08 April 2007
Amy WineHouse
Apr/09/07 08:14 |
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AMY WINEHOUSE REVIEW
I’d like to tell you that I’d been up on Amy Winehouse since her UK debut, 2003’s “Frank” but the truth is that I knew nothing about her prior to her appearance on Ghostface’s “More Fish” album. As if that weren’t embarrassing enough, upon first hearing the snare heavy “You Know I’m No Good”, I was listening to a sample. Clearly influenced by soul music and the girl groups of the Motown era, I quickly learned that British artist Amy Winehouse is live, in the flesh, and worthy of the bandwagon praise heaped upon her. Winehouse’s vocal instrument is impressive, conjuring up Dinah Washington, Shirley Bassey and even a bit of Aretha Franklin. What qualifies her first US offering “Back to Black” though isn’t her voice, but good old fashioned storytelling. My biggest problem with contemporary R&B is that much like hip hop’s “studio gangsters” too many artists sing “make-believe” tales. Here’s the thing though; you can’t fake heartache. For Winehouse, life experiences are meant to be shared and every ex-boyfriend’s a muse. When she talks about not wanting to go to “Rehab”, I don’t for a second question her authenticity and when she cusses out a boyfriend for making her miss a Nas concert on “Me & Mr. Jones”, I’m right there with her. Other standouts like “Love is A Losing Game” and “Wake Up Alone” prove that she’s got the rhythm and the blues to make her set believable. I’ve always found something refreshing about a woman who refuses to put on "airs". That being said, Amy’s emotional baggage, drug use, and foul mouth is probably still a bit too much for us to ever have a real relationship but she’ll sure be shacking up in the iPod for awhile. Anyone who can belt “fu**ery” 2 seconds into a doo-wop song, is my kind of girl.
by: David Brown
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