Is it a coincidence that on my first day of freestylin', I went for an artist beginning with A? I'd like to think not, it might've been my brain's little way of reminding me that it likes structure.... Or maybe it was just because I haven't listened to the Wino for ages.
I only listened to a few tracks from "Back to Black" - 'Rehab', 'Tears Dry on Their Own', and from the Bonus Delux Edition, her superb cover of The Zutons' 'Valerie'. Then I went back to her debut, "Frank". I am more familiar with this album, and I like it better.
How much of the Wino's troubles are commercially-helpful theatrics is hard to know - let's be honest, wasters are kind of interesting, they get free headlines, and none of that can really be bad for sales. Nonetheless, something in me kind of wants to back her; she's a bit of an underdog, can't quite seem to hold it together, and yet is a talented and unique vocalist. I like this album because it's still quite understated, possibly because it was released before Wino had such a high public profile (for mostly the wrong reasons.) Interestingly, with the release of "Back to Black", "Frank" made it back onto the UK Charts, where it stayed for most of 2007 - in fact it was the 37th biggest selling album of 2007, despite being released 4 years earlier.
Like Wino herself, I like this album because it's not quite perfect, but it's an honest effort. Jazz-y, blues-y, soul and R&B influenced, the lyrics tell 21st century stories (witness 'F*** Me Pumps', 'I Heard Love is Blind'), and I think The Guardian summed Wino's voice up perfectly by calling it "at once innocent and sleazy."
I can't claim to be a Winehouse aficionado, but I like this album. Ad for some reason, like many tragic characters, I kind of just want to keep cheering for her.
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