Snow is a 1993 EP by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released in December 1993 on Fontana Records. It contains cover versions of the Christmas standards "Frosty the Snowman" and "Winter Wonderland". It is out of print, though its tracks appear on the compilation Lullabies to Violaine.[1]
| Snow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_cover.jpg) | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | December 1993 | |||
| Studio | September Sound, London | |||
| Genre | Dream pop | |||
| Length | 5:45 | |||
| Label | Fontana | |||
| Producer | Cocteau Twins | |||
| Cocteau Twins chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editSnow was released in extremely limited quantities; one expert suggested that fewer than 5,000 copies were made.[2] One of the songs on the album, "Frosty the Snowman," was recorded more than a year before Snow's release, for an album to accompany a year-end issue of Volume.[1] Robin Guthrie was reluctant to record Christmas songs, so the group opted to record non-specific winter songs instead.[1]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
Snow received fairly positive reviews from contemporary music critics despite its limited release. AllMusic's Ned Raggett called the EP "perfectly enjoyable," noted its calmness and praised Elizabeth Fraser's vocal performance.[1] Hybrid Magazine's Tom Topkoff noted that the songs sounded similar to the group's non-holiday songs and declared that the album was "sure to bring you joy during each holiday season."[2] Everett True from Melody Maker wrote, "What's truly magical is the second track, "Frosty the Snowman", done in the style of the old Cocteaus (ie: you can't work out what the f*** Liz is singing about, and furthermore you don't care)."[4] Pitchfork named Cocteau Twins’ "Frosty the Snowman" the 36th best holiday song of all time.[5]
Track listing
editAdapted from Discogs[6] and AllMusic.[1]
- "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Dick Smith) – 2:50
- "Frosty the Snowman" (Steve Nelson, Jack Rollins) – 2:55
Personnel
editAdapted from AllMusic.[7]
- Elizabeth Fraser – vocals
- Robin Guthrie – guitar
- Simon Raymonde – bass guitar
- Lifeboat Matey – image processing
- Lincoln Fong – additional engineering
- Andy Earl – photography
- Cocteau Twins – producer
Charts
edit| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[8] | 58 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Kellman, Andy. "Lullabies to Violaine". Allmusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ a b Topkoff, Tom. "Hybrid Music Reviews: Cocteau Twins Snow EP". Hybrid Magazine. MacHighway. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ True, Everett (11 December 1993). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 27. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ Pelly, Liz (21 November 2016). "The 50 Best Holiday Songs of All Time (pg. 2)". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Cocteau Twins – Snow (overview)". Discogs. December 1993. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Credits". AllMusic. RhytmnOne. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 June 2021.