Though I love reading about her, I never actually wanted to listen to Amy Winehouse, or 'Wino' as she has appropriately been dubbed by the gossip blogs, knowing her not for her love of jazzy, bluesy soul fused with lyrics about contemporary life in London, but for her love of crack. Sweet, sweet crack. And also alcohol, cocaine, heroin and the horse tranquillizer ketamine.So imagine my suprise when I heard "Rehab," the first track on her stateside debut, Back to Black, and was treated to the layered and lucious sound of a middle-aged black woman from Brooklyn belting the most smoldering soul music to every grace my iPod. What the hell? Winehouse has been hailed by Newsweek Magazine as "a cross between Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill", by the New York Daily News as "a marvelous debut that would do Etta James proud," and by New Yorker Magazine as "a fierce English performer whose voice combines the smoky depths of a jazz chanteuse with the heated passion of a soul singer." For once, all these critical accolades seem well-deserved, not just prime space filler for an advertisement.
Whether it's the brassy gospel of 'Rehab' ('Try to make me go to rehab/ I say no, no, no'), the achingly Spector-esque 'Back to Black,' (I love you much/It's not enough/You love blow and I love puff) or the hip hop infused 'Addicted' ( Tell your boyfriend next time he around/To buy his own weed and don't wear my shit down), I really liked this album, with it's time-twisted mix of retro sound and modern lyrics - which, though I didn't make mention of them, also touch on love, loss and other things that will drive a girl to drugs & drink. She's a sinking ship, for sure, but the band is playing some great music on the way down.
Back to Black is actually Winehouse's second album. Frank, her first album, was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and earned her nominations for two Brit awards with risque tracks like 'Fuck Me Pumps' - a title which has also assured it a place on my lala.com list.
No comments:
Post a Comment