Much has already been said about the death of Amy Winehouse this weekend at the age of 27, not all of it respectful. What gets lost amongst a lot of this talk is any discussion of the reason we all knew who she was in the first place–that incredible voice she had. Her only mature full-length release, 2006’s Back To Black, was a masterpiece of retro-soul taken to a whole new level by her amazing voice and boldly honest lyrics. There’s no denying that, in the years that followed Back To Black‘s release, she squandered her talent in a haze of drug and alcohol abuse. No doubt even if she’d lived, it would have been as a shadow of her former self. And hey, I can’t ignore the fact that a lot of what made me love Back To Black so much was the way she sang so sweetly about such fucked-up, socially deviant subjects. The contrast was entertainingly risque, and a lot of listeners (including me at times) found it amusing, but clearly it should never have been seen as a laughing matter. Addiction is a disease, and any death at this young an age is a tragedy. But at least we still have her music to remember her by. Rest in peace, Amy.
Much has already been said about the death of Amy Winehouse this weekend at the age of 27, not all of it respectful. What gets lost amongst a lot of this talk is any discussion of the reason we all knew who she was in the first place–that incredible voice she had. Her only mature full-length release, 2006’s Back To Black, was a masterpiece of retro-soul taken to a whole new level by her amazing voice and boldly honest lyrics. There’s no denying that, in the years that followed Back To Black‘s release, she squandered her talent in a haze of drug and alcohol abuse. No doubt even if she’d lived, it would have been as a shadow of her former self. And hey, I can’t ignore the fact that a lot of what made me love Back To Black so much was the way she sang so sweetly about such fucked-up, socially deviant subjects. The contrast was entertainingly risque, and a lot of listeners (including me at times) found it amusing, but clearly it should never have been seen as a laughing matter. Addiction is a disease, and any death at this young an age is a tragedy. But at least we still have her music to remember her by. Rest in peace, Amy.
