Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 2006…
#6 – Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
Apparently 2006 was a great year for brash young English women, because I’m following Lily Allen’s debut with the classic sophomore album by Amy Winehouse.
Back to Black, inspired by Winehouse’s temporary split from Blake Fielder-Civil, is one of the great breakup albums of all-time, and the greatest example of the neo soul movement that spiked in the 2000s.
The most buzzed-about contribution to The Great Gatsby soundtrack is a cover of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ by Beyoncé and Outkast’s Andre 3000. I guess you can’t have Jay-Z produce your movie’s soundtrack and not hear from his lovely wife.
The cover generated some controversy when Winehouse’s father (who might be drinking as much as his daughter) took to Twitter to complain that Beyoncé recorded the song without his permission and should donate money to the Amy Winehouse Foundation to make up for it. He later retracted the comment and praised Beyoncé but stated that Andre 3000 should have cut his part.
Sticking with producer Mark Ronson, I’ve selected a song from his most celebrated album, Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black.
This was a perfect match of producer and artist, with Ronson’s gift for modernizing old jazz and big band sounds complementing Winehouse’s old-school vocal chops and decidedly contemporary image. I’m not familiar with Winehouse’s first album, but I’m guessing this is a case where a producer is integral to an album’s success.
Not too long ago, artists who drank and drugged themselves to death were viewed romantically. I mean, there are at least two Janis Joplin films in production as I type. But now it’s a different story. It’s hard to be a figure of dark mystery when you’re on the front page of TMZ every day covered in your own vomit.
Such is the fate of Amy Winehouse, a supremely talented train wreck of a musician who appears hellbent on dying young but without any of the accompanying glamor.
Meet Me In Montauk 