Stepping up the Music

I am one of those people who say that I appreciate a little bit of everything when it comes to music, and I really do mean it. I have a battered wooden CD case that is propped up by our TV. It matches none of the furniture in my front room (much to my fiancés disgust!), but it has a sentimental value that reminds me of saving up for my Albums with my paper round money, or that Saturday job at the local Co-op.

I think it costs me about £5 from a Boot Sale, and it is filled with everything from Tatu to Placebo to Stereophonics, jumping right back to a battered Billie Piper "Honey to the Bee" album. Each album is guaranteed never to be thrown away, as I am a music hoarder and throwing away my albums is like throwing away a fashion addicts Jimmy Choo's!

Christmas just gone my fiancé bought me Amy Winehouse's Back to Black Album. I believe he had tired of me singing only two lines that I knew from Rehab, so he wanted to extend my vocabulary before he extended the masking tape in my mouth's direction! This was my first Amy Winehouse album, as I simply had never gotten around to buying her music.

Seeking Amy

Amy Jade Winehouse was born 14th September 1983 in Enfield, London. Born to a Jewish family of four she formed her own rap group names Sweet 'n' Sour whilst at the tender age on 10. Two years later she was to start training at the Sylvia Young Theatre School - but unfortunately this was short lived, as Amy was expelled when she was 14, as it was felt that she did not apply herself to the work, and also due to a rebellious piercing of her nose.

Amy Winehouse received her first guitar when she was 13 years old, and it is said she started penning her own music the following year. She dropped out of school, and stared exploring the world of drugs. She also did a number of short stints in employment, including being a singer in a Jazz band and being a Showbiz Journalist.

Her Demo tape was sent to A & R by her current boyfriend at the time, and she ended up being signed to Island/Universal record deal, and with EMI she obtained a publishing deal.

On 20th October 2003 Amy Winehouse's debut album Frank was released. It was produced by Salaam Remi and had a greatly influenced Jazz theme to it. What made this album even more exceptional for a debut album is that Amy Winehouse wrote all but two songs on the album. The album was hailed as a success and she was compared to artists such as Macy Gray. In 2004 it was nominated in the category of Best Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act. It went on to achieve platinum sales.

Amy Winehouse is never far from the newspapers gossip columns over the past two years - be it from her binge drinking to her apparent drug taking with her husband. She presents a media frenzy wherever she goes - an extremely talented singer with everything going for her - but seemingly destroying it through substance abuse.

Amy Winehouse is well known for her signature Beehive hairstyle, which adds to her distinctive style and adds what seems like inches to her petite frame and height. This, along with her astronomical singing talent, has culminated into a music sensation that we have not seen the likes of for many years.

On 18 May 2007, Winehouse married her on-off boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil in Miami, Florida. Only three months later in the August, Amy cancelled a series of shows in Europe and the UK, stating that exhaustion and ill health made her cancel. However, shortly after this both Amy Winehouse and her husband Blake were photographed dishevelled and covered in blood, whilst walking through the streets of London. Blake is currently serving time in prison, which has been a hardship on Amy Winehouse and has caused many cancellation of gigs, due to her being too upset to perform.

Since those photographs of the pair covered in blood, the photographers have portrayed a photo album, picturesque-me-not of how Amy and her husbands' life's have spiralled downwards into a world of Crack Cocaine, time behind bars, and the elusive Rehabilitation Programme that Amy swore never to go through.

Even through all of this it is unquestionable when you talk of the immense talent of the petite Bee-hived wearing song/song-writer, that she is a legend in her own right. From an early age she presented a talent that with the right support and coaching has grown into a talent marvelled worldwide.

Back to Black

The Back to Black album is Amy Winehouse's second album and it was released October 2006 by Island Records. It has been hailed as an international success and has been praised for the vintage jazz/ soul vibe that Amy Winehouse brought to it. It has also been highly praised for the quality of the song writing throughout the album. It also won 5 awards at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

It won at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards:

- Record of the year - this was for "Rehab"

- Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

- Song of the Year - yet again this was for "Rehab"

- Best New Artist - obviously to Amy Winehouse herself

- Best Pop Vocal Album.

Five singles in total have been released in the UK from the Back to Black album - Rehab, You know I'm no good, Back to Black, Tears Dry on their Own. And Love is a Losing Game. Despite the success of the album, none of the five singles from the album made it to number one in the UK singles chart. The highest placed single from the album was "Rehab" which went to number 7.

The Back to Black album was released across the world and hit the number one spot in Album charts in 15 different countries. In the first two weeks of release in the UK it sold 70, 784 copies. As of March 9, 2008, the original album has sold 2,020,063 copies in the UK. To date the album has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide.

Track Listings

1. Rehab (3 minutes 36 seconds) - This is an autobiographical song that is where Amy Winehouse is talking about her refusal to go into a Rehabilitation Clinic. She wrote the song after she told her management team that she would not seek professional help for her alcohol problems.

Shortly after this single she changed her management team. "Rehab" was called a "must hear song" by Rolling Stone and "instantly memorable" by People Magazine. Time Magazine named it one of the best ten songs of 2007. Rehab has nine official Remix versions. I find it such a catchy tune that resonates in your head for days and days. Everyone I know at one point has been found to be calling out "I said no, no, no!"

2. You Know I'm No Good (4 minutes 17 seconds) - This song is yet another Jazz/ R & B song, sung to perfection in Amy Winehouse's raspy voice. Amy Winehouse firstly recorded this as a solo, but she also did another version with Ghostface Killah from Wu-Tang Clan. In Entertainment Weekly Magazine it was rated number 2 single for best songs of 2007. The solo version of the single was released in the UK on 8th January 2007.

After success at the 50th Annual Grammy awards the single was re-released in the US in February 2008. I really enjoy this song when relaxing on my own, or I am doing some housework and want a good song to sing along to. It's really shows Amy Winehouse's talent as a singer and a songwriter.

3. Me & Mr. Jones (2 minutes 33 seconds) - This was originally a 1972 number one hit for soul singer Billy Paul. He wrote it about an extra-marital affair a man was having with a woman referred to as "Mrs. Jones." Amy Winehouse is one of the many people to record this song - though the original was much longer in length - 4 minutes 42 seconds.

I find it a really good take on the Billy Paul classic, and certainly one of the better copies of the song that you can find in the music industry. IT brings a modern feeling to the song, whilst taking nothing away from the original artist.

4. Just Friends - This song is a catchy summer tune. It is a soulful song that Amy Winehouse brings across powerfully with the emotion in her voice. It is a woman speaking of how she can't carry on her affair with a man, and keeps it in the dark - Amy Winehouse says the man will either die from the guilt of the affair - or die if the woman he is cheating on finds out. I find it really emotive and find myself really feeling for the story of the woman who is torn in two over her affair.

5. Back To Black - (4 minutes 1second) - The video for this film was made in black and white, and is of a funeral procession. In the video Amy Winehouse is crying over a grave. Depicted on the gravestone are the words "R.I.P. The Heart of Amy Winehouse." This is about a doomed love affair with Amy Winehouse's heart being 'killed' after the man she loved went back to another woman.

This was the third song released as a single from her album that bears the same name. It was released in the UK on the 30th April 2007 - its highest position in the UK Singles chart is 25th place - but it has also stayed in the UK single charts for 34 weeks in total, selling nearly 100,000 copies. I absolutely love this song, and am drawn in emotionally to the song and the feels Amy Winehouse provokes in you. It is one of my favourite songs on the album.

6. Love Is A Losing Game - (2 minutes 35 seconds) - This is another song that was written by Amy Winehouse and the title itself says it all - it is a melancholy, emotion gripping single - but it seems to lack the fresh spontaneity and soul that is present in other singles on this album.

This was reflected in the sales of it as Amy Winehouse released it as her fifth single from the album on 10th December 2007 - its highest position in the UK Singles Chart was 46th. It's not the best song on the album and sometimes I do have to confess to skipping over this track, but it still has that Amy Winehouse quality that we have grown to love.

7. Tears Dry On Their Own (3 minutes 6 seconds) - This is a funky retro Motown tune that Amy Winehouse co-wrote with Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. It is formulated around a sample of Martin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's Motown classic "Aint No Mountain High Enough."

In this song Amy is backed by a sensational Big Band, creating a merger between Classic Motown and the Edge that seems only possible by Amy Winehouse herself. It was the fourth single that was released from the album and it peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and to date has spent more than 19 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.

I actually bought this originally as a single and I think it's one of the best songs on the album. I am always to be found muttering the words of it in an attempt to sing along, and the CD is certainly well loved and well used!

8. Wake Up Alone - (3 minutes 42 seconds) - this song has a very 60/70s feel to it. It has a long instrumental in it that unfortunately you may lose your attention whilst listening to it. Whilst there is no doubt that Amy Winehouses voice sounds great on this track, I would say it's a more forgettable one.

9. Some Unholy War (2 minutes 22 seconds) - this is one of the shorter tracks on the album, but it captures emotions that pull at the heart strings. It is certainly a highly emotive song and yet again Amy Winehouses emotional voice draws you in.

10. He Can Only Hold Her - (2minutes 46 seconds) - This song is a brilliant song and I don't understand why it was placed so far down the playlist, as it is certainly a great memorable song. I love the emotive lines such as "She's so vacant Her soul is taken." Yet again Amy Winehouses power with words is apparent.

11. Addicted - (2 minutes 45 seconds) - This is a very frank song talking about Amy's addiction and attitude to drugs. She seems to be far from caring that people know she likes her drugs and will keep using them. This is clear in her lyrics - such as "I'd rather have myself and smoke my homegrown. It's got me addicted, does more than any dick did."

Conclusion

There is no denying that Amy Winehouse is a master of singing and songwriting. Where her private life leaves little to admire, I can't help but be in awe of her musical talent. This album, in my personal opinion, is better than her first album "Frank." It has a funky Motown/1960s/1970s feel to it, and combines the classic Motown Jazz feel with a modern outlook - which I find is a mesmerising combination.

Each song is well written and catchy - of the 11 songs I find only a couple are what I would call forgettable, and one's you may skip over. The Back to Black single is absolutely fantastic, and Tears Dry on Their Own is another favourite that I can listen to repeatedly.

I have had this album for 3 months now, and I never tire of it. There is no comparison or competitor to Amy Winehouse in the market. I can't help but be admirable of her frank and honest lyrics that tell a story of a woman who is hurt time and time again, but is going to take no more. The last song Addicted really gave me a whole new perspective on how Amys drug addiction has taken over so many aspects of her life.

Priced at £5 to £10 in most places, I would certainly recommend it to any Amy Winehouse fan. If you have not listened to Amy Winehouse before and want to give her a go, then I would advise buying this album. It's a great example of the talent of Amy Winehouse. With 11 tracks in total on the album it is not short - it is packed with songs which yet again shows the real value for money when you buy this.

Amy Winehouse - though I sympathise with your personal life, I can't help but applaud your musical talent, and wish you good health and a cure to the addiction that threatens your talent. Losing you in the musical industry would be a great lose of irreplaceable talent.

4/5 from our house on this one!