DESCRIPTION:
Wrapped in the soothing strings of arranger Don Costa, Sarah Vaughan recorded an unsurprisingly dreamy ballads collection titled Snowbound. Despite the peaceful atmosphere and strolling tempo, Vaughan hardly treats the material as a cinch for her voice; all of these 11 songs find her searching for different ways to present timeworn standards. The opening title track is one of the warmest, most romantic songs on the LP, Vaughan plumbing the depths of her alto and nearly perfecting her humming vibrato. She also selects an obscure tune from the Gershwins ("Blah, Blah, Blah," understandably overlooked but fun nevertheless) and, near the end, turns from cozy ballads into a mini-suite of forlorn material: "I Fall in Love Too Easily," "Glad to Be Unhappy," and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." Snowbound is an overlooked gem from Sarah Vaughan's Roulette years. [Allmusic.com]