At times, Amy Winehouse's image — a runny mess between elegant '60s R&B girl groups and tattooed bad boy rockers — overwhelms her music. When it doesn't, we get to bask in the throaty soul-filled pop that she delivers with such rascalish panache.
Winehouse was raised in North London by jazz-loving parents and grandparents, and her formal jump into music in her late teens was initially guided by the management company run by Simon Fuller (he of "American Idol" and The Spice Girls). After getting signed, her first two albums, the jazzy Frank and the Motown-steeped Back To Black, made the short-list for Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize. But it was "Rehab," the first single from Back, that won her mainstream commercial attention. Its bold declaration of just saying no to drug counseling contains one of the milder sets of lyrics in a collection of tales about cheating, lying and adventures in addiction — told surprisingly convincingly for a 23-year-old. Direction from R&B and hip-hop producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson elevate Winehouse's solid songwriting and nice covers into delicious swashes of dark colors and heavy smoke — both producers are reportedly on board for her next full release, expected in 2008.
In the fall of 2007, Winehouse released a live concert DVD, I Told You I Was Trouble, which combines material from Frank and Back To Black.
Provenance: North London, England
Latest release: Back To Black (2006)
© 2007 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
Amy Winehouse
