The 500 - #451 - Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan (amended). 

• 1 record per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation of diverse forms of music.

Album # 451

Album Title: Back to Black
Artist: Amy Winehouse
Released: October, 2006
My age at release: 41
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Back to Black (Suggested by James Spangenberg)
Great Lyric:
"This face in my dreams seizes my guts
He floods me with dread
Soaked in soul
He swims in my eyes by the bed
Pour myself over him 
Moon spilling in
And I wake up alone" (Wake Up Alone)

Even before she died in July, 2011 at the age of 27, it always felt as if the extraordinary talent of Amy Winehouse was a temporary phenomenon. She just seemed to have accidentally landed among us from another time or place and, soon enough, the universe would correct its mistake. Everything about her was undeniable. Her vocal talent and gift for songwriting were impossible to ignore and her style was both a classic fashion throwback and uniquely her own.  

In the early 2000s, I was working part-time as a bartender in a bistro restaurant called Garlic's in London, Ontario. A server named Aaron was responsible for providing dinner music. Regularly, he would arrive with new compact discs on which he had mixed a collection of jazz, blues, soul and world music. These discs would be shuffled throughout the evening on the restaurant's 4 CD carousel player. Aaron's taste, like mine, was eclectic and the diverse sounds he blended for the diners, and the staff, were a constant, refreshing surprise. Often, in the middle of a frantic shift, while shaking cosmopolitans, brewing espressos and pouring glasses of red wine, a melody would hook me. The song In My Bed from the 2003 debut album Frank by Winehouse was one of those tracks.

That night, as we were winding down, the song replayed. 

"Who is this?" I asked Aaron, "it sounds like Shirley Bassey"

"It's Amy Winehouse", he replied with a smile, clearly thrilled that I had noticed the song. "She's current...20 year's old...from England. You've got to check out the whole album. It's incredible." 

I did and became a fan immediately. When I saw that her second, and final album, Back to Black, was on this list I was thrilled to explore her work further. 

My good friend James Spagenberg (who also used to be a bartender at Garlics) picked the song for "The 500" Playlist I've been creating on Spotify. He selected the title track Back to Black because "it simply gets better with every listen." I agree. He owns it on vinyl and when I visit I love hearing Side One on his high-end turntable. Back to Black is a song that captures perfectly the heartache that fueled the intense talent of Amy Winehouse and propelled her toward an early death. 

Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011. The news was tragic, but not surprising. Her struggles with mental health and substance abuse were well documented. 

She became another unfortunate member of the 27 Club, a group of musicians, actors and performers who died at the age of 27. They include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison. These were artists who revolutionized their genre and left an indelible legacy. Generational talents, such as Winehouse, that seemed to have magically wandered among us for a brief, beautiful moment - before the universe realizes its mistake.

Next: I reflect on the First 50 Posts