14 replies to this topic

[HelloSailor]

I remember when I first heard the album. I already knew Frank, and a few singles (Rehab, You Know I'm no Good and maybe Tears Dry). Although I could appreciate that Amy was a fucking amazing singer and that her style was really ground-breaking and unlike anything in the charts, I do remember there were a few songs I didn't originally like that much, and that I would skip past.

 

I can't actually remember which ones now, because I've come to love every single one of them, but I think they were:

- Rehab (because I'd heard it waaaaaaay to many times on the radio, in shops, in bars, EVERYWHERE)

- Just Friends (liked the lyrics but didn't like the general atmosphere of the music)

- He Can Only Hold Her

- Cupid

- To Know Him is to Love Him

 

It's strange thinking that at some stage I didn't like some of those songs, and others I would have on replay non-stop (such as Unholy War - funny, coz now I don't listen to it quite as much).

At the moment I can only listen to the entire album without skipping songs.

 

What was your first experience of hearing B2B? What songs grew on you?

[TBR]

I got Back to Black in 2006 on release here because me and my parents had both loved Frank. I really enjoyed it start to finish but He Can Only Hold Her, Some Unholy War and Just Friends were the tracks I skipped pretty often until later on probably because they were less obvious in terms of pop hooks and the meaning went over my head (that and I was like 13 at the time so didn't really appreciate them as much).

 

It's one of those albums I've grown to appreciate and love more and more as I've gotten older. I'm 21 now, and listening back to it now I've been in love and been in some similar situations the songs mean a lot more to me on a personal level. Like, I can understand the thought processes she went through (ie. the verses of Tears Dry is a pretty good example) and I guess the sentiment behind it. And that's what makes a great album for me, one which only gets more relevant the more you listen to it. I've listened to each track probably hundreds, if not thousands, of times and they're still fresh to me.

[amylove]

When Rehab came out, it annoyed the shit out of me... I don't think my mom's singing of "no, no, no" helped any. It took me a little while for me to warm up to Amy. After she won her Grammys, I remember there being a huge display of her albums...and I distinctly remember picking up B2B and putting it back down. The second song I heard was B2B and I wasn't a big fan (crazy, I know), but then I heard I'm No Good and loved it so I went from there. It took a few listens of the album for me to love it. Just Friends has always been one of my favorites although I probably skipped Some Unholy War to begin with. I didn't listen to Frank until she died although I remember seeing the video for Fuck Me Pumps on VH1 when I was like...14 I think.

[kittengirl1000]

I remember the first time I heard Back To Black was around 2007 when I flew to New York on the plane, they had albums to listen to and I decided to listen to Back To Black. All the songs were good to hear, I did buy the album a couple of months later aswell as her first album Frank.

[Yousaymyname]

I first listened to Back to Black in the summer of 2006 (December in Australia) after my brother came home from living in London and gave it to me for Xmas. I thought it was a joke, I'd heard rehab all over the radio and thought it was a cool song, but I thought he has having a dig at me by giving me the album. When I first listened to it I felt like Amy was describing my life in You know I'm no Good and Back to Black. Tears Dry on Their Own was my favourite song apart from those two, I used to skip rehab and listen to the whole album. I remember playing it over and over while staying on holidays with a group of friends, it was just so unbelievable. I couldn't believe my brother gave me such a good present, we had always been the ones who fought over dinner. But I guess he used to hear me play the piano a lot and it's the best present I ever got. Actions speak louder. Our relationship is good these days

[HelloSailor]

siblings...sometimes you think they just don't get you. And then they surprise you. 

[Yousaymyname]

Wake up alone I have always loved too just for its understated ness, and raw honesty. I know a lot of people rave about Love is a Losing Game, but honestly that song was prob a lull for me at first. Me and Mr Jones was the point at which the album was like wow! I'm hooked.

[HelloSailor]

Wake Up Alone is just genius, rip-your-heart-out agony of a break-up song. Definitely one of my favorites from the start. I agree with you about Losing Game, the album version never really did anything for me, I only really started appreciating that song in live acoustic versions that I found online... Funny how our tastes evolve with time. I now find most of the production on the B2B album too heavy, and prefer to listen to live concerts.

[Yousaymyname]

What was a bit weird though is that the Australian edition of the album I have doesn't have Addicted on it. I have the deluxe box set - another present from my bro after Amy's death I love that song, how it fits in with Rehab at the start. So B2B for me wasn't even complete as an album the first time I listened to it. Odd hey. 

[Mrs. Tears dry on their own]

When I first heard Back to Black I was blown away by her talent. It's such an amazing song. I listened to it the whole summer of 2009 & 2010.

[Yousaymyname]

I know, like your heart just dropped to the floor? @Mrs. Tears dry on their own. That song is haunting, and beautiful, and....no words. 

 

 

When I first heard Back to Black I was blown away by her talent. It's such an amazing song. I listened to it the whole summer of 2009 & 2010.

[StuckInBlack23]

  Well,  the first song I heard from the album was Rehab back in 2007 (high-school freshman, 14yo) and my mom and I loved it.  That song stuck with me for a long time but I never knew who sung it at the time.  Of course it was weird to me though as I was used to listening to only Prince haha (Just for clarification...I have moved on from that mindset of listening to one artist and one artist only.  I know listen to a multitude of artists).  Then the tragic event in 2011 made me research about her.  I ended up downloading (illegally...but I was young haha) Back to Black, Tears Dry, and Rehab I think.

 

  I went on vacation to Gattlinburg, TN and the whole time I listened to her...I just couldn't stop!  She touched my soul unlike no other artist.  After I returned home from vacation I told my mom how much I loved Amy Winehouse.  She didn't know who she was until I reminded her about Rehab.  The next day after I woke up to both Frank and Back to Black!  The deluxe edition of Frank mind you .

 

  I excitedly popped the B2B cd into my computer, uploaded it into my Ipod and listened....WOW!!!  I couldn't believe what I was hearing...it was like my soul was touched.  I know that sounds weird but it was true!  The punch of Rehab, then the pain in You Know I'm No Good, Me and Mr.Jones being the amazing song it is, Just Friends...every song I loved from the first listen.  Some Unholy War was hauntingly beautiful as was Wake up Alone.  Like I said earlier I had heard Back to Black before but I loved it even better in the context of the album.  It was...there are no words that can make justice of it!  I loved it!  Every song on here touched my heart in ways nothing before or since has.  He Can Only Hold Her was my second favorite, Back to Black being my favorite.  That song was just sooo amazing and the lyrics, my god!  Love is a Losing Game made me cry.

 

 Unfortunately I did not get the deluxe edition of B2B until 2013 and it opened up a whole new world!  Of course I chose the U.K. version because it had Addicted (which kinda felt like it didn't really fit on the album, but LOVE nonetheless) and You're Wondering Now (which I had heard on Youtube and needed it!).  The alternate version of Some Unholy War became my favorite version of the song.  It made it even more hauntingly and...I can't describe it at the moment.  I just really love it!  Valerie is such a great song too!  It became a favorite of mine, I listen to it all the time!  I must say, I became "obsessed" with Amy.  I don't mean obsessed as in Amy was my whole life and nothing else mattered...just wanted to make that clear haha.  Although for some reason I feel that she was the love of my life, like I was connected soul to soul.  That is probably the side-effects of her music though . 

 

  I would get into what I felt when I first heard Frank (the day I received the two albums as a gift from mom   ), but that is not the thread subject.

[Ace of Hearts]

What was a bit weird though is that the Australian edition of the album I have doesn't have Addicted on it. I have the deluxe box set - another present from my bro after Amy's death I love that song, how it fits in with Rehab at the start. So B2B for me wasn't even complete as an album the first time I listened to it. Odd hey.

Yeah I never understood why we in Australia missed out on the extra tracks. I only heard addicted when I downloaded the extra songs that were featured on B2B deluxe when I was looking for some new material in about 2009.

My friend lent me her B2B cd and said "listen to her. I think you'll like it". My friend knows me well

I went out and got my own copy and had it on in the car everyday. I knew she was good when my partner at the time said "I love listening to her on my drive home from work because her voice helps me relax and unwind". And he didn't know shit about music, so I thought she must have been good if he likes her too!

I recall that I listened to the album from start to finish - which is a rarity in itself. Me & Mr Jones wowed me instantly so I would press repeat accidentally on purpose. Loved B2B, TDOTO and He can only hold her. I nearly always skipped rehab because I thought it was just an overplayed pop song and when you compare it with the rest of her repertoire it lacks that depth she conveyed in her other songs.

Once I stopped listening to it in the car and paid attention to the lyrics, I saw her music in another light and it touched my soul like no other artist who was around that time. It gained a new respect for LIALG and Wake up alone.

[pearljo]

He can only hold her is a great song.  I crank up the volume every time because it's

a light hearted sounding intro.  When Amy comes in with her vocals it's incredible.

[YouShouldBeStrongerThanMe]

I fell in love with Amy's music when I first listened to "Rehab" on the TV in 2006. I still remember it when I watched her and I thought "Man, I'm going to love this woman", and I did. Normally I don't like todays music.

 

"Back to black" has a special meaning to me right from the start, but my favorite most be "Wake up alone". It's now that I appreciate "Some unholy war" and I really like "Just friends". But I guess that's because I'm older.

But I also fell in love with Frank after that. I love "Take the box", "Stronger than me", "You sent me flying" and now I'm beginning to love "October song". Of course I prefer it all live. Even when Amy was drunk I loved her singing. I never listen to the albums, only live recordings.