Editorial Review: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.'
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
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Related Items:
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Related Items:
Disc 1:- Rehab
- You Know I'm No Good
- Me & Mr. Jones
- Just Friends
- Back To Black
- Love Is A Losing Game
- Tears Dry On Their Own
- Wake Up Alone
- Some Unholy War
- He Can Only Hold Her
- Bonus Track 1
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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A Haunting Talent
There's no hiding the anguish Amy Winehouse must suffer as evidenced in most the music on this album. Brilliant lyrics and a mature powerful voice. I have the earworm problem after listening, can't get her music and lyrics out of my head. I hope she lives long enough to explore and expand her talent. She's so young, she should have at least a decade left to create, but the drug thing....it's a crap shoot. Oh, I love her music by the way.
Rating: 
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Higly overrated
Only three real good songs on this record, but we`ve heard them all before. This is nothing new, the entire record is kind of a Motown soul replica, and could have been made back in the early 70`s.
Amy has a cool voice though, and the lyrics aren`t too bad, but the production quality is so unimaginably crappy you couldn`t believe it. The bass are boomy, there are distortions in Amy`s voice, and the arrangements all over are poor and monotonous. Therefore it gets more and more boring to listen to this record after a while. The production crew should have been punished for this.. Better luck next time!
Rating: -
first and still great
Amy's first CD is still great, may the best of the few she has released.
Rating: 
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Good, trashy soul
I like her soulful trashy, gypsy sound. Like a drunk Etta James, Shirley Bassey or a really trashed Aretha! Yes, the vocal inflection is overdone and a bit grating. But even some of the singers she seems to be trying to channel were overdoing it too. I would prefer this music played with a real band, that cheesy rhythm section is really weak. The horsn sound okay though. They may be real.
Rating: -
Amy Winehouse Back to Black
Amy Winehouse Back to Black CD is Excellent a given 5 stars.
Amy Winehouse in my opinion has a marvelous gifted talent.
Amy Winehouse reminds me of the old jazz and blues singers.
I am hoping that Amy Winehouse will have many years of good health and happiness ahead of her to continue providing the public with her gifted talents.
This Back to Black CD shows the range of Ms. Winehouse's talents. It brings you to intimate jazz or blues clubs with that special someone.
Thank you Ms. Winehouse and please provide us with many years of listening to your gifts.