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Back to Black
Description
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| Amy Winehouse's second album, Back to Black, is one of the finest soul albums, British or otherwise, to come out for years. Frank, her first album, was a sparse and stripped-down affair; Back to Black, meanwhile, is neither of these things. This time around, she's taken her inspiration from some of the classic 1960's girl groups like the Supremes and the Shangri-Las, a sound particularly suited to her textured vocal delivery, while adding a contemporary songwriting sensibility. With the help of producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, "Rehab" becomes a gospel-tinged stomp, while the title track (and album highlight) is a heartbreaking musical tribute to Phil Spector, with it's echoey bass drum, rhythmic piano, chimes, saxophone and close harmonies. Best of all, though, is the fact that Back to Black bucks the current trend in R&B by being unabashedly grown-up in both style and content. Winehouse's lyrics deal with relationships from a grown-up perspective, and are honest, direct and, often, complicated: on "You Know I'm No Good", she's unapologetic about her unfaithfulness. But she can also be witty, as on "Me & Mrs Jones" when she berates a boyfriend with "You made me miss the Slick Rick gig". Back to Black is a refreshingly mature soul album, the best of its kind for years. --Ted Kord Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
To listen to Amy Winehouse is to be transported back in time--girls with ratted back beehives and white lipstick sweetly singing their tales of heartache...a woman in a smoky, sweaty juke joint standing on a milk crate, a strap of her dress falling down, shoes off, drink in hand, belting out a raunchy tale about last night's romantic interlude. Combine those images with hip-hop and reggae influenced beats and you Have"Back In Black" . She has the talent of being both a completely original yet instantly familiar artist. She dedicates her album to "Anyone who's ever been in love"--if you have, you know Amy Winehouse.
All the tracks are standouts--from the topical and fun "Rehab" to radiant "Tears Dry On Their Own", the hip-hoppin' "You Know I'm No Good" and more..I could go on. No young female in the music industry is doing it quite the way Amy does.
Point is: You won't regret getting this album. Also check out her debut, "Frank"--it's more neo-soul/jazz/hip-hop influenced if you want to hear a different take on Amy.
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Author: Guest
Rollingstone directed me to first hear her Live on Youtube. I was impressed. The CD is GREAT! I bought the CD in a store, but was compelled to come here to write a review. I love her lyrics as much as her sound.
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Author: Guest
Listening to her voice, you continually have to carry out the aural equivalent of rubbing your eyes to remind yourself that it's not a seasoned black session singer in a jazz club- but a skinny 23-year-old Jewish girl from Camden, UK. Almost impossible to categorise, as she once boasted, endearingly: "I'm at least a five trick pony".
Any album that features the lines "What kind of f***ery is this?/ You made me miss the Slick Rick gig" demands closer investigation. Of course, 23-year-old Londoner Amy Winehouse demonstrated her aptitude for a tart couplet on her debut album three years ago, but this time the music, too, packs a similar punch, and the upshot is a 21st-century soul classic.
Starting with the pungent single "Rehab", everything is in its right place: the exuberant neo-Motown swing supplied by producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi; the rich, sinewy vocals, somewhere between Lauryn Hill, Beth Gibbons and Etta James; and the thoroughly modern songwriting, in which infidelity is betrayed by a telltale carpet burn ("You Know I'm No Good") and a lover is less desirable than a good supply of weed ("Addicted").
On the latter song she triumphantly declares: "I'm my own man."
Only a fool would argue.
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Author: Guest
Wow. When a CD receives so much praise both from the US and UK proclaiming "a star is born", I expected to be won over by Amy Winehouse.
To be fair, I had heard her last album "Frank", which sounded very much like a Jewel-Sarah McLachlan record (in a good way, I might add).
However, "Back to Black" is an "experiment" record. Its as if they went back to the 1960s, took some of the girl-group choruses from the era, and then smoothed it all up in some 1990s R&B - and VOILA - you have the flavor of the year for 2007!
I am not sure this is a good thing. Granted, first single "Rehab" has repeat value (and which ones of us does NOT like a singalong chorus), but the thing that ruins this record is Amy's especially whiny and nasal voice. Don't get me wrong, you might end up loving this, but to me, her voice is just a little too nasal and highstrung to appreciate for a thorough album sitting.
I am reminded of Christina Aguilera for some strange reason when I listen to Amy Winehouse. This album suffers from the same problems that plagued Aguilera's recent 2-disc album - the VOICE.
I must say that there is some pretty instrumentation here and there on this record, and the production is TIGHT. But is it the find of the year? Or the month, for that matter? No. By no means is this a revelation.
Over-hyped albums like these make me wish for years like 1997 when true classics like "Tidal" by Fiona Apple were slowly being discovered.
Amy Winehouse has talent, but please don't get this based on all the marketing and hype. It certainly is no big deal, and five years from now, no one will really remember this record.
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Author: Guest
To start my point 'view' off with a line from her coolest song on the CD. 'What kind of f**kery is this ?.' At first I got this Shirley Bassey vibe, mixed with Macy Gray and torched by Cyndi Lauper and Karen Finley for heat.
I felt comfort in that early era jazz/disco painless plea to dance, like "Diamonds Are Forever". Then I was sucked in by this undercurrent of 'realism' that set's a new mood. I can't hear top 40 here, but maybe that is why it works it begs you to extend your idea of good music away from the media version that is a result of some payola 'soul for sale' branded artist. I believe the fact she refuses to go to REHAB is the point this CD makes. Why do we force someone to change their ways to fit the idea of 'unique', so-called REHAB. I am proud that her song represents the refusal to let a naroow idea close her in, so said in the first track. You got to be more than just passive when listening to this CD, you have to be active in listening, now that is a challenge to many. We go through life just moving to the same beat, where we're manufactured. As a result in weakness we no longer listen. Well, now if you buy this CD give your money's worth to it and 'listen'.
Me and Mr Jones ask the question that caught my ear, 'What kind of f**ckery is this?.', well it certainly is a unique kind.
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