Amy Winehouse
Back To Black

THE REVIEW

Fascinating, rebellious, a lover of drugs and alcohol. No, this is not the portrait of a punk rocker yelling out their anger to the world with a raspy voice. It is rather a soul singer with a splendid voice and a punk rocker lifestyle.

Amy Winehouse was born in England to a family of jazz musicians and spent her adolescence in London's Southgate district. She grew up listening to various musical genres and received her first guitar at the age of thirteen. At sixteen, she debuted as a professional singer for Island/Universal. As early as 2004, critics took notice of her, granting her flattering reviews that, however, did not translate into equally significant sales.

Two years later, after a period of depression likely due to drug abuse and eating disorders, she returns to the scene with many pounds less, many more tattoos, and a new album destined this time to win over not just the critics, but the public as well.

"Back to Black." Eleven tracks ranging from the fifties atmospheres that come alive in "Me And Mr. Jones" and "Wake Up Alone" to ballads like "Love Is a Losing Game" (really beautiful) and some black incursions (as the album title suggests). A mix of Jazz, Blues, R & B, and Soul songs written and performed by one of the most sensual voices I have had the chance to hear in recent years.

The final result is delightful, an album that never bores and proves incredibly original despite its numerous nods to her "masters." This "Back to Black" would sound current on fifties' gramophones, yet it sounds just as current on 2007 CD players where sonic clarity sweeps away crackles and pops, and suggestive verses give way to more explicit lyrics. Some songs are so well-crafted that they feel immediately familiar, leading one to ask: "Where have I heard this before?"

Apart from being pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tracks, you might also be disoriented upon discovering that this splendid voice with a slightly guttural timbre belongs not to a big black singer but to a slender 24-year-old girl of Jewish origin.

It may not be one of those albums we’ll remember forever, but the fact remains that it's impossible to remain indifferent in front of a high-quality product like this, especially in an era where only the image matters (something many of her peers know well).

This girl born in '83 relied on her talent and was right.