Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
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Free Music Notes for Back to Black
Free Music Review: A Modern Soulful Delight
Hit: 5 Stars
With a Mercury Prize nominated debut, Amy Winehouse changed direction completely for her sophomore effort "Back To Black". A more focused effort with a slicker, glossier production this album far eclipses her debut's tenacious innocence. The production gives this album the quality of commercial accessibility yet it still doesn't compromise the tough, angsty attitude that she is synonymous with.
Only Lauryn Hill has created a more soulful effort in recent years, and decades. A saviour for a country whose music scene is dominated by indie NME flavour of the month starlets, "Back To Black" is as refreshing as it is addictive. She is in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons: her chronic alcohol abuse, quasi-anorexic size and supposed self-harm. It seems that Amy Winehouse has become the new Janis Joplin of music. While these antics may paint a negative picture of her, they certainly don't detract from this, an excellent album.
Lead single "Rehab" gives the career boost Amy needs, but that song is by far the best on the album. Album standout is "Tears Dry On Their Own", sampling the classic Motown hit "Ain't No Mountain" it simply eclipses the original.
Throughout the listener is confronted with incredibly honest lyrics, rarely do R&B, soul singers have the talent or ability to fathom such heartfelt lyrics, for this reason alone a folk injection can be sensed in this album.
The album veers between radio-friendly gems and bar jazz, yet all maintain the same high quality. The production courtesy of Mark Ronson is immaculate and slick. It maintains the perfect balance of contemplating slickness yet while not making it too saccharine.
Many critics have compared this albums distinctive style to that of 50's and 60's gril groups, I find that rather silly as most girl groups of that time honed the same sound. "Back To Back" is far more distinctive to the point of being innovative and original.
Free Music Review: Tribute to the great soul and R&B artists of the past...
Hit: 5 Stars
When I commuted to work this morning, I had an opportunity to listen to the new Amy Winehouse CD "Back to Black" twice. Well... I was blown-away by her smoky, evocative vocals, phrasing and intimacy; much like the great soul and jazz singers of the 50's, 60's and 70's. What great songs! The band is superb and does a great job in its' own right without obscuring the vocals. Back-up vocalists are superb and compliment Amy perfectly. This is one of those CD's that you wait a generation to find and I had "goosebumps" listening to it.
R&B and sixties soul music is almost a forgotten genre; Amy Winehouse reinvigorates everything that attracted me to this type of music in the first place. It's amazing that such a young artist - much like Otis Redding - can convey such a wide-range of emotions through her voice. The only way to really emote hurt, pain or disappointment is to really experience it. I read on a blog that she suffers from manic depression, alcoholism and scars are evident on her arms from cutting herself. For me personally, it's like Billie Holiday was "channeled" through Amy... Billie had a tragic childhood and chased her demons through heroin and alcohol resulting in music that has lasted five plus decades and stands as standards for jazz and blues today.
Maybe the truly visionary artists: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Lowell George, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Billie Holiday, et al; just aren't meant to endure. It's like a shooting star with a lasting legacy for future generations to admire and to ask themselves, "What if..."
This is the type of artist I enjoy most; unique and willing to pay homage to the greats. Often, I think about the roots music that inspired the great groups of the 60's and 70's and enjoy listening to their inspirations. In the age of "top-twenty stars" this is truly a gem that I will listen to over and over.
Free Music Review: What kind of F***ery is this?
Hit: 5 Stars
Good question. For starters, she isn't black and American. Old news. I know. But, unbelievably, I have been reading comments, here and there, asserting that this cannot be "soul" precisely because Amy isn't either. It is hard to fathom why some people cannot listen to and appreciate music for what emanates from the disc. Anyway, to the music.
There is so much that is positive about this record. The sound is crisp. The production is first-rate without ever getting in the way. The lyrics are sharp, funny and, at first listening, full of unexpected surprises. Winehouse's voice is vaguely familiar and is reminiscent of several others. However, when all is said and done, the voice is hers. It is undoubtedly one of the most impressive voices to come down the pike in several decades. Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, Dylan and the other Elvis come to mind. When you hear it you recognize it. This is not just a copycat job. First, there was the jazzy Frank. Now this soulful masterpiece. What's up next, I wonder. The songs are just the right length. Not one song overstays its welcome, as is so often the case. Why is it that perfect little three minute songs have to run to over four and lose a lot in the process? This cd is comes in at the length of a longer LP. One side, flip, and then side two which ends appropriately after about forty-three minutes. Although there is a consistency that allows the cd to flow there is also sufficient variety to keep one's attention. The best cd's demand your attention. As one song concludes you await the commencement of the next one with excited anticipation. These records refuse to be background music. When those who are unfamiliar with the cd are in the room and the music is playing they invariably ask, somewhat embarrassed at their ignorance, "who's this?" This is a special recording. If you ever liked soul music you need to get this.
Free Music Review: Amy Winehouse: Listen Without Judgment.
Hit: 5 Stars
It is a sad comment on our society that English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse's self-destructive lifestyle is receiving more media attention than her astonishing, critically-acclaimed singing. Just today she became the focus (and the newest poster girl) of the world's anti-smoking hysteria. Back to Black follows Amy Winehouse's jazz-influenced, 2003 debut album, which drew immediate comparisons to Billie Holliday, Etta James, Sarah Vaughan, and Macy Gray. Back to Black reveals Winehouse's more distinctive, classy-yet-hip, sultry, retro style. The album resulted in several international hits, "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good," "Back to Black," "Tears Dry on Their Own," and "Love Is a Losing Game," and has a jazz/soul/R&B/hip-hop sound. "Tears Dry on Their Own" features backing from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's 1967 hit, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and the title track draws its inspiration from The Supremes and The Ronettes. Hip-hop inspired "You Know I'm No Good" includes guest vocals from Wu-Tang Clan member, Ghostface Killah. Songs like "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good" are more than mere posturing. They are authentic bad-girl songs drawn from personal experience. It is unfortunate that tabloid minds are more interested in Amy's personal struggles with drugs, depression, relationships, bad hair days, and cigarettes than in her amazingy talents as a singer. Listen without judging this tortured artist. Complete album tracks include:
1. Rehab 3:33
2. You Know I'm No Good 4:16
3. Me & Mr Jones 2:31
4. Just Friends 3:11
5. Back To Black 4:00
6. Love Is A Losing Game 2:34
7. Tears Dry On Their Own 3:05
8. Wake Up Alone 3:41
9. Some Unholy War 2:21
10. He Can Only Hold Her 2:48
11. You Know I'm No Good (Remix) 3:22
G. Merritt
Free Music Review: THIS WHITE GIRL CAN SANG
Hit: 5 Stars
Like a time machine back to the 50s and early 60s, Amy Winehouse's stunning second CD "Back To Black" takes us back to the black music of that time, soul, before Motown perfected the formula to emasculate it for mass consumption. This is the soul of Dinah Washington, Lavern Baker, Betty Everett and Bettye LaVette (to name a few), raw emotion with depth, the pain and disappointment of relationships not glossed over and the inner strength that comes from being born a woman. And she's got soul in spades, always authentic and never sounding imitative or ironic.
Any CD that starts with the line "They wanted me to go to rehab, I said "No, no no," let's you know that a strong woman is in control and Amy Winehouse has the strength of personality, clarity of vision and sheer vocal prowess to grab your ears and heart from that first line and hold it all the way through 11 brilliant songs. My personal favorites are "Wake Up Alone," "You Know I'm No Good," "Addicted," "Love Is A Losing Game" and the classic title song "Back To Black" sung by The Other Woman as her man prepares to go home once and for all.
I must take special notice of the arrangements for they are simultaneously nostalgic and thoroughly modern at the same time (are those tubular bells I hear?) and always engage while never overwhelming the singer as so much that masquerades as soul these days does. Not that Amy Winehouse could possibly be overwhelmed - her vocal chops are finely honed and totally evocative and moving.
A great CD. With Joss Stone preparing to take her soul into the 21st Century with next week's new release, we needed a new champion of real soul and I believe that Amy Winehouse will still being listened to in 50 years just as we are listening to her musical foremothers today, 50 years on.