STACK NZ Oct #67

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THE OTHER GEMS

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 .

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.

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.

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.”

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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