Amy Winehouse- Back To Black

Back To Black is Amy Winehouse's second album. It was released in 2006, three years after Frank.

Rehab wastes no time getting to the point: poetic and tragic lyrics over a catchy soul-pop groove. Add in some nicely layered backing instruments, and the results are fantastic.

You Know I'm No Good ups the ante even further, thanks to a brilliantly infectious, and somehow sneaky, groove. The narrative is captivating, and brought to life with many little phrases that are loaded with vivid imagery.

While I view both the lyrics and the instrumental backing as brilliant elements in their own right, it seems they also rely on each other to create the magic. Exhibit A is Me & Mr Jones which is another example of a great story, but falls flat for me due to the lack of a catchy groove. Similarly, Love Is A Losing Game is all emotional n stuff, but just not catchy enough for me!

Just Friends is also a strange one, since the heavy ska groove should have me raving about it. But somehow it doesn't gel for me, seeming to lack intensity.

Back To Black is another featuring a knockout groove. However, the highlight for me is the anticipation built into the lyrics. Throughout the song, the phrase  "I go back to... I go back to..." cuts itself off each time with the next verse. Then, finally, the anticipation is released in the spine-tingling bridge which finally makes the admission: "...black". It's one of my all-time favourite uses of lyrical tension and release.

Reviewing Some Unholy War has been a pleasant surprise for me. Casually listening to it over the years on headphones, it never really appealed to me. But turned up loud on a decent stereo, the phat bass brings an extra dimension to the rock-solid groove.

Favourite songs

Rebah, You Know I'm No Good, Back To Black, Some Unholy War

Worthwhile?

Absolutely. The "favourite songs" list above might be mostly the pop hits, but they are both pop perfection and timeless classics.