Amy Winehouse "Lioness: Hidden Treasures" (2011)

Lioness: Hidden Treasures (compilation)
release date: Dec. 6, 2011
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Salaam Remi
label: Universal Island - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Our Day Will Come" (5 / 5) - 2. "Between the Cheats" - 3. "Tears Dry" (Original Version) - 4. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (2011)" - 6. "Valerie ('68 Version)" - 8. "Half Time" - 9. "Wake Up Alone" (Original Recording) - 10. "Best Friends, Right?" - 12. "A Song for You"

Compilation album by Amy Winehouse released posthumously is primarily produced by Salaam Remi, but also feature two songs (tracks #4 & 6) produced by Mark Ronson.
The album title suggests a collection of well-hidden gems, and it may just be that but it's more of a mixed bag in the sense that it contains a variety of songs. "Our Day Will Come" and "Between the Cheats" are superb compositions that probably would have been included on a third studio release, but the remaining tracks come to define something else. We find outtakes, demos and rarities rather than future album songs. Some are alternate recordings, two songs are with other artists - Nas and Tony Bennett respectively, where the latter duet was her last studio recording, and then a couple of old classics before it's all over in just about 45 mins. Apparently, the songs were selected by the producers, Sallam Remi and Mark Ronson, but also with a say from family members...
The album debuted at #1 in the UK as it did in Austria, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, and in The Netherlands. It also became Winehouse's best standard charting album in the US making it to #5 on the Billboard 200 (Back to Black peaked at #2 when it was re-issued). It spawned two single releases - track #11, "Body and Soul", a duet with Tony Bennett reaching #40 and "Our Day Will Come" peaking at #29 on the national singles chart.
It's an album without fillers or poor songs, and it's more than nice to have these songs as well, although, the collection appears more as the incomplete glimpse into a treasury, where the voice of Winehouse is the jewel that shines above it all.
[ 👍allmusic.com, Spin 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👎The Guardian, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Best of 2006:Amy Winehouse "Back to Black" (2006)

original cover

Back to Black
release date: Oct. 30, 2006
format: cd (2007 Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,48]
producer: Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi
label: Island Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: Disc 1) 1. "Rehab" - 2. "You Know I'm No Good" - 3. "Me and Mr. Jones" (live) - 4. "Just Friends" - 5. "Back to Black" - 6. "Love Is a Losing Game" (5 / 5) (live) - 7. "Tears Dry on Their Own" (live on Later) - 8. "Wake Up Alone"
Disc 2) 1. "Valerie" (5 / 5) - 2. "Cupid" - 3. "Monkey Man" (live) - 4. "To Know Him Is to Love Him" - 5. "Hey Little Rich Girl" (feat. Zalon & Ade) (live) - 6. "You're Wondering Now" - 8. "Love Is a Losing Game" (Original Demo)

2nd studio album by Amy Winehouse released three years after her debut album contains 6 tracks produced by Mark Ronson and the remaining 5 tracks on the standard album produced by Salaam Remi. The Deluxe Edition released 13 months later is a double disc album with the standard album in a remastered edition and a bonus disc with a collection of B-sides and live recordings.
The original album peaked at number #1 on the UK albums chart list, just as it did in many countries world-wide including Austria, France, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and New Zealand. It also went as high as number #7 on the American Billboard 200, and when it was reissued as a double disc it peaked at number #2. It contains a number of great tracks and several singles made it to top-10 in the singles charts, although none were topping the charts. The first single from the album was "Rehab", peaking at number #7 on the UK chart list, This was followed by "You Know I'm No Good", peaking at number #18, "Back to Black", peaking at number #8, and "Tears Dry on Their Own" and "Love Is a Losing Game" peaking at number #16 and #33 respectively.
Now, how do you pick a short list displaying only the best tracks from this album? It's an impossible task, and with the double disc edition it doesn't become any easier with a bonus disc full of gems including ska revival and rock steady tracks, e.g. "Hey, Little Rich Girl" (org. by The Specials), "Monkey Man" (by Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert) and "You're Wondering Now" (by Clement Seymour 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd). All songs here are wonderful examples of this woman's extraordinary gift and great potential.
"Back to Black" is naturally included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" as it's one of the most evident top-of-year album releases, you may come across.
Highly recommended.

2006 Favourite releases: 1. Amy Winehouse Back to Black - 2. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - 3. Band of Horses Everything All the Time

2007 2-Disc
Deluxe Edition

Amy Winehouse "Frank" (2003)

original cover

Frank [debut]
release date: Oct. 20, 2003
format: 2 cd (2008 reissue - Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,94]
producer: Gordon Williams; Salaam Remi
label: Universal Island - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: Disc 1) 1. "Intro / Stronger Than Me" - 2. "You Sent Me Flying" - 3. "Know You Now" - 4. "Fuck Me Pumps" - 5. "I Heard Love Is Blind" - 7. "(There Is) No Greater Love" (aol live session) - 8. "In My Bed" - 9. "Take the Box" - 11. "What Is It About Men?" - 12. "Help Yourself" - 13. "Amy Amy Amy / Outro" - 'Brother' (hidden track) / 'Mr Magic (Through the Smoke)' (hidden track) - - Disc 2) 1. "Take the Box" (Original Demo) - 2. "You Sent Me Flying" (Original Demo) - 3. "I Heard Love Is Blind" (Original Demo) - 4. "Someone to Watch Over Me" (Original Demo) - 5. "What Is It" (Original Demo) - 6. "Teach Me Tonight" (live) (Hootenanny) - 9. "Stronger Than Me" (live) (Later With Jools Holland) - 10. "I Heard Love Is Blind" (Live at the Concorde, Brighton) - 11. "Take the Box" (Live at the Concorde, Brighton) - 12. "In My Bed" (Live at the Concorde, Brighton) - 13. "Mr Magic" (Janice Long Session) - 14. "(There Is) No Greater Love" (Janice Long Session)

Studio album debut by Amy (Jade) Winehouse (born Sep. 1983 in Southgate, London) originally released on Island Records is made with several producers where the two main forces are Gordon Williams (aka 'Commissioner Gordon') and Salaam Remi (aka 'The Chameleon'), who are both credited as producers of six of the standard album's thirteen compositions either alone or together. Winehouse herself, Matt Rowe, Jimmy Hogarth and Jony Rockstar are all credited as co-producers.
Stylistically, the album represents a huge mix of styles and genres with vocal jazz, rhythm & blues, and soul at the core of most compositions, although, it's difficult not also to mention pop soul and neo-soul and perhaps the all-American standards of the '50s and '60s as one of the major inspirational sources. Also, the album title both refers to Winehouse's lyrics as well as directed at one of her childhood idols: Frank Sinatra.
Winehouse has written the majority of the lyrics and composed the songs in collaboration with either Salaam Remi (5 songs), and Gordon Williams (3 songs) or Donovan Jackson (3 songs) plus a variety of others. The album also contains two classic jazz compositions (tracks #6 and 7).
The Deluxe Edition of the album contains a Bonus disc of 18 additional songs - consisting of B-sides, live recordings and extended mixes of songs from the album.
The album went as high as to number #13 on the UK charts, and although, none of the four single releases from the album made it any higher than #57 on the national singles charts, the album was nominated the Mercury Prize in 2004 and Winehouse was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for her songwriting and she was nominated British Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act at the Brit Awards 2004.
Following Winehouse's death, the album re-entered the album charts and went to number #3.
Frank is the fine and yet somewhat incoherent debut by one of Britain's most talented songwriters and vocalists of the modern era. She sings with ease and so much soul that it's a thrill - despite, production-wise, being a bit messy, as if it can't decide whether it's made for the vast pop masses or the lovers of vocal jazz - Winehouse herself was dissatisfied about the album, which she among other things described "a shambles" made by idiots. You really have to grant her that the included demos on the Bonus Disc support her by revealing the strength of several songs have been over-produced beyond recognition. Eg. the brilliant demo of "You Sent Me Flying" is completely without the tenderness and vocal power on the original album, and the same quality may also be said about the other four demos. It just seems too many chefs were involved in the making of her debut album. They simply didn't realise the kind of magic they were holding in their hands, so they "had to" re-arrange and produce the raw material into something else. Unfortunately.
That said, Frank is still the very very fine debut by Amy Winehouse.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian 4 / 5, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 2,5 / 5 stars ]

2008 2-Disc
Deluxe Edition