9 replies to this topic

[SteveV]

My guess is the Zutons' "Valerie" although she liked a number of 60s girl group songs as well as "'Round Midnight" in her younger years.  But has Amy ever indicated what song of her own she liked best? If I had to guess, it might be TDOTO or perhaps  "Just Friends" (because of an emotional rendering on a YT video where she repeats "just friends" several times at the end of the song. I can't find it right now).  Has Amy ever indicated what song of her own she liked best? I definitely don't think it was "Rehab".  It's not a bad song, but I think she was sick and tired of singing it everywhere.  

 

EDIT: Sorry. The song  was Donny Hathaway's "We're Still Friends", not "Just Friends".  A great performance BTW.

 

http://www.dailymoti...friends-e_music

[TBR]

I seem to remember reading/hearing her say that she was especially proud of Love Is A Losing Game but also that she loved them all on BTB so I'm not sure. I guess she must have especially liked I Heard Love Is Blind most from her Frank tracks because she played it at pretty much every single one of her shows post Back to Black, more than any other Frank song but again it's hard to say. I don't think she was every completely happy with Some Unholy War because of what she said during the Shepard's Bush show so probably not that. I've gone off on a bit of a tangent but maybe it'll help narrow it down haha.

[SteveV]

"Love Is a Losing Game"? Yeah! That just might be it. It's a masterpiece. What did she say about "Some Unholy War"?   I know it seemed to depress her.  It's a very powerful song, dark and engaging at the same time. 

[amylove]

I kinda feel like she enjoyed performing Me and Mr. Jones...she would do her cute little moves with it and change up her vocals. Okay, so maybe it's my favorite ha! But I can see it being a break from the rest of her depressing songs.

[SteveV]

I kinda feel like she enjoyed performing Me and Mr. Jones...she would do her cute little moves with it and change up her vocals. Okay, so maybe it's my favorite ha! But I can see it being a break from the rest of her depressing songs.

Yes. Songs like Me and Mr Jones, Fuck Me Pumps, I Heard Love Is Blind and some others are funny, cleverly written  upbeat songs that only Amy could write. There's no mistaking who wrote those of songs. I think the "depressing" songs were often such for Amy, but need not be depressing to the listener. These songs have depth.  Shakespeare wrote some comedies, but is best known for his tragedies. IMO what makes Amy stand out among all singers and songwriters is her ability to express her deepest feelings with her lyrics and the way she delivers those lyrics. At her best, her timing and phrasing were flawless and I love her contralto voice.

[HelloSailor]

 I guess she must have especially liked I Heard Love Is Blind most from her Frank tracks because she played it at pretty much every single one of her shows post Back to Black, more than any other Frank song but again it's hard to say.

 

You know, I have a theory about this. Amy seemed to sing that song quite a bit in the beginning of her B2B gigs (2006/2007), for example at Porchester Hall (just after she broke up with Alex Clare). As Amy always sang autobiographically, I think she included this song in her set because she was cheating on Alex with Blake. Once she was with Blake, I don't think she sang this song as much if at all (then again I could be completely wrong, it's just an intuitive theory). Then when she was Blake her covers included "I love you more than you'll ever know". Towards the end of her life, when Blake was having a baby with another woman, she sang "I'm on the outside looking in". I've always thought that her choice of songs in her sets was a reflection of what was going on in her life. Like a message. So I don't think I heard Love is Blind was her favourite song as such, I just think she sang it quite a bit because she cheated quite a bit (as she had warned in 'you know i'm no good'...).

[Ace of Hearts]

I'm with Hello Sailor!

Singing"I'll love you more than you'll ever know" and playing "he's so fine" as an intro song were selected for a reason and reflected her mood.

She didn't just sing songs. She told people how she was feeling through songs. I think watching her sing "on the outside looking in" when Blake was with Sarah was really emotional to watch and conveys that more than anything.

[Uno]

I noticed that with 'I love you more than you'll ever know' too, Amy also included that song in a DJ set that she did for a BBC show back in August of 2004, so it was one of her favorites even before Blake came in to her life. I think she pulled it out of her box of 'personal musical keepsakes' to send Blake a message by singing it a few times and then put it right back in that box and saved it for herself. We we're just lucky enough that it got filmed those few times that she did sing it. Also in the Brazil songs, I feel that other than being a call-out to Tony Bennett, she was marching down that 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' while being 'On the Outside Looking In'. Her singing 'Stagger Lee' threw me off for a second, but after thinking about it, Blake really was her 'Stagger Lee'.

 

[HelloSailor]

 

 Her singing 'Stagger Lee' threw me off for a second, but after thinking about it, Blake really was her 'Stagger Lee'.

 

Same here! Unlike the other songs, this one's message wasn't quite as obvious to me, I couldn't really work it out. 

[pearljo]

I love all of btb.  Everyone does but I always turn up the volume on he can only hold her.  It starts out so light hearted and that great beat.  Then her vocal dynamics come in and it's like, damn.  love that song.  MAMJ is wicked. 

When I was new to Amy's music I sent a friend a link to LIALG and said this is a great cover.  It sounded like a classic and it was hard for me to believe that someone so young could write a world weary song like that.