Before she was the tabloids favorite headline, before she won all of her acclaim and Grammys, before she was tattooed and looked more punk than soul - Amy Winehouse was just another R&B / neo-soul singer trying to make it in the big music world. In 2003, Winehouse released her debut album, Frank. It was a record that displayed a healthy and happy looking Winehouse on the cover walking what is believed to be her dog. She was an innocent girl singing of love and loss, heartbreak and happiness. She played on ideas of sex and sexuality and turned heads with songs like "Fuck Me Pumps," "I Heard Love is Blind," and "In My Bed." While released in the UK to positive reviews, the album would never cross the pond until Winehouse's blockbuster 2007 year when she released the phenomenal Back to Black. While Back to Black showed off proper production by Mark Ronson, Frank was much more laid back and much more raw in terms of recording. While Back to Black was much more raw in emotion, Winehouse on Frank sounded vulnerable, the sound and production of the record would echo Winehouse in years to come - the sound of a woman trying to shed her innocence and come into her own. While we lost Winehouse last summer, her music lives on, Frank was the first step to her international success.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Underrated Classic - Amy Winehouse "Frank"
Before she was the tabloids favorite headline, before she won all of her acclaim and Grammys, before she was tattooed and looked more punk than soul - Amy Winehouse was just another R&B / neo-soul singer trying to make it in the big music world. In 2003, Winehouse released her debut album, Frank. It was a record that displayed a healthy and happy looking Winehouse on the cover walking what is believed to be her dog. She was an innocent girl singing of love and loss, heartbreak and happiness. She played on ideas of sex and sexuality and turned heads with songs like "Fuck Me Pumps," "I Heard Love is Blind," and "In My Bed." While released in the UK to positive reviews, the album would never cross the pond until Winehouse's blockbuster 2007 year when she released the phenomenal Back to Black. While Back to Black showed off proper production by Mark Ronson, Frank was much more laid back and much more raw in terms of recording. While Back to Black was much more raw in emotion, Winehouse on Frank sounded vulnerable, the sound and production of the record would echo Winehouse in years to come - the sound of a woman trying to shed her innocence and come into her own. While we lost Winehouse last summer, her music lives on, Frank was the first step to her international success.
