As often as not, though, the songs on Back to Black are universal, songs that anyone, even Joss Stone, could take to the top of the charts, such as "Love Is a Losing Game" or the title song ("We only said good bye with words, I died a hundred times/You go back to her, and I go back to black"). She states her case against "Rehab" on the knockout first single with some great lines: "They tried to make me go to rehab I won't go go go, I'd rather be at home with Ray" ( Charles, that is). Before Back to Black blew up and the paparazzi circled like vultures, Amy Winehouse put out Frank. In the second part of the series, photographer Charles Moriarty tells us how he captured Amy Winehouse at her liveliest for the artwork for the singer’s striking 2003 debut Frank.
Also in similar fashion to Frank, her eye for details and her way of relating them are delightful. We rounded up 50 of the most iconic pieces of album artwork from indie releases from Joy Division, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Nirvana, The Smiths, Strokes. Under Covers is a new series tracing the stories behind classic and groundbreaking album artworks.
(They certainly know how to evoke the era too Remi's "Tears Dry on Their Own" is a sparkling homage to the Motown chestnut "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and Ronson summons a host of Brill Building touchstones on his tracks.) As before, Winehouse writes all of the songs from her experiences, most of which involve the occasionally riotous and often bittersweet vagaries of love. The record, which features 12 original tracks and covers, was compiled by long-time musical partners. Winehouse was inspired by girl group soul of the '60s, and fortunately Ronson and Remi are two of the most facile and organic R&B producers active. Amy Winehouse's posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, has topped the UK album chart.
With producer Salaam Remi returning from Frank, plus the welcome addition of Mark Ronson (fresh off successes producing for Christina Aguilera and Robbie Williams), Back to Black has a similar sound to Frank but much more flair and spark to it. (That fact may help to explain why fans were so scared by press allegations that Winehouse had deliberately lost weight in order to present a slimmer appearance.) Although Back to Black does see her deserting jazz and wholly embracing contemporary R&B, all the best parts of her musical character emerge intact, and actually, are all the better for the transformation from jazz vocalist to soul siren.
The story of Back to Black is one in which celebrity and the potential of commercial success threaten to ruin Amy Winehouse, since the same insouciance and playfulness that made her sound so special when she debuted could easily have been whitewashed right out of existence for this breakout record. The Other Side of Amy Winehouse: B-Sides, Remixes & Rarities Originally recorded and released as a single on 19 June 2006 by English indie rock band, The Zutons for their second studio album Tired.