HiphopRnbSoul.com

Amy Winehouse is a bad, bad girl. Freely singing about her addictions to marijuana and using words like "fuckery," the British singer/songwriter discards the jazz approach of her 2003 debut Frank and lets it all hang out in a dynamically soulful explosion of classic 60s soul.

hiphoprnbsoul rating:

Download this album

Her sophomore set, Back To Black, offers a sound that celebrates the best aural interplay of classic Motown, while Winehouse herself sounds like Martha and the Vandellas meets Sarah Vaughn meets Etta James meets Jaguar Wright. The retro music successfully embraces a hip-hop foundation "He Can Only Hold Her" and the personal nature with which she writes (all tracks are written by Winehouse) about her less than perfect life makes the songs uniquely gritty.

Winehouse is one of the few bonafide R&B/soul singers whose album boasts a parental advisory.

In the true-story opening track "Rehab," she boldy declares "They tried to make me go to rehab/I said no, no, no." Co-written with R&B legends Ashford & Simpson, "Tears Dry On Their Own" wails of love gone wrong and says "I shouldn't play myself again/I should just be my own best friend. Not fuck myself in the head/with stupid men." Infamous at the age of 23 for public displays of drunkeness, Winehouse is in her element on "Addicted" when she states, "Don't make no difference if I end up alone/I'd rather have myself and smoke my homegrown. It's got me addicted/does more than any dick did. yeah, I can get mine/and you can get yours."

This stunning fare is not the safe, heartwarming music from fellow Brit phenom Corinne Bailey Rae. Winehouse goes deep, dark and grimey. The former rapper has a way of painting blatantly frank self portraits that, along with her smoky, down-home vocals, are guaranteed to haunt the listener long after the music stops.

Download:  The entire album

  To purchase CDs, click on the cover art or title link. To legally download, click on the iTunes logo. If you do not have iTunes, you can download it here by clicking the "download iTunes" logo above.