Back To Black by Amy Winehouse

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

4.02
Rating
24697
Votes
1
1%
2
5%
3
20%
4
38%
5
36%
Distribution

Album Summary

Back to Black is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfriend and future husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who temporarily left her to pursue his previous ex-girlfriend. Their short-lived separation spurred her to create an album that explores themes of guilt, grief, infidelity, heartbreak and trauma in a relationship. Influenced by the pop and soul music of 1960s girl groups, Winehouse collaborated with producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, along with Sharon Jones' band The Dap-Kings, to assist her on capturing the sounds from that time period while blending them with contemporary R&B and neo-soul music. Between 2005 and 2006, she recorded the album's songs with Remi at Instrumental Zoo Studios in Miami and then with Ronson and the Dap-Kings at Chung King Studios and Daptone Records in New York. Tom Elmhirst mixed the album at Metropolis Studios in London. Back to Black was acclaimed by music critics, who praised Winehouse's songwriting and emotive singing style as well as Remi and Ronson's production. The album spawned five singles: "Rehab", "You Know I'm No Good", "Back to Black", "Tears Dry on Their Own" and "Love Is a Losing Game". It has also been cited as being a key influence to the widespread popularity of British soul throughout the late 2000s, paving the musical landscape for artists such as Adele, Duffy, and Estelle. At the 2008 Grammy Awards, Back to Black won Best Pop Vocal Album and was also nominated for Album of the Year. At the same ceremony, Winehouse won four additional awards, tying her with five other artists as the second-most awarded female in a single ceremony. The album was also nominated at the 2007 Brit Awards for MasterCard British Album and was shortlisted for the 2007 Mercury Prize. Back to Black sold 3.58 million copies in the UK alone, becoming the UK's second best-selling album of the 21st century so far. The album has sold over 16 million copies worldwide. A deluxe edition of Back to Black was released in November 2007, containing a bonus disc of B-sides and live tracks. Winehouse's debut DVD I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London, released that same month, includes a live set recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London and a 50-minute documentary detailing the singer's career over the previous four years. In 2020, Back to Black was ranked at number 33 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

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Length: All Short Long
Feb 03 2021 Author
4
I can't help but like this. Especially the Mark Ronson produced tracks - they capture that Phil Spector & Motown vibe so well with just the right amount of modern punch, dynamics, and flair. She has an incredibly soulful voice and her more modern/almost conversational lyrics make the experience more thrilling and not just a revival record. I feel like this is done with absolute reverence for the past while not simply being a reenactment act - similar to the way say the White Stripes' influences are obvious yet they coalesce into something fresh and unique. You can tell this comes from a real place and it is of course a tragedy that she was consumed by her addictions.
Oct 12 2021 Author
5
I freely admit that I've been living under a rock since about 1995. I was of course aware of Amy Winehouse and felt the grief of her fans when she died but I'd never listened to her music. (OK, maybe I saw them do Rehab on Glee...) I didn't know what to expect but it sure wasn't this. Musically, it's a joy to hear such a clear echo of the girl groups and soul singers of the 1960s --- I especially like the sample of Ain't No Mountain High Enough in Tears Dry on Their Own. The music sounds completely modern and nicely retro. Lyrically, it's sometimes hilarious (what kind of fuckery is this?) but mostly it's depressing as hell. I hear a woman trying desperately to numb her pain while trying to sound devil-may-care. And it is obviously so much worse considering how her short life ended. I can't imagine a bleaker sentiment than Love is a Losing Game. One or two songs are misses for me but overall I really like this album. I'm angry that we lost such a talent so early and I hope that she is resting in peace.
Sep 23 2021 Author
5
A soulful, beautifully written, beautifully produced record. Definitely bittersweet in retrospect but Amy Winehouse has a beautiful voice and the songs to back it up. Rehab was the big single but Back to Black is absolutely the show-stopper here. All great writing and music, every track.
Feb 08 2021 Author
5
Ok straight up for me one of the best albums of its generation.. artistry at its best.. Ronson and Salam killed it in the production as well, knew exactly when to get out of the way of amy and when to support her vocals..
Mar 30 2021 Author
3
“Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse (2006) Always wondered what all the fuss was about. Winehouse’s vocals are interesting enough, a kind of metallic contralto, with little pitch and dynamic range, but adequate control. In terms of composition, there are many familiar jazz, R&B, (early) rock, and even swing structures here, but nothing truly innovative. Some tracks bring to the ear immediate associations with earlier music, especially “You Know I’m No Good”, evocative of the retro swing Squirrel Nut Zippers’ Katherine Whalen on “It Ain’t You” and “Blue Angel” (on the album “Hot” [1996]). Not entirely derivative, but clearly from the same mold. Winehouse’s vocal performance is a distant second to Whalen’s, however. Lyrics aren’t bad—sassiness on display. Not exactly virtue-forming, and attempting to evoke little sympathy, but entertaining enough, if the listener is willing to suspend charitable feelings. A good album and artist, but not great. 3/5
May 13 2021 Author
5
This album feels so classy. Every song fits into an overarching style and theme, yet stand out individually so as to never feel the same as the one before or after. A really neat album that could be at home on vinyl or the crappy headphones provided with your handset (I'm so sorry Amy).
Apr 30 2021 Author
5
"We only said goodbye with words I died a hundred times" (Back to Black) "All I can ever be to you is a darkness that we knew And this regret I got accustomed to" (Tears dry on their own) Tenía muchas ganas de que me saliese este disco porque SABÍA que tenía que estar en la lista y me gusta un montón.
Jul 27 2023 Author
2
I try to go into these records objectively, with an open mind. Some times I just can’t. I know Amy Winehouse is a hero of sorts, but the music…it doesn’t feel authentic. It feels like an attempt to resell a sound from time that’s been forgotten. Modernize it, throw the word “fuckery” in there for good measure. Voila! Manufactured nostalgia for people who weren’t alive to experience the time they’re supposed to be nostalgic for. I don’t know…I can’t get past that. She’s talented, but it just feels manufactured to me.
Jan 24 2022 Author
5
She came on the scene with an explosive presence. She is indicative of Phil Spector's sound and Ronnie Spector's voice. There's definitely a bewitching quality to her vocals. This is especially present in "You Know I'm No Good." She's one of those artists that could sing the phone book and make it work. "What kind of fuckery is this?" is a question for the ages, and it sounds delightful coming from Winehouse. She sings from the heart as well. No song is a throw-away. Even the minor songs like Just Friends hit that mark of emotion she's going for. The beats are also so catchy on this album. Back to Black is practically iconic now. If Winehouse, Gaga, and Adele could have gotten together...Anyway, this album is a modern masterpiece.
Sep 28 2022 Author
3
Look, it's not like it's a bad album. Not even close. But the fake, nostalgic vintage sound (the fauxstalgia, if you will) wears thin really REALLY fast. The fact that, following her death, dozens of imitations have popped up like mushrooms in the shade of a fallen tree doesn't help. I'm sick of hearing vocalists chewing their vowels to try to sound like fauxstalgic caricatures of the iconic vocalists of yore. For all that, it's still a good album. I can't, in good conscience, give it less than three stars. But my sheer annoyance with the fake vintage schtick won't let me give it any more than three stars either.
Dec 16 2023 Author
5
Loved this album! I used to live in an apartment and my upstairs neighbour was a huge coke head. Whenever he went into a coke rage I would press my speakers up to the ceiling and blast “Rehab”. Nice to hear it again!
Apr 30 2021 Author
5
Cela faisait des semaines que je marchais dans un désert d'immondices musicales. Mes jambes étaient lourdes et mes semelles enduites de Minutemen. Alors que des remontées gastriques ne cessaient de rappeler à ma salive l'épouvantable goût des New York Dolls, j'aperçus soudain une oasis : il s'agissait de Back To Black. Je m'y précipitai. Son courant eut à mon contact un effet immédiat ; mes tâches de Sepultura disparaissaient à mesure que je les frottais sous une cascade de Rehab tandis que mes plaies goldfrappiennes cicatrisaient bientôt dans un bain de You Know I'm No Good. J'appliquai enfin quelques gouttes de Love Is A Losing Game sur mon kyste elvis-costellien qui se vida instantanément de son contenu. Une étape inoubliable au cours de cette éprouvante traversée.
Jun 25 2024 Author
5
So “Back To Black” by Amy Winehouse was one of those “captured lightning in a bottle” albums IMO… It is one of those efforts where everything just came together to fit together so perfectly, and the result was an absolutely exceptional album… The combination of Amy’s amazing song writing (i.e. Amy genuinely sharing her autobiographical anguish and vulnerabilities related to a challenging relationship and her mental illness and substance abuse issues…), a unique and perfect musical style as a backdrop for those songs, and her emotional vocal delivery, was one of those rare recipe’s that was likely never to be repeated… “Rehab” & “Back To Black” are clearly the best tracks IMO, but there is not a throwaway track on the album – although the last song “Addicted” is probably the weakest lyrically – though it is genuine… The raw emotion that comes through on this album, both the lyrically and via her vocal delivery, is definitely the highlight of the album… When this album came out, no one had recorded that style of 60’s “pop and soul” music in over 40 years, so it sounded incredibly fresh and unique in 2006 – which made it easy for the album to stand out, and then the lyrics, vocals, and the picture that was painted did the rest of the work… Also pretty eerie to have such an amazing album laying all of this out in advance of her untimely demise a few years later… For the uniqueness of the musical backdrop for these songs, along with the raw and genuine lyrics – combined with the perfect emotional vocal delivery, lead to a perfect “imperfect” album in my eyes – and one of the rare 5’s that I give out…
May 13 2021 Author
5
Love this album; it really is one in a million. Full of soul, full of energy, full of life.
Feb 03 2021 Author
5
Anything I heard between ages 16-24 probably has an advantage over the others due to subconscious bias - this album included. With that caveat, I think this album is a stunner. It also is immortalized by her untimely death, and makes the songs that much more potent. And what a voice! Really love the instrumentation on the album too.
Jan 25 2022 Author
4
Great album, great voice. Terrible loss at such a young age. She even recognised her own problems in the track 'Rehab', but she obviously had too many demons. Well worth listening to.
Nov 25 2023 Author
2
"What kind of fuckery is this?" Its.... Amy Winehouse. IMO- people made such a big deal out of her and her character for absolutely no fucking reason, and it's a pretty highly rated album on this website, so maybe I'm missing something, but I absolutely despise "Rehab," it feels very artificial and most of the rest of the tracks off the album feel as if they offered very little that was musically interesting to me. That being said, while I was actively wishing the album to end, the title track, "Back to Black" came on, and I found myself turning up the volume and eagerly awaiting the next hook. Good track, it will be on the playlist. Despite the star track, I can't justify a rating higher than.. 2/5
Jan 20 2025 Author
5
I bought this album when it was released but hadn’t listened to it in full for a long time. It’s really held up - what a talent and what a loss.
Aug 05 2024 Author
5
There are songs on this album that absolutely make you understand why Amy winehouse is an icon such a limited career. It's impossible to listen to it without knowing how it all turns out
Feb 17 2021 Author
5
Por ahí leí el otro día que este disco es el más vendido en vinil, digamos del 2010 para acá, desde el renacimiento del formato. Lo escucho ahora y suena a un clásico. Cuando salió resaltaba mucho del resto, un throwback, un ejercicio de nostalgia, no tan diferente si lo piensan, de The White Stripes o cosas por el estilo. Esto último no es ninguna crítica negativa. Pero la diferencia con otros ejercicios revivaleros de soul aquí el talento y la tragedia personal resltan. Pero me quedo con el talento y la voz, ¿gran voz, no? Parte de la educación sentimental de muchos, supongo. Fue parte de la mía. Back to black, la canción, is some heavy shit. Se siente real. Lloré mucho con esa rola, no por lo que trata, sino por la forma en que canta Back to black, verga. Me mata eso. Qué ganas de irse a la mierda dan a veces. ¿Solo yo? Amy me comprende.
Jan 15 2021 Author
5
Songs I liked Rehab You know i'm no good Tears dry on their own He can only hold her
Nov 30 2023 Author
2
Music for insufferable women
Jun 15 2023 Author
2
So many 5 star reviews and I just don't get it. Her voice is good. But there are a million people with great voices. The music fine and sounds old without all the cruft that comes with old music. Which I think is fine. But this is really not special in any way. It's a record made by producers for a singer with an alcohol problem.
Apr 27 2023 Author
2
The compositions and arrangements can be pretty nice, albeit it's all a rather arch act of graverobbing. 'You Know I'm No Good' and 'Back To Black' are fine songs, despite their ubiquity in the 2000s. However, Al Jolson himself would blush (one would guess) at those fucking vocals. What was going on?! 'Rehab' is a terrible piece of music.
Apr 15 2024 Author
5
Not sure if I’ve ever sat down and appreciated this as an album. Can’t believe so many good tracks are on one record. A masterpiece, really. Imagine what she’d have done next.
Dec 08 2025 Author
4
My ex-wife threw me a 30th birthday party and one of my coworkers gave this CD to me as a gift. I had never heard of it. Immediately thereafter my ex-wife decided this CD was hers and also that we should get a divorce. Upon relisten, this is a great album but geez get yourself together.
Dec 07 2023 Author
4
Just dynamite overall. What a talent. And such splendid "fuckery." How much one would have liked to see her career evolve, and if stability/sobriety might have had a salubrious effect. Janis Jopin is the obvious comp, though one might prefer AW. She sells every song convincingly, infusing every note with considerable soul and almost unbearable pathos in some places (because we know how it all ended). The opener is great, of course, as are "Me and Mr. Jones" and "Love Is a Losing Game." Hey editors: AW is not and never was a jazz singer and these aren't jazz songs (have at most a jazz aspect, and a pop-jazz one at that), though on some cuts her vocal style could accurately (if not precisely so) be described as jazzy. She's a soul / R&B / pop singer.
Mar 23 2022 Author
3
This album was on in the background everywhere I went in the late 2000s but I never realised how short it is (35 mins). It's pretty good but it's strange that the production and that Mark Ronson sound feels a bit dated when they were trying to make an old school sounding album. The 'Amy' documentary is one of the saddest things I've ever watched.
Jul 08 2024 Author
1
This is horrible - hate her voice and the shitty mock-60's production. I left the UK before her heyday, fortunately, so didn't quite know what to expect but got something even worse than her debut we were forced through a while ago. Mercifully brief, it appears the inspiration for this nonsense was the Artful Dodger from a borstal production of "Oliver!", which seems fitting.
Dec 04 2025 Author
5
Tragic and beautiful. The two best words to describe both this album and Amy herself. It's been a while since I've listened to this album and it did not disappoint. Clocking in at just 35 minutes it felt very quick, but very to the point. For me there are no skips. It's well produced, well packaged and damn if it isn't just really good.
Nov 18 2025 Author
5
A masterpiece of talent, gorgeous sound, and raw feeling. I loved every moment of this album. She deserves every accolade and I wish we could have heard more from this tormented soul.
Oct 13 2025 Author
5
Outrageously good
Oct 13 2025 Author
5
Deeply personal, a generational talent gone too soon
Aug 19 2025 Author
5
I love this album and I’ve always loved Amy Winehouse. She had such a unique sound that sounds both vintage and modern at the same time. Her music is very interesting because it blends together jazz, soul, rhythm and blues, and a touch of reggae as well. I’m so saddened by the fact that she left this earth too soon but we will always remember her through her amazing music and impression that she made on the music industry forever. One of my favorite albums of all time, every song is a 10/10.
May 06 2025 Author
5
Pretty perfect. I don't see anything wrong with emulating the sounds of the 50s and 60s, if that's the music you love. Amy was a gifted songwriter, musically, and, to my mind, her lyrics are timeless, yet also position the songs firmly in the modern era: the trials, temptations and flaws of a 21st century London girl, expressed with authenticity and humour. Credit to the producers on the album for letting her tell her stories relatively simply. I just wish the album didn't make me so sad, at the fact that she died so young. At least she'd been much-lauded in her lifetime.
Feb 20 2025 Author
5
Such a strong album all the way through - great lyrics, powerful voice, unique sound. Love it.
Feb 20 2025 Author
5
Great music. Legendary singer. Tragically missed.
Jan 25 2025 Author
5
i dunno. it's hard to look at something so incredible and great marred by the tragedy of reality. i can't be objective. you can't separate what the songs are about from what ended up hurting her the most; it's what they're about. like, i don't really care whatsoever about British Music Press Squabble, but Amy Winehouse was bigger than NME and The Sun; people cared about her here. even my mom, who relished in celebrity gossip in the days of TMZ on DVR, who saw celebrities as morons with too much money and hypocritical drug habits, was noticeably upset when she died. she wasn't surprised. nobody really was. i guess we all were just hoping she'd pull through. i don't think i hate a single song on Back to Black. it has weak songs, yeah, but they're weak in comparison to the title track, or "You Know I'm No Good" or "Tears Dry on Their Own". it's unfair competition. that's like putting a regular guy who could lift you up above his head and throw you across the gym against, like, a Greek god. you're putting a mortal against an immortal in this instance, but the mortal could probably wipe the floor with any of his fellow Homo sapiens and not even break a sweat. you can't fault a human being for having bones and blood and physical limitations. i don't think there is a single thing wrong with the album. it all works, and everything that doesn't work probably comes down to preference. i LIKE that her voice clips in the production: it makes it sound dirtier, more raw and off-the-cuff. it clashes against the strings and the world's tightest horn section, like flashes of lightning in a swirling, cloudy sky. and even if i didn't like that sound, the songs are there. i think you gotta try to hate Back to Black. like, put the hours in. that's not to say you couldn't have a good reason to hate the thing. you could be a cynic. you could say that it set us up for the brutal musical junta of Meghan Trainor, and that the bawdiness of a British outsider singing swears over one of the most timeless slices of soul in American history borders on sacrilege. however, i don't think she saw it that way. i think she (and Mark Ronson) saw it as a combination of what soul was at the time and what it was when it began. would The Supremes have sung about a lost lover with the words "kept his dick wet / with the same old safe bet" had the culture been more permissive? who knows. i'd like to think that if airplay were no object, we'd have a lot of Motown singles where the gist and/or lyrics of the song are "Berry Gordy, go fuck yourself". Back to Black is a heartbreaker, a love letter, a dirty joke told between drunk friends, and an occasional diary, a message from one person hurting to the millions after. you can't live in the past. but maybe it can keep you warm for a little while.
Jan 05 2025 Author
5
'You made me miss the Slick Rick gig.' This brilliant album (and artist) is a cultural and musical amalgamation you rarely get - a jazz vocalist with r&b perceptiveness laced with footnotes to hip hop. And a voice as seductive and creative as the things she sings about, aspires to. Honest, something special.
Nov 09 2024 Author
5
So fucking beautiful. 🖤
Oct 08 2024 Author
5
Comforting music from someone I believe has gone through the pain. Very touching and catchy.
Sep 04 2024 Author
5
I loved this. I've always liked Motown era/style tunes and this is very similar but with modern production (I can hear the individual drums!). I never paid this much mind when it was released (not metal 👿) but this is going into heavy rotation going forward.
Aug 06 2024 Author
5
Great voice, great lyrics, great tunes. 'Nuff said.
Jan 25 2024 Author
5
I am a big fan of 60s soul and girl groups, so this album really clicked with me as soon as I heard it. Bought it, loved it all the way through. It has a real throwback sound to it, that really appeals to me. Her songwriting is totally within the tradition, and yet has a contemporary directness that makes this far more than a pastiche or homage. It is new, fresh art within the genre. Much has been written about her voice. Her phrasing is exquisite, and there is a lived-in authenticity that you can't fake; you can feel the credibility to every word on this album. It can get pretty dark, and there is a lot of pain there, but the album is also quite fun. It is tragic that the authenticity of this album shows us a person in quite a lot of pain with some really problematic addiction issues, and we know where that eventually led Amy. I was massively upset by the Amy documentary; that poor girl was doomed. Her family was clearly problematic, and her talent attracted people who were supportive but unable to help, or others who were much more exploitative. And that arsehole husband was the nail in the coffin. She turned her life into art, but the success just made things worse, and ultimately was a road she could not turn back. I mourn for Amy Winehouse the human being, and also for all the records she could have produced if she had lived. This one perfect record from Amy Winehouse is a dead-set classic. All killer, no filler. It is a regular in my DJ sets. When friends start collecting vinyl, this is the album I buy for them. Every home should have a copy. Eleventy-million out of five.
Feb 24 2023 Author
5
Absolutely beautiful singing, intricit storytelling, and masterful themes throughout, it really feels like Amy put her whole soul into this project. Such a tragic story, love is a losing game.
Feb 15 2022 Author
5
Obožavam
Dec 02 2021 Author
5
3 - Back to Black (2006) - 9/10 Amy Winehouse Wednesday 1st December 1. Rehab - 9/10 ⭐️ 2. You Know I’m No Good - 9/10 ⭐️ 3. Me & Mr Jones - 8.5/10 4. Just Friends - 8.5/10 5. Back to Black - 9.5/10 ⭐️ 6. Love Is a Losing Game - 8.5/10 7. Tears Dry on their Own - 9.5/10 ⭐️ 8. Wake Up Alone - 8/10 9. Some Unholy War - 8/10 10. He Can Only Hold Her - 8/10 11. Addicted - 7.5/10
Nov 29 2021 Author
5
More like Amy Whine-house, right? Probably should have gone to rehab.
Sep 20 2025 Author
4
Top 30? 🙂‍↔️
Aug 21 2025 Author
4
Such a powerhouse - we lost too soon. Great lead track, so poppy and jazzy for such a sad song. Miss you, Amy!
Apr 23 2025 Author
4
You sometimes forget or take for granted certain songs and how good they actually are because you have heard them to death. Rehab was one, whilst never my favourite track, listening after a few years without hearing it on the radio makes it sound fresh again and an amazing start to the album. Me and Mr Jones is superb but the album really hits a heartbreaking high with Back to Black. Tears Dry on Their Own is incredible. A great listen on a grey, damp Tuesday morning after the Easter break.
Apr 08 2025 Author
4
It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the depth of the loss, of losing Amy Winehouse at just 27 years old. An utterly unique voice coupled with her peerless tribute and updating of ‘60’s style. Some of these songs, like the title song, sound like classics that have always been here. I wish we had more of her.
Aug 27 2023 Author
4
Such a beautiful voice. It's sad to see someone with this much potential to just go how she did. There are so many big hits on this album. I definitely agree that she walked so Adele could run.
Oct 22 2022 Author
4
Torch songs for the Tinder era.
Feb 23 2026 Author
3
My mother-in-law is, in her own words, something of a poetess. Not that I’ve heard her read any of her poetry. Mostly, I understand, she delivers her poems as gifts or tributes on special occasions. I haven’t been the recipient of any such gifts. However, I did once find her notebook after she’d visited. I didn’t open it, but a ragged A5 page fell out and I couldn't help but read. Of course, it is wiser to never engage with a family member’s art, that way you never need to have an opinion on it. But I wasn’t prepared for the inelegant doggerel and tortured syntax, the clunking end-rhymes, and repetitious AAAABBAA scheme. God it was awful. Not only in form, but in content: a self-pitying, fatalistic howl that would surely be cliched if it weren’t so obviously pulled from the hidden core of the author’s soul. This was not long after my father-in-law became terminally ill, so I would have expected poems of sadness, loss, but not such unrepentant bleakness. This poem characterised all life as a waste, the love itself a game that was not worth the candle, and my mother-in-law’s existence completely without value or vitality. Why even try when fate was so completely stacked against you? To play is to lose. It broke my heart to read it. And, even moreso, because it was also bad. That she could find, in her lose, only cliche, not even beneficial platitude or bromide. My poor, beloved mother-in-law. I couldn't write so much as this, if the joke didn’t end up being on me. I’m not that ignorant. The truth is that I still haven’t seen my mother-in-law’s poetry. But I have heard her sing. That’s the party piece that she will break out at any gathering. And she learned her repetoire from hand-written lyrics she jotted down from the recordings. One of these was Love is a Losing Game by Amy Winehouse, a scrawled lyric I mistook for an original poem. Scundered. It is a much better song than a poem and I wouldn’t dare to judge a song by - or solely by - that criteria. Lyrics are, after all, only instructions for performance and Winehouse’s performances are generally terrific. Her lyrics elsewhere are much better. But I can’t help but imagine Mark Ronson’s internal horror at being presented with any of the lyrical ideas on this album. How could one respond professionally and personally to such unvarnished - raw and unsanded even - confessional? Lyrics that have homed in on the dark generalisations of her debut and made them more pointed. This is reportage rather than reflection and the report is from an absolute bombsite of a life. I won’t presume that Ronson prioritised his commerical obligations over a moral responsibility to his collaborator - you can do both and he wasn’t alone, there was a whole industry. And Winehouse, although vulnerable, was a grown adult who would probably want to make the record anyway. Yet it is hard to decide the purpose of the improved, glossier production of Back to Black over Frank: Is it to combat the bleakness in outlook and attitude? The offer of commercial success to draw her away from the edge? Exploitation? Or simply nobody knowing any other way? I don’t know. The pop machine keeps working regardless. When people criticise Neil Patrick Harris for his tasteless Amy Winehouse cake after the singer’s death, surely they must recognise the tastelessness in the Amy Winehouse project fullstop. Is Rehab a great song? Sure. Is it a great idea? Probably not. Would you record with a friend in that scenario? Would you release it and make it public property? Would you make the refusal to seek help her brand? Generally, people make art to express themselves freely. They do not expect it to become a prison. But it can do: one is caught in the financial prison of contractual obligations or the artistic prison of audience expectation. What we find on Back To Black is Amy Winehouse’s inability to use art as a way to escape the things she was feeling. Rather, it hemmed her into them further. We also find the limitations of her producer, Mark Ronson, of commercial success - or commercial-mindedness - to bring freedom. Like Kurt Cobain before her, another member of the 27 Club, fame and fortune made things harder, not easier. It is not love that is the losing game, but success. One should be careful of what feelings you shift from public to private. It cannot be unmade and you cannot go back to black. 3 The cluttered arrangements on Frank lacked a little inspiration so Back to Black saves everyone the trouble by fully embracing procedural pastiche of Motown. The horns and strings are restricted to neat, functional lines and suppressed in the mix. Nothing is free - even Winehouse’s vocal style is dramatically reined in; there are no more jazzy flights of fancy. The longest track here is just over 4 minutes - Frank had several over 5. Originality is out, discipline is in. Behind this slightly depressing regiment, Mark Ronson’s dedication to that one drum filter both unifies and neuters the music. No point in pretending this didn’t work. It isn’t just a question of 20 million albums sold - some of it is genuinely terrific; Rehab and the title track in particular. Virtually all the terrific, no doubt, belongs to Winehouse’s voice and lyrics, but we should credit the tidily uneventful arrangements and mixing at least for leaving her room to be brilliant. This is a rather depressing listen all the same. You can’t help hearing much of it as Amy Winehouse nudging and winking at her impending destruction. The album makes hay out of the problems the woman clearly carried with her but there is no sense of introspection; no catharsis in expression even. There is just a hollowness, underscored by the sign-off with the breezy ‘Addicted’. This is maybe why the most powerful moment - one of the only powerful moments - on the album is the bridge of Back to Black. Winehouse intones the single word like a mantra - lonely, hopeless, nihilistic. Heartbreak and death consciously reduced to a neat logo. Sold. 2.5/5
Apr 16 2025 Author
3
I'm not as into Amy Winehouse as a lot of people seem to be, but I can recognize her obvious talent.
Jan 18 2021 Author
3
Is it good? Who knows? It's sort of like discussing whether Homer's Odyssey is good. Feels a little overproduced, but buried underneath is a pure soul in torment. I've never been a huge fan of throwback music.
Nov 05 2020 Author
3
Never been a Fan of Nirvana. This unplugged record is OK, though.
Nov 11 2025 Author
2
Just sad. Interesting voice. Horribly gimmicky production. What a tragedy of missed opportunity.
Jul 08 2024 Author
2
The well-known songs - Rehab, Back to Black, a couple whose names I never learned - have kept their hooks in my memory, proof of Winehouse’s chops as this is of the aimless movement of movements that mark its era, artists that called back to greats with pantomime. In trying to sound both old and modern, the production has the chintzy artificiality of a badly retouched photo, Vanilla Ice pasted into the Yalta Conference. Back to the Future did it better. Amy Winehouse was smart and witty with a jet plane voice that can still ambush with lines that shiv. Early on she appeared on a kid’s show play-acting in a butchers: “I always wanted to work with meat!” I immediately liked her, though not the music. She was treated disgracefully in ways that were obvious at the time and this record heralds trauma with a vuvuzela.
Jun 18 2024 Author
2
The album vibe is not really for me; favourite track is probably the titular one
Jun 14 2024 Author
2
Never understood the hype. Edgy lyrics & nice voice, Just not for me RIP.
Mar 18 2024 Author
2
I can appreciate that this album was groundbreaking, in a way. And, that Amy Winehouse had a really great voice. I still didn't like this though. It just feels, narcissistic? Manufactured? I cant quite place it, but off, somehow.
Feb 25 2026 Author
5
Good album
Feb 24 2026 Author
5
Pretty solid album. Very similar to her first album. The influence of 60's girl groups like The Supremes are prevalent. I think I like this better than her first album.
Feb 24 2026 Author
5
vinyl day!! this album is a true masterpiece
Feb 24 2026 Author
5
Piano notes, smoky melodies and melancholic belters. Raw, but not sorry for itself.
Feb 24 2026 Author
5
Excelente
Feb 24 2026 Author
5
The genius of this album is how Winehouse embraces the tabloid version of herself with no fucks given and owns it while belting out fully realized songs in her self-assured, brassy voice. Her songs are by turns funny, empowering, tender and heartbreaking, and she has grown since her debut album, which we reviewed earlier. TIL The Dap-Kings were the backing band, which explains how the musical accompaniment is so good, and Mark Ronson’s production is spot-on by keeping things sounding crisp and clean but otherwise leaving it to all the talent on hand. God damn, what a talent she was.
Feb 23 2026 Author
5
Rating probably partially influenced by subsequent events, but this is a stormer
Feb 23 2026 Author
5
Good
Feb 21 2026 Author
5
Powerful album!
Feb 21 2026 Author
5
Perfecto
Feb 21 2026 Author
5
What a voice
Feb 20 2026 Author
5
Best album ever
Feb 20 2026 Author
5
Awesome album, beautiful voice. One of those album you can listen top to bottom without disappointment
Feb 18 2026 Author
5
This album reminds me of having dinner at the cottage with my parents over a nice glass of wine. It was the perfect start for me
Feb 18 2026 Author
5
perfection — I've never actually listened to the entire album, but boy, what a gift!
Feb 17 2026 Author
5
Realized I only really knew half the songs. It’s so good, but makes me sad.
Feb 16 2026 Author
5
It's a favorite.
Feb 14 2026 Author
5
Perfection. As simple as that. Beautiful record. I love it from start to finish with zero skips and no filler whatsoever. Stunning !
Feb 14 2026 Author
5
Forgot how amazing this album was
Feb 13 2026 Author
5
Such a beautiful, beautiful voice. Every song was enjoyable.
Feb 12 2026 Author
5
10/10
Feb 12 2026 Author
5
I’ve cone around to Amy Winehouse. I can’t deny how good her singing is, and I love contralto voices like Fiona Apple.
Feb 12 2026 Author
5
A masterclass in soulful pop. Incredible production paying homage to the peak of Motown without sounding derivative or hokey, raw lyrics that make you feel like the story being told is your own. And Amy's voice, my god her voice is pure buttery delight. I often think about what could have been had she not left us so young. What kind of music would she have graced us with on her follow up to this absolute classic of an album.
Feb 12 2026 Author
5
I always liked her. Great album.
Feb 11 2026 Author
5
Amazing, showstopping, slayed the houseboots down Huston i'm desceased 11/10 all bangers.
Feb 11 2026 Author
5
Perfect album
Feb 10 2026 Author
5
Soul music! Looking at the list I see some songs I already know, some I don't. Hit play, quickly pick up on great singing, good playing, good tunes, great arrangements and production (Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, mmm). Lyrics quite wild! I start reading more widely - oh dear - I knew she had AOD problems, didn't know it was that bad ... That sadness is now hanging over this record for me ... doesn't make the music any worse, but kills my excitement for the "wild vibe" - while leaving the tensions as mesmerising as ever. Went back for extra listens, particularly the songs I found most interesting - some very striking packages of music, lyrics, delivery, eg Tears Dry On Their Own. My appreciation deepens. Some songs are so-so, but overall it's Quite Wonderful, 9/10.
Feb 10 2026 Author
5
One of the most unique and soulful albums of my time. I still remember the first time I saw her sing Rehab. She blew me away.
Feb 10 2026 Author
5
This my 41st album and the first time I've been left genuinely wanting more. (Seriously, only 34 minutes.)
Feb 10 2026 Author
5
Bruuuuv
Feb 10 2026 Author
5
classico
Feb 09 2026 Author
5
I get it now, first time listening and I get it. Especially for the final two tracks, excellent music and an excellent voice
Feb 08 2026 Author
5
That voice!
Feb 08 2026 Author
5
Heard Frank recently because of 1001 and it blew my mind the evolution of Amy from there to this. The music is amazing, the lyrics are profound and Amy's vocal range is beautiful. Going to definitely listen to it again soon.
Feb 07 2026 Author
5
Best album of the decade....possibly
Feb 06 2026 Author
5
Ay bunu diğer albümünden çok daha fazla sevdim zaten bildiğim şarkılar da vardıııo yüzden 555555
Feb 06 2026 Author
5
We have all heard the jokes, but you should really hear the album too.