Back To Black (EXPLICIT) (CD)

London singer Amy Winehouse was initially marked as a neo-jazz diva. Although the tag may have been beneficial in terms of press coverage, it was misleading; unlike the inoffensive Katie Melua and Joss Stone, Winehouse had no fear of displaying the seamier side of her life. Her debut album, the aptly titled FRANK, was a solid collection of jazz-inflected pop, but it was the 2006 follow-up, BACK TO BLACK, that really set her apart. Displaying the marked influence of 1960s soul music, girl groups, and Motown, the album also boasted clever, sexually explicit lyrics and punchy pop arrangements, all pulled together by Winehouse's powerful vocals. Her hit "Rehab" became something of a personal theme song, as the singer became a permanent fixture in the tabloids, due to her wild behavior and infamous live shows.

• Category:  Music  »  Rock & Pop  »  General Rock & Pop
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: March 13, 2007
• Label: Universal Republic
• UPC: 602517229679
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106443265
• Average Customer Review:    (4 customer reviews)
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #836 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #385 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #301 in General Rock & Pop (See Top 100 General Rock & Pop Bestsellers)

•  [Amy Winehouse - Artist Sitethis link opens a new window] 
  
•  [Amy Winehouse - Myspacethis link opens a new window] 
  
•  [Amy Winehouse - Wikipedia Entrythis link opens a new window] 
  
•  [Amy Winehouse - Music at LAST.fmthis link opens a new window] 
  

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Rolling Stone (p.76) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Winehouse is a nervy, witty songstress whom indie rockers, pop fans and hip-hoppers can dig."
Rolling Stone (p.115) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "[W]ith a brassy, intensely personal sorrow that is true blues, not nouveau soul."
Entertainment Weekly (p.67) - "It's precisely Winehouse's lyrics...aching, flirty, and often straight-up nasty -- that raise this expertly crafted set into the realm of true, of-the-minute originality." -- Grade: A-
Q (Magazine) (p.134) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Winehouse is one of the best things to have happened to British pop recently."

Personnel: Amy Winehouse (background vocals); Binky Griptite, Thomas Brenneck (guitar); Helen Tunstall (harp); Perry Montague-Mason, Chris Tombling, Tom Pigott-Smith, Warren Zielinski, Boguslaw Kostecki, Liz Edwards, Mark Berrow, Peter Hanson, Everton Nelson, Jonathan Rees (violin); Jon Thorne, Katie Wilkinson, Rachel Bolt, Bruce White (viola); John Heley, Joely Koos, Anthony Pleeth (cello); ANDY MACKINTOSH, Chris Davies (alto saxophone); Jamie Talbot, Mike Smith, Neal Sugarman (tenor saxophone); Ian Hendrickson-Smith, Vincent Henry, Dave Bishop (baritone saxophone); Steve Sidwell, Dave Guy (trumpet); Bruce Purse (bass trumpet); Richard Edwards (tenor trombone); John Adams (Fender Rhodes piano); Salaam Remi, Nick Movshon (bass guitar); Troy Auxilly-Wilson, Homer Steinweiss (drums); Vaughan Merrick, Mark Ronson, Victor Axelrod (hand claps); Frank Ricotti (percussion).

It doesn't take much listening to Amy Winehouse's 1960s pop period piece to realize that this is a tribute with an edge--nice girls back then didn't sing about boozing and rehab. Since her 2003 debut album, FRANK, Winehouse has been a frequent presence on the gossip pages of the U.K. tabloids, and her songwriting here candidly reflects her experiences with drinking, sex, and drugs.

BACK TO BLACK's production is an artful blend of sophisticated '60s R&B and 21st-century stylistic poaching, with "Tears Dry on Their Own" incorporating elements of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and Winehouse sounding like Billie Holiday fronting a reggae band on the old-fashioned cheating song "Just Friends." Densely packed with musical history and often conjuring a dark, Portishead-esque atmosphere, BACK TO BLACK is a sumptuous-sounding collection freighted with blunt confessionals of a lush life.

Amy Winehouse – Back to Black

Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are that you are already familiar with the powerful sound and personal sagas of British soulstress and Grammy Winning superstar Amy Winehouse. Regardless of what might be written or said about the young performer, there is no denying that Back to Black, her dazzling sophomore album, is absolutely ESSENTIAL for every music collection.

It is difficult to find a place to start complimenting this album, as it is as close to perfect as may be possible. The retro-slick sound weaves together a tapestry of classic 60s R&B, swinging big band, and soulful jazz that is reminiscent of the finest Phil Spector Supremes’ recording. Amy’s lyrical stylings go way beyond her 25 years on this earth, pulling insight, heartbreak and humor from several different decades and delivering them with a voice that punches you right in the gut.

Stand-out track “Rehab”, masterfully produced by Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, is a boot-stomping and hand-slapping musical act of defiance that adds legend to the infamy that Winehouse has established for herself and “Back to Black”, the title single, is simply heartbreaking and so filled with Spector-esque echoes that you feel magically transported back to the best days of the Wall of Sound.

What may be the most impressive aspect of Winehouse’s second album, however, is the impression that it has made not only only the mass public, but the state of music in general. Since its early 2007 release, a rush of both new-soul and classic R&B performers have emerged to the spotlight, including Kate Nash, the Pipettes and the legendary Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. The recipient of 5 Grammy Awards, Back to Black is a true modern classic!

Favorite Songs - "Rehab", "Back to Black", "Love is a Losing Game".

- Sabrina, Tower Pulse 03/22/2008

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