FEATURE:
Second Spin
Amy Winehouse - Frank
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I often wonder what…
IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Winehouse photographed by Phil Knott 2003
Amy Winehouse would be doing if she was still with us. It is so sad that the world lost her in 2011, but I think she would have a few things to say about the current lockdown and what is happening in the world. Although she released two studio albums, her legacy and impact are huge. So many artists today count Winehouse as an idol, and I do not think the music world has seen anything like her since. Winehouse’s 2006 breakthrough, Back to Black, is considered a masterpiece, and it is her most-successful album. There is a planned biopic coming very soon, and it will be interesting to see how she is portrayed on the screen. It is great that Back to Black has won so much acclaim, but I do think many people overlook her debut, Frank. It did collect some good reviews in 2003, but I think a lot of people thought that Winehouse was too close in sound to singers like Ella Fitzgerald, and that there were few standout songs on that album. Winehouse began writing music at the age of fifteen, but she worked in a few different jobs before getting her break in music – including entertainment journalism and singing with a local group, Bolsha Band. Camden’s most-famous daughter’s distinct and powerful voice is one that arrests and stuns to this day. Counting artists like Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington as influences, I can only imagine the younger Amy Winehouse listening to these Jazz greats at home. Of course, she would have been listening to contemporary music and classics bands, but I think it is these iconic female artists who made the biggest impression on her.
Eventually, Winehouse was signed to Simon Fuller’s 19 Management in 2002, but they were not allowed to let their prodigy out of the bag yet. One of the people who was struck by Winehouse was Darcus Besse. He was A&R at Island Records – who Winehouse would sign with -, and it took several months of persistence of asking around before Besse was able to connect with Winehouse – Winehouse had already signed a publishing deal with EMI, so there was competition and a lot of fascination aimed at her. One of the key figures in Frank is Salaam Remi. The two formed a close working relationship, and they would continue that partnership for Back to Black. Remi co-writes and produces several songs on Frank, but I think one of the problems with the album is that there are quite a few people in the mix. Frank was recorded at several studios in the U.S. and U.K., and there is quite a cast of writers and producers on the album. One might not think that unusual as, if you look at so many Hip-Hop and R&B albums from big stars like Beyoncé and Drake, and you wonder how much input the artist had in any song! On Back to Black, Winehouse took greater charge as a songwriter, and there are fewer cooks in the kitchen. I think it is the increased confidence, more personal nature of Back to Black and the fact Winehouse proved herself on Frank that means her second album is more cohesive, resonant and stunning.
I feel some people look at Frank as a scrappy-yet-promising debut, and one where Winehouse was finding her voice and making her way. It was necessary for there to be quite a few producers and writers on Frank, as Winehouse, prior to Frank, was largely singing covers, and she would not necessarily have had that many original tracks formed before signing her record deal. I think the pressures of fame and the pains of love was a big influence for Back to Black, whereas Winehouse was lesser-known prior to Frank, and she was writing from a different perspective. I do not think that Frank is Winehouse mimicking her heroes and showcasing her voice – on songs that are quite lightweight -, as that would be doing her a disservice. Frank has gained new respect and depth in the years after Winehouse’s death, but I can remember the excitement of hearing Frank in 2003. I love the album’s cover, as we see a radiant and fresh-faced Winehouse let loose – whereas Back to Black finds her sat down with a glum and serious look on her face. I am not going to get into the way the tabloids hounded her and the problems Winehouse experienced, but to see her in those early days perform and look so excited is bittersweet. With greater attention, she would feel the pressure and it is so tragic the way things worked out. I love Frank, as it is Winehouse coming through; before all the tabloid s*it (or most of it) and the addiction issues.
IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Winehouse photographed by Hamish Brown for Harpers & Queen Magazine in 2003
Although Back to Black is a masterpiece and one of the most affecting albums ever, I do reckon Frank has more than its fair share of diamonds that means, seventeen years after its release, it is fit for reappraisal. I will pick my highlights, but I wanted to bring in one of the positive reviews for Frank. This is AllMusic’s take on Amy Winehouse extraordinary debut:
“If a series of unfortunate comparisons (like the ones to follow) cause listeners to equate British vocalist Amy Winehouse with Macy Gray, it's only natural. Both come on like a hybrid of Billie Holiday and Lauryn Hill who's had a tipple and then attempted one more late-night set at a supper club than they should have. Despite her boozy persona and loose-limbed delivery, though, Winehouse is an excellent vocalist possessing both power and subtlety, the latter an increasingly rare commodity among contemporary female vocalists (whether jazz or R&B). What lifts her above Macy Gray is the fact that her music and her career haven't been marketed within an inch of their life. Instead of Gray's stale studio accompaniments, Winehouse has talented musicians playing loose charts behind her with room for a few solos. Instead of a series of vocal mellifluities programmed to digital perfection, Winehouse's record has the feeling of being allowed to grow on its own -- without being meddled with and fussed over (and losing its soul in the process).
Simply hearing Winehouse vamp for a few minutes over some Brazilian guitar lines on "You Sent Me Flying" is a rare and immense pleasure. Also, like Nellie McKay (but unlike nearly all of her contemporaries), Winehouse songs like "Fuck Me Pumps," "Take the Box," and "I Heard Love Is Blind" cast a cool, critical gaze over the music scene, over the dating scene, and even over the singer herself. With "In My Bed," she even proves she can do a commercial R&B production, and a club version of "Moody's Mood for Love" not only solidifies her jazz credentials but proves she can survive in the age of Massive Attack”.
Stronger Than Me is a wonderful opener, and I am surprised it did not do better in the U.K. singles chart – it only got to number seventy-one. It is one of Winehouse’s best songs, and I love how naked and raw it is. In My Bed, and Take the Box are wonderful tracks, and the penultimate number, Help Yourself, is another cracker! I do not think there is any filler on the album, and there is a lot of lyrical, musical and vocal diversity across Frank. The album has enough personality and unique perspective to make it far stronger than many suggest, and Frank has taken on new life and meaning, given the way Winehouse would explode into the public consciousness soon enough. It is disappointing that there were so many mixed reviews.
Many people felt the same: a few great cuts and brilliant vocals, but not a lot to rival the best albums of 2003. I feel there was a perception that Winehouse was promising and would come into her own a few albums down the line – the fact that she managed to do that on her second album is quite a leap! This is what Pitchfork wrote in their review of 2007 (perhaps comparing it unfavourably against Back to Black, rather than reviewing it on its own terms when it was fresh in 2003):
“Winehouse has a hell of a voice, even when she imitates her favorite jazz vocalists-- especially Billie Holiday-- much too closely. (Just in case anybody misses the idea that she's supposed to be a jazz singer who's somehow stumbled into a neo-soul record, Frank begins with a little fragment of Winehouse scat-singing, and the chorus of "October Song" doesn't just namedrop Sarah Vaughan but lifts its melody from "Lullaby of Birdland".) None of her songs here are as indelible as "Rehab" or as cutting as "You Know I'm No Good"-- and the best are co-written with Nas and Fugees collaborator Salaam Remi-- but you can hear the development of the high-powered songwriter she turned into on Back to Black in the snarky character sketch "F*** Me Pumps" and in the way the sharp-nailed ballad "You Sent Me Flying" breaks into a Soul II Soul beat halfway through.
And although she hasn't quite nailed the 1972 vibe of her later record (despite some corny vintage-vinyl sound effects), a couple of her stylistic experiments pay off, especially the high-drama soul loop that underpins "In My Bed".
I strongly feel Frank warrants fresh inspection, and if one listens to the album in full, they will get a lot from it. There are those standout hits, but even the ‘lesser’ tracks have real weight and depth. Winehouse would go on to better with Back to Black, but Frank is more than a promising debut. It is a wonderful album that sound epic on vinyl, and it definitely connected with a lot of upcoming artists at the time – many of whom cite Frank as a key album. I know it is dangerous to think what kind of music Winehouse would be making were she still alive, and just what she would be doing right now. After the exceptional debut, and the majestic Back to Black, it is evitable that we all wonder…
WHAT could have been.