1. Rehab
2. You Know I'm No Good
3. Me & Mr. Jones
4. Just Friends
5. Back to Black
6. Love Is a Losing Game
7. Tears Dry on Their Own
8. Wake Up Alone
9. Some Unholy War
10. He Can Only Hold Her
11. You Know I'm No Good
From Amazon.co.uk
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
Album Description
Hailed by Newsweek Magazine as a cross between Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill, British soul singer Amy Winehouse's U.S. debut, Back To Black hits the US amid a flurry of accolades, radio and TV buzz unprecedented in recent years for a young siren. Her brassy mix of emotive vocals tinged with 60's girl-group stylings, sly funk, and anguished jazz, sparked the New York Daily News to crown Back To Black a "marvelous debut that would do Etta James proud" while New Yorker Magazine called her "a fierce English performer whose voice combines the smoky depths of a jazz chanteuse with the heated passion of a soul singer," and Spin Magazine affirming "there's never been A British star quite like her." Back To Black smolders with a bristling fusion of old school doo-wop/soul inflected uprisings, (the charismatic singer/songwriter wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album) brewing instant classics such as the Shirley Ellis influenced "Rehab," the Supremes tinged title song "Back To Black," the aching "Wake Up Alone," and the album's closer, "Addicted."
Album Details
Ivor Novello Award Winner, Mercury Music Prize and Triple Brit Nominee Amy Winehouse, Follows the Release of her New Single "rehab" and Recent Sell-out Mini-uk Tour, with the Hugely Anticipated Release on October 30th of her New Album "back to Black". On "back to Black", the Follow-up to her Platinum Debut "frank" which Established her as One of the Most Exciting and Challenging Artists in Pop Music, Amy Confirms, Beyond Any Reasonable Or Unreasonable Doubt, What a Truly Remarkable Talent She Is.
|
Click on Product Listings for Details!
Back to Black
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2007-03-13)
- Publisher: Republic
- Label: Republic
- Format: Explicit Lyrics
- Studio: Republic
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 536 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #204
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Love It! 2008-12-01
Comment: This is probably one of the best CD's that I have bought in a very long time. Her music is unmatched and soulful. Her lyrics are very down to earth and honest. Some may find it crude but I think it's a story told just "as is". I just wish Amy could get her act together, because I for one would love to see her around for a long, long time.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: I Love this CD! 2008-11-17
Comment: While her personal life may be a mess this CD couldnt me more polished and wonderful. Its like listening to a lounge singer from the 30's. It was quick shipping and came in perfect condition. LOVE IT!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: AWESOME WINE.... 2008-10-28
Comment: This CD is awesome. I cannot stop listening to it. Her soulful voice just touches something deep inside every woman. From the sad and mournful, LOVE IS A LOSING GAME to the taunting tease of YOU KNOW I'M NO GOOD, she touches every emotion. BUY THIS CD!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: I love it 2008-10-02
Comment: I absolutely adore this album. I am not too crazy about Amy Winehouse herself and her real-life rehab experiences but this album is just amazing. All the songs are so heart felt, so real, so full of emotion. I prefer some of the less popular songs to the ones that had huge commercial success.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Forget all the dissection...it just sounds so damned good. 2008-09-24
Comment: I have grown so weary of people dissecting this album for flaws, repetitive beats, retro-ness, and the like. And I am especially sick and tired of people confusing this amazing artist's life with her art. Is Van Gogh's work any less important, or is it in any sense less amazing, because he had such bad emotional problems that he cut off his ear and shot himself in the chest twice--killing himself at 36? NO, NO, NO!
I don't care how the artist, producers, button pushers, chalkboard scrapers, or anyone else involved in the making of the recording achieved the sound when it is this amazing. In my estimation, what really matters at the end of the day, is the way an album sounds, and this one is off the charts!
The songs on this album run the gamut from suicidal to exhilarated, playful to provocative, old school to new school, fawning to tempting, without ever skipping a beat. And then there is that voice--like Etta James, Billie Holliday, Bettye LaVette, and all The Supremes rolled into one beautiful ear candy confection---chased with a shot of tequila. And did I mention that she has the swagger and in-your-face attitude of another uniquely original artist--Madonna. I realize they are worlds apart musically, but the presence and panache that they both exhibit are what makes me draw the parallel. For better or worse, Amy has the f-you attitude that Madonna had when she was starting out. Say what you will about this woman, but there is no one else like her, and this album proves it in spades!
|
Music 
Enlarge View
