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Aside from Winehouse's two
studio albums
Frank
(2003) and
Back To Black
(2006), there are
a number of other audio-visual
collections out.
Amy Winehouse at the BBC
Consisting of a CD and three
DVDs, this is a thorough collection
of Winehouse's live performances
at the BBC between 2004 and 2009.
Lioness: Hidden Treasures
Winehouse's
Back To Black
producers, Salaam Remi and Mark
Ronson, put this collection together
after the singer's death; it includes
brand new songs, alternate versions
and previously unreleased tracks.
I Told You I Was Trouble: Amy
Winehouse Live in London
Filmed in 2007, this is
Winehouse's full performance at
London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.
Back To Black (Deluxe Edition)
This one has two discs; the
first is the classic album, and the
second comprises a bunch of studio
recordings including the original
demo version of
Love Is A Losing
Game
.
THE OTHER GEMS
Back To Black
, track five on
Back To Black
(2006)
This achingly melancholic belter was co-written by
Winehouse and Mark Ronson, who produced many
of the songs on
Back To Black
(alongside Salaam
Remi). It’s Winehouse’s reflection on the breakdown
of her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, who left the
singer to return to his his ex-girlfriend. Winehouse did
more than just write about it though – Kapadia’s film
touches on her chilly revenge.
Rehab
, track one on
Back To Black
(2006)
This is literally what happened during the first
attempt by Winehouse’s childhood friend Juliette
Ashby and manager Nick Shymansky to have her
attend a rehabilitation clinic: Winehouse’s father Mitch
attested that Amy was not unwell enough to warrant
rehab, and that was when a “chance was lost,” as
Shymansky says –
Back To Black
was not yet recorded,
and Amy could have been helped before “everyone
wanted a piece of her.”
Tears Dry On Their Own
, track seven on
Back To Black
(2006)
The melody and lyrics for the fourth single from
Back To Black
were written by Winehouse (also about
Fielder-Civil), but you’ll recognise the distinctive knocking
rattle of rimshots and background arrangement from
the 1967 classic
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
,
recorded by Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye; Winehouse’s
producer Salaam Remi used the Motown hit as a sample
interpolation (not a direct sample of the original, but
played anew and aimed to sound exactly the same).
What Is It About Men?
, track eleven on
Frank
(2003)
Winehouse was 10 when her father Mitch left
the household for another woman, but in
Amy
the
patriarch admits the affair had been going on since
his daughter was just 18 months old. In
What Is It
About Men?
, Amy sifts through the formative years
during which her father was absent, and the lasting
effects of the experience.
Love is a Losing Game
, track six on
Back To Black
(2006)
The fifth single from
Back To Black
and the last
ever to be released during Winehouse’s life,
Love
is a Losing Game
is a bleeding and beautiful lament;
Kapadia uses it to punctuate the dissolution of
Winehouse’s marriage to Fielder-Civil, and the ensuing
emotional nadir which led to the vocalist’s relapse
into drug use.
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