Review Round-up: Amy Winehouse

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It’s been a while since we did a review round-up. Today’s round-up looks at one of my favourite albums this year, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black. In the style of other review roundups, we’ll be looking to blogger’s opinions rather than relying on mainstream reviews. Jump over the picture to get started…
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

The Good

Almost universal rave reviews with this album. Like me, most people found the mix of old soul with modern day sensibilities (not to mention swearing!) a refreshing change from the manufactured pop de jour.

The real strength of Back to Black is its ability to maintain a strong theme, which with its nostalgic feel, nearly qualifies it as a concept album. Even with each song seamlessly tied to one another, however, Back to Black is also like nothing we’ve heard before. [Helium]
I can’t stop listening to it… Amy has a textured vocal delivery, an almost raspy voice, combined with her contemporary song lyrics. Hailing from the U.K., she is truly inspiring and her music is full of soul and quite funky. [Dana Tuszke]
Winehouse pushes the musical envelope even further than the innovative Motown artists who pioneered the genre, with provocative lyrics that would send Motown founder Barry Gordy over the edge. [Daily Nexus]
She can also be witty, as on “Me & Mrs Jones” when she berates a boyfriend with “You made me miss the Slick Rick gig”. Back to Black is a refreshingly mature soul album, the best of its kind for years. [New Music Review]
I believe Amy has just started a new change in music and soon everyone might want to have the same quality of music like her. The production was tight and classy and I believe is the winner album of the year!! [Stupid Thought]
I enjoyed some of the poppier numbers more so than the tortured woe-is-the-Jew-broad slower numbers. The singing is pretty damn good throughout though. [Byron Crawford]

The Bad

When you thought the whole world was raving about Back To Black, it also got some people foaming at the mouth…bring on the haters…

A sizable chunk of Back to Black…sounds like…white people copping black soul in order to sell booze and ribs. Songs like “You Know I’m No Good,” “Me & Mr. Jones,” and “Wake Up Alone” are nothing more than cheap retro-R&B novelties. [Cleveland Scene]
The album is almost entirely set in the sixties, reminiscent of The Supremes and Diana Ross, which makes for a good change of pace but also a lack of originality. [Love The Music]
This album has good production and lyrics(most of the time), but it seems like something is missing. This album is really nothing to rave about, I like some songs, but I doubt I?ll be listening to this whole album all the way through ever again. [Sum Of Everest]

The Summary

Some critics have accused Amy of being a copyist of the old Motown sound. These curmudgeons are missing the point completely - Winehouse reinvents the genre and lyrically deals with subjects that would have been major taboos in that era. I mean, can you imagine Aretha Franklin coming out with “fuckery” in a song?

Many of Amy’s songs tie back to her life, and that autobiographical element is refreshing. What would you rather have - teenagers singing twee lyrics written for them by faceless producers, or real songs written by someone dealing with what seems to be a crazy lifestyle?

As I said back at the beginning of this post, Back To Black is probably one of the best albums I’ve heard this year.

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