Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good

"I didn't want to play the jazz thing up too much again. I was bored of complicated chord structures and needed something more direct. I'd been listening to a lot of girl-groups from the fifties and sixties. I liked the simplicity of that stuff. It just gets to the point."

You can hear it on the subtley Supremes-referencing intro of "Back To Black". But her reach stretches further. While the girl-groups of the sixties to which she had become enthralled contained their vocals, Amy can break loose with Aretha-style vocal stylings on "Just Friends" or by turning the whole idea of drying out into a gospel spiritual on the stunning opener "Rehab".

"Love is a Losing Game" is pure classic modern songwriting: brief, to the point and drenched in emotion. Other highlights include the Nas inspired "Me and Mr Jones", the beautiful "Wake Up Alone", "I'm No Good", the personal epiphany that you can behave just as badly as all those guys that have messed you around and stamped all over you, and the bluesy smooch of the title track, "Back To Black".

For Amy Winehouse, music is not just a defence mechanism. It is her lifeline. In the two years since Frank caused such a ruckus by presenting this voluble and extraordinary human being centre stage, Amy thinks its only circumstances that have changed, not her. But you can see it in her increasingly creative body art, her slightly more aggressive eye make-up and the great swoop of black hair that cascades across her face and down her back.

This time, Amy Winehouse has charted her progress from girlhood to womanhood. She is untangling her mess, finding her true spirit and learning to break loose from the demons that have followed her. page << 1 2 >>