Twelve tracks that should really have seen Snow take their rightful place alongside the legendary bands that came out of the USA in the late 70s and early 80s.

If you want to know the story behind this band, read Dave Reynolds' excellent piece about them in issue #77 or maybe his liner notes that accompany this double album.

For the purpose of this review, I will concentrate on the music... and what music it is. Twelve tracks that should really have seen Snow take their rightful place alongside the legendary bands that came out of the USA in the late seventies and early eighties. Yet, for whatever reason, this never happened and these songs instead became a thing whispered of between tape traders the world over, something along the lines of a "Holy Grail" of lost gems. 'At Last...' (see what I did there?) is now here in all its glory and, personally, I think the wait has been worth it, especially if you love seventies/eighties Melodic Hard Rock that brings to mind Van Halen, Montrose, KISS, Starz and more besides.

Made up of the legendary five track EP and seven unreleased tracks from around about the same time, this twelve tracker has everything fans of seventies Hard Rock could want. Classy songs such as opener 'We're Gonna Make It' and 'Oh, Baby' and have a youthful energy and vitality that only a hungry bunch of Rockers wanting to make it big could have had, with each track topped off by some killer musicianship. The re-mastering does a great job of bringing these songs into the 21st century, whilst not destroying any of the charms of the past. Also check out the swaggering 'Mannequin Eyes' with its ice-cold riff courtesy of guitarist Carlos Cavazo, 'Stop The Music' (where Cavazo again plays like a demon), 'Trying To Survive', 'Crack The Whip' and 'Don't Want Anymore' for further proof of just how good a band Snow were.

Snow were, on this showing, a band who had the tools both musically and in their writing to have made it to the big-time. However, they didn't and instead this great band faded into legendary Rock obscurity which is a massive shame. That said, you can now all get your hands on their music for the first time, and the first five hundred people to buy this album will get a bonus disc containing a live twelve track concert that was recorded at the Starwood Club in Hollywood in 1981,

Ian Johnson