best ones are those where he's playing with his brother's bass as within Hell No. It just sounds awesome.

Would Snow have hit the big time if signed to a major label? The answer lies somewhere between speculation and arguing a moot point. What's important is that their presence and music has been recognized once again. At Last is a fitting tribute to Snow, a quite talented classic hard rock band.

No video supplied by band or label


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The Bottom Line

Would Snow have hit the big time if signed to a major label? The answer lies somewhere between speculation and arguing a moot point. What's important is that their presence and music has been recognized once again. At Last is a fitting tribute to Snow, a quite talented classic hard rock band.

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