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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
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
Review
There are two clear traditions of ‘diva’ in soul music. On one side there’s Diana Ross – and her natural heir, Beyonce – all immaculate polish and surface. And on the other there are the likes of Etta James – a woman whose music reeks of desire and emotion. It’s to this ‘Dark Soul’ tradition that Amy Winehouse aspires - she’s certainly got the voice for it.
And the music. The much praised opening track, “Rehab”, comes across like an obscure northern soul gem, riddled with pathos and melodrama. In fact none of the music here sounds like it was made after 1967.
Much of the rest of this pleasingly short album - eleven three-minute or so tracks – goes on to explore the joyful misery of being young, messy and in love/lust. And Amy doesn’t paint a particularly pretty picture of herself; she plays the cuckold on “Just Friends”, and gets caught out by her ‘lickle carpet burns’ on the fabulous “I’m No Good”.
But hey, she suffers for her sins. The title track, owing much to the sonic heritage of Phil Spector and Scott Walker, is a tortured monster of a track - Amy displaying the sort of vocal depth that Marc Almond has always dreamed of.
The second half of the album isn’t quite as good as the first, but that’s a minor gripe. One of the best UK albums of the year, with the added advantage that you'll be able to pick it up at the local supermarket checkout... --Matt Harvey
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
True talent!,
By
This review is from: Back To Black (Audio CD)
First thing I noticed about this Album was the fact that it was just thirty-five minutes long - a plus for me, since I'm so tired of over-long and boring Albums geared to make us think we are getting more for our money... (more rubbish perhaps!) This Album does anything but bore the Listener, and Amy Winehouse certainly knew the key was to have short bursts of quality instead of 'gimmicky' over-long trash! Like many I suppose, I am not ashamed to say I purchased this Album since her death - but not for that reason alone; I had in fact been on the point of purchasing it for some time, but her constant feature in the News for all the wrong reasons, I guess I held off. However; as the saying goes; something good always comes out of something tragic, and I imagine that there will be many more who did not know or appreciate Amy until her untimely death... Packed with eleven great catchy numbers which simply spell 'talent', 'quality' and 'pure listening pleasure'. As someone old enough to recall several decades of different styles of music; I feel Ms. Winehouse probably born out of her time. Her sound and style would have been perfectly at home had she been around during both the sixties and the seventies - proper songs with choruses and verses, and with some just over a couple of minutes in length - lovely - and just how I like it! At just half an hour- this Album is utterly perfect and will be played often by many! God Bless Amy.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Marvellous,
By
This review is from: Back To Black (Audio CD)
Amy Winehouse appeared at the Brecon Jazz festival a few years ago and sadly although I was there that year, I missed the chance to see her live. With this new album she moves the goalposts from Jazz to Soul and what a triumph it is.
If you like Motown or 60's soul with an occasional hint of doo-wop you are going to love this. Brassy (literally - Sax, Trumpet etc) sometimes funky, with Amy's expressive vocals singing her own earthy lyrics this is a classic album and undoubtably the best I have heard this year, regardless of style. The single 'Rehab' and 'Me & Mr Jones' are the stand-out tracks for me. As previous reviewers have noted it is short (35 mins) so I have docked it a star, but there is no filler on this album and I recommend it strongly.
39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gorgeous record from start to finish,
By Oirishsteve (Somerset) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Back To Black (Audio CD)
I borrowed this CD from my daughter for a car journey. I had almost dismissed it from the start thinking that the generation gap was probably a mile long! Was I ever so wrong! Man! From the first note to the last I was enveloped in such a rich sound, I hadn't heard anything like this for years. First up, the band sound like they've been playing for years, wow what lush arrangements! The backing singers...fantastic! Then to top it all, here comes Amy! I know absolutely nothing about Amy aside from the fact that she likes a good drink and had a brawl off camera on the Jules Holland show. That voice...I was in seventh heaven with this CD. My God, I'm going to have to listen to more of my daughter's taste in music!
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