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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Disc 1:

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. Bonus Track 1

Rating: - * 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. Rating: - * Believe the hype ! ... If you read my other reviews one thing should become very clear: I'm 100% old school... 500 reviews on Amazon, and its rare for me to purchase or review anything made after the late '70s... and for a really good reason: I think American music lost its vibe and groove with the advent of drum machines and digital music... Great talent has emerged, but to me we've yet to escape the musical cheesiness of the '80s... an era where BIG and FAT went out... Then along came AMY... True, this album is RETRO... and Amy is not the first pop star to get big doing the retro thing (- - think B-52s, Brand New Heavies, Brian Setzer) however, I think Amy Winehouse is the first to really pay homage to the era in a convincing way... the music has an authentically convincing "back then" sound... yet at the same time... the attitude is truly NOW(!) Winehouse has a voice that is a total throwback to the Pop and R&B divas of the '50s and 60's... but a persona perfectly fit for today's TV/tabloid generation... in addition, her lyrics are engaging too... (A certain line in "Me and Mr. Jones" has just been entered into my book of all time classic lines... Even though its Amy Winehouse, every time I hear it I go, "Did she just say that???") As for the album, as mentioned it is throwback to the sounds of '60s/'70s AM hit radio... but its done convincingly... Amy Winehouse has a voice that's thick and elastic... Sort of Bette Midler attitude... but Della Reese/Dinah Washington delivery... with a hip hop mindset... which when juxtaposed with the old Girl Group Pop sound, definitely make an interesting listen. - - In addition, you can listen to the music with a magnifying glass, and more and more "substance beneath the surface" becomes clear about her deep understanding of the roots of the music and her ability to express it in her own way. Further, another strong point about the album that amazes me is that its a "straight through" listen... not just one hit and a bunch of fillers (as Phil Spector used to complain), but a whole album that's strong from start to finish... (also a gem of really great production and engineering to an extent that hasn't been heard in popular music for many many years!) Of note: If your idea of SOUL does NOT include the "Mariah" influence, you'll particular dig her singing... (I'm not trying to put down Mariah, but after 20 years, enough Mariah and Madonna already!) Of course, there is one problem: her public image. Let's not be fooled... the words "disgusting" come to mind... however, I sometimes wondering if its possible that she has a publicist who simply watched THE ROSE one time too many.. and is simply using shock tactics to market her... (I would really like to believe this as opposed to believing that she's yet another great talent on the road to self destruct.) Actually watching videos on YOU TUBE, she seems a lot more together than many of the critics would have you believe and she definitely has an act that works... the bands kinda dress throwback and she has the beehive... but then the tattoos, the piercings and the occasional obscenities... and subtle stuff the back up dancers do let you know she's a girl of this era... ultimately her attitude makes the music convincing as music that DOES indeed belong on the charts. in addition the band, arrangements and engineering are really convincing... some of the tunes do drag on a bit and lack dramatic build, however, this is nitpicking... it has been a long time since an artist has managed to present such tightly arranged and structured music to the listening public. fact is this: Someone has finally come along to save modern music... her public image might be hard to stomach... however, fact is: Music is back... Rating: - * BAD PACKING ... The vinyl was not correctly packed, i don't know if they couldn't find a proper box in Amazon or wherever was packed and sent, so the record would comfortably fit in there; when i got the package, the vinyl nearly fitted in the box so it was sligthly folded from one side, sligthly BUT still folded so at the begining the sound was a bit weird, its not like a record will recover shape all by it self, but i did what i could to make recover the flat shape. It was disappointing to find my poor pretty vinyl forced to fit on a box. Rating: - * Winey House ... This album is terrible. Winehouse grabs her attention by being a druggie, not showing up at gigs, and by being just plain weird. Her voice and music are lame. I can't believe people buy her music. There are a whole lot of better choices out there. I would say that the rich get richer when we purchase their music but in her case I think she goes out and buys more drugs. Please don't make her a martre by buying her music.