Today, September 14, would have been Amy Winehouse’s 42nd birthday, so we figured it would be a wonderful time to celebrate her breathtaking Back To Black album, released in 2006. The LP shifted the singer’s career from being a successful jazz singer to a global pop star, and she brought depth, sincerity, and true artistry to the genre with her.
Winehouse was found dead in her London flat on July 23, 2011, at 27 years old, thus, making her a member of the tragic 27 club, which also includes artists like Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain.
The London-born songstress, who sadly struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, died from accidental alcohol poisoning, crushing those close to her and leaving a Grand Canyon-sized hole in music.
Her songs continue to shine on, though, whether it’s the glorious cuts on her 2003 debut Frank or the beautiful and heartbreaking Back To Black tracks, and the way we see it, these are the best songs on the classic LP.
11
You Know I’m No Good
Look, we would make all the songs on Back To Black number one if we could. Not only because each cut is so remarkably crafted by Winehouse, and her producers, Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, but because they all seem to be connected like scenes in a film, a film that co-stars her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, the songs’ subject.
But we have to start somewhere and the second track on the album, “You Know I’m No Good,” is our first entry, a song where Winehouse tells her mate that she’s trouble, and that she’ll no longer hook up with an ex, a dalliance that she describes as cheating on herself, not just her man.
The body-moving baseline sounds like it was lifted from your parents’ vinyl collection, and Winehouse’s descriptive storytelling makes the cut a standout in an LP full of standouts, whether it’s the version with Ghostface Killah or the one without him.
10
He Can Only Hold Her
Winehouse uses third person writing in this horn-heavy gem to describe a woman, presumably herself, who’s wrecked emotionally from a past relationship, despite her mate trying to heal her.
“He can only hold her for so long / The lights are on but no one’s home / She’s so vacant, her soul is taken / He thinks, ‘What’s she running from,'” she sings.
Ronson handled production duties, as did John Harrison, who took legal action after not being given co-production credit. Harrison stated that he wrote the song with Winehouse before Ronson got involved and added his touches.
9
Some Unholy War
Winehouse sings about supporting her partner on “Some Unholy War,” saying that she’ll help him deal with a steep, uphill challenge.
Now, whether the unholy war that’s being fought has to do with the singer’s romantic relationship or another struggle isn’t laid out exactly, but what is apparent is Remi’s talent for sound layering, as he stacks angelic-sounding backup singers over a muddy baseline, while still giving Winehouse enough space to showcase her often imitated vocal delivery.
8
Wake Up Alone
A fight takes place in “Wake Up Alone.” In one corner of the ring is Winehouse and in the other, impending night, as she sings about being able to avoid painful thoughts in the day, but struggles after the sun drops, and she goes to bed.
Her mate, who’s estranged, eventually enters her dreams and floods her head with dread, before she wakes up to the opposite side of the bed being empty.
Winehouse certainly pulls back the emotional curtain all throughout Back To Black, but “Wake Up Alone” has a bloody rawness that stands out due to Ronson creating the proper tempo for Winehouse to detail her nightly solitude.
7
Tears Dry On Their Own
On “Tears Dry On Their Own,” Winehouse comes to a realization about her difficult relationship, describing it as darkness but admits that she can’t escape it. But she eventually finds her way out after her man walks away and leaves her to cope with the emotional aftermath.
Later, however, she seems to realize the relationship never stood a chance, and that new-found truth helped evaporate her tears like the sun does a dew-soaked lawn.
Remi contrasted the somewhat heavy lyrics with danceable backing music, while borrowing elements from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s 1967 cut “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” written by Ashford & Simpson, which might explain the warm, familiar sound.
6
Addicted
Winehouse suspended the seriousness on “Addicted” and had a little fun, while describing her annoyance about someone trying to smoke all her weed. That someone is one of her friends’ boyfriends, which she talked about on stage.
“You are like sisters, your best friend, you could be sisters,” Winehouse described. “When her man, whoever the f–k he is, when her man comes to my house, like yeah, ‘Do you have something I can roll with?'”
“No I f—ing don’t have anything you can roll with,” she went on. “It’s about my girl’s boyfriend coming around thinking he can smoke my weed when he really, really, really can’t.”
Clearly, the drumming, handled by Troy Auxilly-Wilson, drives the song straight into head-nodding territory, and he was somehow able to create a melodic snare drum.
5
Me & Mr Jones
The title is a play on Billy Paul’s 1972 hit “Me and Mrs. Jones.” However, Winehouse’s song is about Nas, real name Nasir Jones, who, like the singer, worked closely with Remi.
In fact, the lyrics “Mr. Destiny, 9 and 14” references her shared birthday with Nas, something the legendary rapper discussed in a 2011 interview, explaining that he heard a lot about the song before it was released.
Winehouse sings about her man making her miss a Slick Rick concert in the cut, and she’s determined not to let the same thing happen when Nas comes to town.
What’s brilliant about “Me & Mr. Jones” and Winehouse’s songwriting, is that she doesn’t just document her big relationship issues but also the smaller frustrations she dealt with.
4
Just Friends
Exasperation and uncertainty underlie this cut, driven by a pulsating alto sackbut, as Winehouse sings about her failed attempts to leave her romantic relationship. It could be said that “Just Friends” is the most relatable song on the LP, since it’s common for couples to remain in their relational dysfunction.
Winehouse differentiates herself from her lover on the track as well by acknowledging that she doesn’t harbor guilt over their affair, but he does, and she thinks it’ll eventually kill him.
Oftentimes, Winehouse’s singing stands front and center of the praise she receives, which makes perfect sense, but a bigger spotlight should be placed on her lyrical ability.
3
Rehab
It seems that a lot of people consider “Rehab” Winehouse’s signature song, since it encapsulates her image of rebellion and autonomy. On it, she sings about her refusal to head to a rehab facility after getting stern advice from her management team.
The gone-way-too-soon singer details a time in her life when a bad breakup led to excessive drinking, and since she stopped making music during that period, her handlers staged an intervention of sorts. It was a move that Winehouse didn’t care for, since she believed that her drinking was fueled by her relationship woes, and she’d eventually change course.
Meanwhile, Ronson created one of the most powerful-sounding tracks on “Rehab” to showcase Winehouse’s self-will.
2
Love Is A Losing Game
“Love is A Losing Game” could be called the album’s best written song, as Winehouse analogizes love with gambling, which is nothing short of brilliant. She also provides a fresh perspective on the overwritten topic of heartbreak, something that isn’t easy to do.
“Played out by the band / Love is a losing hand / More than I could stand / Love is a losing hand / Self-professed profound / ‘Til the chips were down / Know you’re a gambling man / Love is a losing hand,” she sings.
One person who adored the song was Prince, who covered it on stage and joined Winehouse in a dual performance. It’s not every day that a person who’s called one of the greatest musicians ever adopts someone else’s song for his setlist, another sign of how extraordinary the cut is.
