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[Wino]

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BACK TO BLACK, Amy Winehouse
Every once in a while, an album is so distressing it makes the listener fear for the artist’s well-being. These CDs are usually well below the performer’s artistic standard, but Back To Black is a rare exception. We certainly worry about Amy Winehouse: she is a singer and songwriter who wears her emotions on her vocal chords.

But because she and her producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi practice exquisite musical self-discipline, her alarming tales of love, loss and alcohol abuse are emotionally devastating rather than tedious.

Rehab marries the true-life story of her refusal to go away for treatment with a catchy melody and “no no no” hook. It won an instant top 10 placing, while Back To Black itself reached the album chart’s top three.

The voice of Winehouse continues to be a marvelous instrument which she plays with skill and discretion. It is suffused in the soul and jazz she has loved for years, and is used to produce work that is simultaneously disturbing and entertaining. One song uses the backing track of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell classic Ain’t No Mountain High Enough to produce an entirely new tune, a sophisticated way of sampling.