| Back for good: Amy Winehouse |
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| "I kind of thought of Mark as some white guy who tried too hard. But we met, and we had a lot more in common music wise that I had thought" |
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CMU ALBUMS OF 2006: 'Back To Black'
released 30 Oct on Universal/Island Records
I'll be honest and say that when I first heard of Amy Winehouse I wasn't bowled over; I'm not sure I even really remember what her first album sounded like, although I think I probably listened to it, and most definitely will have heard the singles from it. But I always liked the idea of Amy Winehouse because, if nothing else, she seemed like the antithesis of the likes of Katie Melua, one of my pet hates, and Jamie Cullum, another of my pet hates. So, there she was, just in the periphery of my vision, waving a bit, when I heard, on the TV, the first single release from the new album, 'Rehab'. It seemed to me to be terrifically gutsy to release a track in that style, and with that sort of subject matter, to an audience who perhaps would in fact be more at home with the blandities of Melua and Corinne Bailey Rae (actually, I don't mind her so much, but it is very future lift music). I also didn't see how anyone in the world could possibly not like that song. On the basis of it, I gave the full album a listen, not expecting every song to be as striking. I was wrong, of course. 'Rehab' is far and away the least of that album - the bravura of that single is replicated in every song, and more so. It's music which shows off its influences unashamedly, wearing its US soul and Motown influences proudly, but glorying in lyrics which probably wouldn't go down too well in the US itself - I can't see 'Me And Mr Jones' - "What kind of fuckery is this?" - managing to secure public radio airtime either there or here, and yet is so much deserves to. Every one of the tracks on this album has slowly become special to me, and the lyrics, I think, play a very important part. Everyone knows that I like pop songs with swearing in them (doesn't everyone?) but it's more than that. The words paint pictures, and can tear at your heart. But then so can the swinging tunes, the retro sound, and Winehouse's terrific, effective, affective vocals. I don't care if she appears on late night TV shows seeming like she might have had a jar or two; she's produced an album packed with around eleven of my favourite tracks of the year. Making it one of our ten top albums of 2006.
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I don't know about 'back to black', Amy Winehouse is certainly back in demand. The October release of her critically acclaimed second album coupled with a growing tabloid interest in what she does and says (albeit mainly when 'what she does' is drink, and 'what she says' is a bit off the wall) mean that Ms Winehouse's profile is probably higher now than ever before.
So much so, when you're offered a last minute interview slot you take it, even if it means canceling a meeting or two in order to do so. One of the people I had to stand up in order to do the interview commented "mmm, an interview with Amy Winehouse, good luck with that". I suppose he was making reference to Amy's reputation for being a bit erratic - a bit hard to control - and if I'm being honest it had already occurred to me that Winehouse might not be the easiest of interviewees to handle. But it's the slightly erratic nature of Ms Winehouse that makes her so much fun to watch and, I suspect, why she was able to create an album as good as 'Back To Black'.
Was she a bit erratic during my interview? Well, yes, a bit - side conversations with her boyfriend and an assistant being sent out with dinner requirements did make the whole thing slightly hard to follow. But, at the same time, I would have been disappointed had it turned out any other way, because that's why we love Amy. And while the slight yet harmless chaos made me sound like the dullest person on earth when I tried to pull the conversation back on topic or sought a clarification or two, in amongst it all I think I managed to get the insight I wanted on the brilliant album that is 'Back To Black'. I recount that insight here ... without the interruptions.
"I did spend a year and half promoting the first album ... so it wasn't that long", Amy is quick to point out when I suggest there was quite a big gap between the release of her 2003 debut 'Frank' and this year's 'Back To Black'. "But I did take a year off before I really started work on the new album", she concedes, adding, "The label kept saying 'so, do you want to make another album?', but I just wasn't ready. I had about three or four songs together, but that wasn't enough to get started properly. I only really got to that stage when I met Mark earlier this year".
By 'Mark' she's referring to Mr Mark Ronson, eclectic DJ and producer extraordinaire, and Winehouse's collaborator on 'Back To Black'. "Mark and I are both signed to EMI Publishing," she says, explaining how the collaboration began, "and they suggested we should work together - possibly because they were desperate to get something new out of me. I wasn't too convinced at first - I kind of thought of Mark as some white guy who tried too hard. But we met, and he was much more friendly than I expected, and we had a lot more in common music wise that I had thought. I played him a couple of songs I liked, and he played me some things he liked, and we found there was a lot of common ground".
"I guess we inspired each other", she continues, "I'd play something I'd been working on, or a song I like, and then over night he'd think about it, and come back to me with an idea, or suggestion, or another song he liked. Once me and Mark started doing that stuff I was ready to start work on a new album, and that's what we spent the first half of the year doing".
However the Ronson/Winehouse relationship operates, it certainly works. Despite the accolades that had been awarded to 'Frank', which included Brits and Mercury nominations and a prestigious Ivor Novello award, I've lost count of the number of people who have told me how much more impressed they were with 'Back To Black' than its predecessor. In fact several people I knew who didn't have any time at all for Amy's debut are passionate fans of the new long player. And I had even heard on the grapevine that Winehouse herself had said some disparaging things about her first album when compared to the second.
"I never said I didn't like it", Amy says, quickly correcting what the grapevine had told me. "I said I listen to it differently now. I am still really proud of it, I still think it's a great album. But, with hindsight, there are some things I would have done differently. Not song structure, but instrumentation. But you're always learning and changing your opinion, aren't you? Just because I would do things a bit differently now doesn't mean I don't like what's on that album. If I don't perform older songs when I play live that's just because there isn't time in my set".
If she did, would she rework the older songs to suit her current tastes? "Definitely, but I always did, almost straight away I was doing those songs differently". What about the new material, has she found herself reworking the new songs now she is touring the album? "No - I'm really happy with everything on the new album just as it is. I was probably 80% happy with 'Frank'. I'm 150% happy with this one".
Given the attention Winehouse has been getting from the gossip pages and blogs in the last year or so, I try to be careful when bringing up any of the stories I've heard about her, expecting many to be only half truths. Though Amy insists the tabloid attention doesn't bother her, "it's all good publicity" she observes, "I don't really care, though it is sometimes surprising just what makes the news, true or not".
One of the things reported, probably over a year ago now, was rumoured conflict between Winehouse and her management and record label. Was there any truth in all that? "It's half true", she says, "I was definitely unhappy with my management - again, I was on a learning curve, and through that I discovered I was with the wrong managers". And the label? "Your management tend to be the go between you and your label, so because I was having problems with my managers I was going to have problems with the label. But most of those problems weren't really there. I didn't want to talk to my managers, which meant I never spoke to the label, which probably meant they thought I was being awkward, that I didn't care. But now I've got the management thing fixed I get on brilliantly with my label. Every time we have a promotions meeting it's like a big party".
Does the new harmony mean the label will get the next album out of Amy quicker? "Probably yes, I'm going to see Mark in New York this weekend, and I'm sure we'll talk about working on new material. I'm still really busy at the moment, but I hope to get onto album number three pretty soon".
And will there be another change in direction this time round? "No, I don't think so, I think the sound of what's to come will be similar to 'Back To Black'. I think I've found my niche. I mean, I come from jazz, and I might go back to jazz, but for time being I like this formula, and I think I still have a lot to prove within it. And that's important - because that's what provides the drive".
Given just how good an album 'Back To Black' is, I don't think anyone will complain if Winehouse and Ronson enter their next collaboration with a similar mission statement to before. In the meantime we look forward to Amy continuing to promote and tour the current album, in that always entertaining if slightly erratic way that she has made her own.
Amy Winehouse's favourite artists of 2006:
"No one really, I've been really into sixties music this year. I'm just an old fashioned girl really".
Amy Winehouse's New Year’s resolutions:
"Be good, be healthier, never compromise. Oh, and start back at the gym".
chris@unlimitedmedia.co.uk - published dec 2006
