Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
List Price:
Our Price: $10.93
You Save: $3.05 (22%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.87 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Amy WinehouseEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-03-13
Music Label: Republic
Product features:
- Condition: Used - Very Good
- 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
- You Know I'm No Good [Remix]
Music reviews of Back to Black
Music Review: THIS IS IT! THE DEFINITIVE CONTEMPORARY SOUL ALBUM!
Rating: 5 Stars
This is it. THIS album is THE SOUL/R&B album I've been waiting countless years for to be released! Alicia Keys came very close in October 2005 with her release of her MTV Unplugged album. Then, Corinne Bailey Rae came extremely close - probably the closest - in June 2006 with her release of her self-titled album, Corinne Bailey Rae. Next, Christina Aguilera touched on it in August 2006 with her Back to Basics album (see my earlier review). And even though I highly recommend all of these titles, I still wasn't 100% satisfied in my search. However, now, the wait is over. Thanks to 23-year-old tattooed soul Brit Amy Winehouse and her second album Back to Black, I have been satiated beyond my wildest dreams! Opening with her surprisingly unabashed lines in "Rehab" with "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no," Winehouse oozes a truly soulful voice that would make Macy Gray green with envy and have Lauryn Hill and Ella Fitzgerald give her a respectful nod and pat on the back. In this song, Winehouse sings of how - after her first album and her many exploits in the British tabloids - most of her management tried to get her to go to rehab for alcoholics. With references to Ray (Charles) and Mr. Hathaway (Donnie Hathaway), "Rehab" is a rollicking opening that gives the listener a clue as to what to expect with this album: a trip through the great influence of classic soul/R&B girl groups of the 1950s/1960s such as The Shangri-Las, The Crystals, and The Ronettes.
"You Know I'm No Good," the second song and the longest on the album at four minutes and seventeen seconds, has Amy driven by a mix of classic 50s soul piano and a modern-day beat box as she belts out verses with the same fervor as Shirley Bassey about how she's unapologetic in her confessing - almost convincing herself in the process - to her current boyfriend that she's unfaithful (sleeping with her ex-boyfriend) and no good to him. Next, "Me & Mr. Jones," Winehouse's play on the classic Billy Paul tune "Me and Mrs. Jones," has the singer sounding more like the leader of an girl group - albeit with excessive cussing - as she sings of a man coming between her and her music that she loves so much (making references to Slick Rick and Sammy Davis Jr.). After this song, Winehouse proves herself as the anything-but-innocent vixen as she breathlessly sings the opening lines to the so-so "Just Friends." With a slower tempo accompanied by a Wurlitzer and horns, "Friends" is the singer's testament to cheating with a man who has a girlfriend or wife, and wondering if they could just be friends and nothing more. Like most true soul music, the song doesn't look for a solution nor does it supply one, but leaves that open question mark repeated so often through the song.
The fifth song, the title track for the album "Back to Black" is the crowning masterpiece of the album as it starts off with a piano key beat reminiscent of The Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" or The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" Not only does this song particularly sound as if a young Phil Spector produced it, but the entire album shines in Ronnie Spector Wall of Sound territory. And this song is all the evidence you need to get to the nearest record store and buy this album! In "Back to Black," Winehouse sings from the mistress' point-of-view as her lover is leaving her and going back to his wife/girlfriend. An astounding song not merely in its lyrics but mostly in its execution and producing; this song is proof that Amy Winehouse is gonna wow American audiences and leave them craving more! "Love is a Losing Game" is a slow, bittersweet (with emphasis on the bitter) crooner with percussion and orchestra about the singer exiting a relationship. It is a nice slow confession that most people feel after a breakup and although not the biggest stand-out of the album, it is a nice addition to a group of songs that are mostly faster tempo.
"Tears Dry on Their Own" chimes off its musical percussion beginning, sounding extremely like the music to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (in fact, it contains a small sample of the song) and progresses into a new genre of song that sounds as if Carole King penned the catchy tune herself. Only it's not King; it's all Winehouse and in case you couldn't tell by now, she and her producers have been doing their homework when it comes to making a truly infectious soul album. "Tears" has her admitting that she deserves better in a relationship and as her tears dry on their own, she'll be some other man's woman soon enough. This song is probably my second favorite on the album and it segues into the wonderful gem of "Wake Up Alone." It's a song sung very much in the tone of a Nina Simone or Sarah Vaughan classic about a woman doing the best she can to not think about the man she loves after having a one-night stand with him and then him leaving her. The listener truly feels for this woman, knowing that - through her regretful voice - to wake up alone is the worst thing possible and the thought of waking up in this state is more torture than she can bear.
Guitar licks and chimes lead off the subtle girl group contemporary sound of "Some Unholy War" - a song that one can't help but think the singer is talking about a man who just quite doesn't know what good he's got in this woman who's singing about him. The track isn't that noticeable at only two-and-a-half minutes but is still a mid-tempo, soulful poem of testament of a woman who's slowly on her way to emotionally growing and knowing what she wants in a relationship. The last track, "He Can Only Hold Her," goes into a horn romp of beats and special appearance of panged-out piano notes, sounding as if a Chi-Lites sample is playing in the background. I can't help but think that the song is about Winehouse's boyfriend (the one who throughout the album she's gone through so many pains with) and how she truly wants to escape him and move on to the next guy who's already stole her heart. The last hidden track is a slightly alternate version of "You Know I'm No Good" featuring rapper Ghostface Killah as the wronged boyfriend.
Overall, like I said at the beginning, this is THE ALBUM I've been waiting for! Back to Black is a soul album touched by Phil Spector's Wall of Sound and the classic Motown sound, proving it to be a landmark record for Winehouse and bring her all the positive reviews she well deserves. There isn't much more to say other than: GET THIS ALBUM! There are plenty of soul singers out today who have attempted a revival of classic soul but have come off too short. Case in point: Joss Stone (who, coincidentally, has a new album coming out next week, March 20). Although Stone has an AMAZING voice, because her producers and execs had an idea of how soul music should sound, to be honest, her first two albums could've been better. But Amy Winehouse. Her blue-eyed soul music will transform even the biggest cynics in soul music into true fans! Even the songs I said were mediocre on this album are stellar compared to anything released in the past 10+ years. Winehouse's songwriting and voice hit the nail on the head and her producers definitely know their stuff! If you're dismayed by most of the music out today (like I've been lately), then pick up Back to Black to cure what ails ya!
Description of Back to Black
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."
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
Pop CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Pop CDs
Yvette Freeman - Dinah Was (L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection)Release date: 2005-04-12; Music CD
Best price: $20.02
Price in other shops:
Twin Sisters Productions - Building Character Music CDTWIN SISTERS PRODUCTIONS; Release date: 2007-01-01; Music CD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Bernadette Peters in ConcertDVD
Best price: $129.99
Everything Must Go/ Two Against Natureby Steely Dan
Published: 2003; Music CD
Scattered Ashesby Ihsahn / Emperor
Candlelight Records/Emi; Published: 2009-07-28; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops:
![Christmas at the Biltmore Estate [VHS] Image](/images/Christmas-at-the-Biltmore-Estate-VHS-076700437X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Christmas at the Biltmore Estate [VHS]A&E Home Video; Release date: 1998-09-04; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $17.46
Price in other shops:
The Shadow: Rare Radio Gems (Rare Radio Gems)Release date: 2002-09-01; Published: 2002-09-01; Music CD
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
On the Shoulders of Giants, Vol. 1: An Audio & Musical Journey Through the Harlem Renaissanceby Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Release date: 2011-09-06; Published: 2008; Music CD
Best price: $1.98
Price in other shops:
Francis Durbridge, Paul Temple & The Gilbert Case - Radio ShowRelease date: 2003-05-12; Music CD
Best price: $21.49
Price in other shops:
The Serenaders - My One and Only YouRelease date: 2011-05-28; Music CD
Best price: $8.76
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Norah Jones - Come Away With MeRelease date: 2002-02-26; Music CD
Best price: $5.79
Price in other shops:
Florence + the Machine - LungsRelease date: 2009-10-20; Music CD
Best price: $6.46
Price in other shops:
Duffy - RockferryRelease date: 2008-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $6.02
Price in other shops:
Amy Winehouse - JukeboxRelease date: 2011-12-06; Music CD
Best price: $8.93
Price in other shops:
![Frank [Deluxe Edition] Image](/images/Frank-Deluxe-Edition-B0018RWD1S-X.jpg)
Amy Winehouse - Frank [Deluxe Edition]Release date: 2008-06-03; Music CD
Best price: $12.66
Price in other shops:
Amy Winehouse - FrankRelease date: 2007-11-20; Music CD
Best price: $8.57
Price in other shops:
Adele - Adele 19Baker & Taylor; Release date: 2008-06-24; Music CD
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
Tony Bennett - Duets IIRelease date: 2011-09-20; Published: 2011-09-20; Music CD
Best price: $9.94
Price in other shops:
Amy Winehouse - Lioness: Hidden TreasuresRelease date: 2011-12-06; Published: 2011-12-06; Music CD
Best price: $9.34
Price in other shops:
Adele - 21Release date: 2011-02-22; Music CD
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops: