quote:

Originally posted by munch:

On vinyl, Munch?Yes on the black stuff.
Munch.

Of course. Silly question. Sorry Munch.

quote:

Originally posted by JamieWednesday:
I have the U.S. LP - I think no better really although only had chance to give it a brief go and there's a really crap re-mix crappy piece of crap stuck on the end of S2 - I'll bring it along in March if you like and compare to CD?

I have had the cd since it came out.
Wanted to try the vinyl.
As long as i dont have to see amy live because she has no stage pres, at all.Her band are good but the three times i have seen her live on tv.
Big big big let down.
It is a very good album.And a lot of that is down to Mark Ronson IMO.
Munch

quote:

Originally posted by munch:
[As long as i dont have to see amy live because she has no stage pres, at all

Probably because she's, ahem, somewhere else most of the time!

I think even if she was not off her head on drugs booze or what ever.She would still not have it, what ever it is.
You have it or you dont and IMO she does not.
Its a shame.
I have seen loads of live acts over the years,and some have been in space or just out of it, but still have that thing.That makes a live performer great.
Munch

If she keeps blazing away on that pipe she wont even be left with a voice for long either.

quote:

If she keeps blazing away on that pipe she wont even be left with a voice for long either.

She always sounds like she's just smoked a packet of Craven 'A' anyway, or is that just added distortion on the production?

Would any of our heroes be any different today? Hendrix, the stones, clapton... Could they have avoided temptation or would they have just been using for artistic experimentation?

ATB

KK

I first came across Amy Winehouse when she was on the Jonothan Ross show singing Back to Black. My wife and I just gaped in astonishment, not only was the song special (and familiar since it is kind of melody which was more often heard in the 60's or before) also she is such a great raw talented singer, I bought the album and was amazed to find out that she wrote most of her own songs. She is one serious talent. Also her songs have a lot of continental melody with underlining of sympatico which I suspect will go down very well in Europe.

I have this fear that if she came of her drugs, booze and whatever her talent may go, this is bad of me and selfish. It reminds me of Shane McGowan of the Progues who also has written fantastic songs, who admitted pubicly that he was at the time a heavy drinker and his best written songs were written while under the influence of alcohol...

quote:

Originally posted by Romi:
I first came across Amy Winehouse when she was on the Jonothan Ross show singing Back to Black. My wife and I just gaped in astonishment, not only was the song special (and familiar since it is kind of melody which was more often heard in the 60's or before) also she is such a great raw talented singer, I bought the album and was amazed to find out that she wrote most of her own songs. She is one serious talent. Also her songs have a lot of continental melody with underlining of sympatico which I suspect will go down very well in Europe.

I have this fear that if she came of her drugs, booze and whatever her talent may go, this is bad of me and selfish. It reminds me of Shane McGowan of the Progues who also has written fantastic songs, who admitted pubicly that he was at the time a heavy drinker and his best written songs were written while under the influence of alcohol...

I agree with the first paragraph but not convinced that if she went on the wagon she would deteriorate, I think Live she would improve (not hard from many accounts). Agree with MUNCH that mark Ronson had a major hand in Amy's success.



Regards

Diccus

Oh well, you got me! I've heard hundreds of stories about her but never a single song, mind you. Until today and the reading of this topic. So, I went to my local music shop and bought the damn thing! This is not bad at all. will need a few more listens because I'm not used to this kind of music at all. Sounds a bit happy to me

Nothing wrong with a bit Happy

I have seen her live twice and have to say that whilst she may have been out of her box most of the time, there were a couple of occasions where the hair on the back of my neck was quite literally standing up. When she gets it right it is phenomenal. There are so few artists where you can experience this and it saddens me that she may not be able to prolong her career. She has an incredibly tight band and in many respects they have justified the price of admission on their own.

The recorded stuff is OK, but live when she gets it right she can blow you away. I appreciate she may not be everyone's cup of tea and she does herself no favours with her behaviour but she does have the pipes.

I put this in the context of Cecilia Bartoli who can sound sublime on disc but can be quite average in a large auditorium. I have really felt like asking for my money back when seeing her, whereas with Amy there was a sense that however broken things were you were witnessing something special. Nigel Kennedy is the only other performing artist I have seen that can move so quickly from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Huw

munch: I'll need to consider this in my future purchases

Huwge: what do you think of her live performance at the Grammy stuff, compared to your live experiences? I just watched it on youtube. Horrible quality of course, but damn... this sounded so right, music, voice, what a voice... I felt like singing was the most natural thing she could do.

I didn't see the Grammy performance, so can't say.

For those people who think it's all down to Ronson, maybe for the recorded material, but he isn't the one on the stage nor ever is he likely to be.

fair point

It is interesting to see performers live and what's in the studio. At the Grammys I was not impressed with the acts that had the pyrotechnics and large dance forces and choreography. It was nice to see Amy on a small cabaret stage.

Performers have off nights and startling recoveries. One friend I go to the opera with has seen every big act since the 40s, he's 86 now. He said there's no correlation between recordings and stage. Stage work is very special, that's why so many movie actors love to get on the boards to make themselves better. Hepburn did it during a down turn in her career, she admitted she had a lot to learn and nothing like a live audience to get immediate feedback.

Billie Holiday is certainly someone to consider. The drugs and booze got the better of her, but she sang her heart out till the end.

glenn, i started an amy thread a few months ago, but very few takers (rotf did sign in to say he hated her). all the personal stuff has to be put in perspective, that fact is she has musicianship and a voice, and more - a classic old school r&b sense. i ordered the vinyl too. best, artie

quote:

rotf did sign in to say he hated her

Hi Artie

Did I say that -- oh well, I don't hate anybody really (excluding whoever burgled my house in 1989)

Still it is not my kind of music, but then I don't like Tony Orlando that much so I guess there's no hope for me.

Rotf

hey rotf, no you didn't say "hate," that was my shorthand for what appeared to be a strong aversion on your part! i would have said that i liked all music, but now that you present the tony olando parallax, i may have to retreat from that blanket statement ... and then there's certain "heavy polka" (you know, the kind w/ a lot of reverb and really badly recorded) .... best, artie

Late night on public TV one night I saw a coming of age story in late 50s or early 60s, the guy was in love with an exotic "Polish" girl. He was invited to a family party where it was major polka time. Of course it gets nightmarish with old aunts snearing or tweeking his cheeks and the disco lights and reverbed music and her brother wanting to beat him up. It was too funny, but the music made it a major hallucination with the lights.