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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
With her debut album Frank, Amy Winehouse proves to be one of the most original, honest and brave singer/songwriters to emerge in recent years. Over the course of the 13 songs, she manages to do everything required of a classic album. This is a stark piece of work, comprising husky, frequently sexually charged vocals, painfully honest lyrics and soft trumpets, laidback beats and sparse guitar work. It seems that soulful jazz doesn't always have to be bland--it can also be playful, twisted and arrogant ("Amy Amy Amy").
"Fuck Me Pumps" charts a seemingly guilt-free act of infidelity: "What do you expect when you leave me here alone?" she asks coyly, as if by way of justifiable explanation. "You wouldn't want me to be lonely," she adds. You can't help warming to her, despite what she's saying. A unique sense of humour (how rare in music now) and a no-bull attitude make for an interesting, compelling debut. Frank? Yes, but refreshingly so. You wouldn't want her for a girlfriend, but as a life companion she may yet prove indispensable. --Cortman Virtue
Review
It is rare for such a young performer to debut with such assurance, confidence and to such instant acclaim, but North London sensation Amy Winehouse already has a reputation that many far more seasoned artists would swap their gold discs for.
Winehouse combines a distinctive '20 a day' voice with a serious appreciation of female jazz & soul heroes (Sarah Vaughan's scatting style seeps through Amy's vocal ad-libs as well as getting a name check). She combines considerable jazz guitar ability with a classic approach which produces a contemporary, quirky, up front, tongue in cheek and risqué lyrics. Her version of the eternally hip jazz track "Moody's Mood For Love" which rides over a dub reggae rhythm demonstrates this attitude it looks back in order to know where its going and although in print this idea might raise a musical eyebrow in reality it sounds like a perfect partnership.
The first single "Stronger Than Me" contains all of these qualities and proves that jazz influenced contemporary soul neednt be safe or sullied by the dinner or 'smooth' prefixes.
Lyrically fresh and uncompromising, the only occasional weaknesses across the collection are the sometimes obtrusive programmed beats but recent radio & television appearances confirm that Winehouse live has a wonderfully organic sound that supports her approach well.
Amy's influences (Vaughan, Dinah Washington and the more contemporary like Badu et al) are obvious but not over powering and Winehouse has enough attitude, talent and chutzpah to make any comparisons fleeting and pointless. In fact on the delicious, lush and soulful "Put It In The Box" she out Badu's Erykah brilliantly using a similar female perspective on broken relationships to get her point across very directly.
This is Amy's first release and augurs well for her future. If this is what the young lady is capable of at such an early stage it must be pretty certain that this will be the first in a long line of well crafted, funky & feisty releases. --Greg Boraman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gets the angle right,
By John E. Davidson (Purley) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Frank (Audio CD)
Frank is a wonderful debut album. It is a jazz album with edge both musically and lyrically: a welcome and much needed reminder that jazz does not need to be bland, it is fantastic on every level.The music is primarily soul inflected jazz but also drawing on a host of other influences including funk and even blues. The musical arrangements are quite simple and sparse but atmospheric and effective. Amy Winehouse has a strong, husky voice which brings the songs to life and is able to convey feeling and strong emotion. The songs chart the course of a failed relationship with a few other barbs thrown in for good measure. The lyrics, mainly written by Amy Winehouse herself, are personal, scabrous and occasionally very funny. The material has a refreshing emotional honesty spiced with arrogance, bile and spite but, fortunately, lacking in sentimentality or self-pity. The album is packed with great songs including the excellent 'Stronger than me' is a lament about the weakness of her over educated new man boyfriend; 'I Heard Love Is Blind' a confession/justification for her infidelity ('he looked liked you', 'I was thinking of you', 'it couldn't tell, it was dark and I was lying down'), 'F**k me Pumps', an attack on shallow party girls ('At least your breasts cost more than hers') amongst others. Amy Winehouse has gained some notoriety through some entertaining, if loud mouthed, TV appearances (most notably on Never Mind the Buzzcocks) and some negative press coverage for her unladylike behaviour. She may not be the most appealing person in the world and clearly being her boyfriend carries some risks (unless you like being pilloried in song). However, this does not change the fact that she is a fantastic singer/songwriter. She is often bracketed with the other 'new' British Jazz 'sensations': Joss Stone, Katie Melua & Jamie Cullum. I guess that this is because they are all relatively recent arrivals on the music scene and they have all been labelled jazz singers. This is not a particularly sensible or useful classification - Amy Winehouse has passion and edge - this is a much more interesting album than anything the other three have produced (or are likely to produce). Amy Winehouse apparently believes that no men bought her album. Sorry to disappoint her but at least one did and he loves it.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes, this is worth 5 stars,
By
This review is from: Frank (Audio CD)
Like most people (I guess) I bought this album after the more recent Back to Black. Some say it's better, some say not as good. I can't quite decide either way, which should tell you one thing: it's excellent. The simple advice is that if you enjoyed B2B you'll enjoy this just as much. Don't hesitate. In some ways it's more honest, even though I'm not sure what I mean by that! AFAIK Frank was Amy Winehouse's first album, and as a result presumably a lot of people, myself included, missed it completely. Unfortunately all of the high-profile publicity about her private life has drawn attention from a vastly wider audience than might otherwise have been the case, but surely there's no denying that, before the downhill slide, she had genuine talent and she's not just a top-class singer but a great songwriter too - she was at least partly responsible for writing most of the songs here.
One niggle though. Why is it a good idea to make songs sound as if you're listening to a scratchy vinyl record? It's evident on four tracks: Stronger Than Me, Cherry, There Is No Greater Love, and parts of the 13-minute final track Amy Amy Amy. I had the same complaint with an Alicia Keys album, and there are many others. It's distracting and it just makes the whole listening experience less satisfying. What on earth is the point? I wish this 'fashion' would stop.
41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous!,
This review is from: Frank (Audio CD)
I bought this CD on a whim without properly hearing any of the songs on it, and to my suprise it has turned out to be one of the best (if not THE best) albums I own. Amy Winehouse is an amazing new talent and it is unbelievable that at the age of just 19 she has produced such a fine collection of songs. Her voice is incredible, especially on tracks such as Stronger Than Me (the album's standout), You Sent Me Flying and Take The Box. Other strong tracks include the witty F**k Me Pumps, which attacks those vacuous party girls who are famous for being famous ("Every week it gets worse/With your big empty purse/ At least your breasts cost more than hers" - miaow!); I Heard Love Is Blind, where she sings a hilarious confession of infidelity; and the simply beautiful (There Is) No Greater Love. Know You Now is the only song that I really don't like, probably because it seems a little bland compared to the others, but the rest of the album is fantastic and definitely benefits from repeat listenings. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this album to anyone who appreciates soul/jazz, or fans of mainstream rnb who are looking for something a bit different. Amy Winehouse is a welcome antidote to all the manufactured pop 'music' that has invaded the airwaves thanks to the likes of Simon Cowell, and although she has been critically acclaimed and nominated at the Brit Awards, it seems a shame to me that she hasn't recieved more attention and airplay as she truly deserves it.
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