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As you may know, the British blue-eyed soul tradition fascinates me, mostly because it's a re-interpretation of a foreign culture. Perhaps that's both a blessing and a curse: white British soul singers have historically embraced soul music as
their own, not viewing it as a "black thing," as many Yanks would. However, unlike American soul singers, they often lack access to the rich
black culture that fostered said tradition, and their soul can seem second-hand.
There's nothing second-hand about
Amy Winehouse. Like Mick Hucknall or Paul Weller, she gets R&B, and thus, she can use it to
her own ends. Jon Pareles, my favorite New York Times critic, talks about Amy's "soul pose" in his review of her recent New York gig.
Ms. Winehouse is English, and British soul singing has always been at least once removed from its
African-American sources. It doesn't have the foundation that American singers often get by singing in church, since British
singers are more likely to learn soul style from their record collections.
He continues:
Ms. Winehouse has grown up on hip-hop's version of R&B, which chops the old dramatic arcs of soul and gospel into
sound-bite hooks and showy, almost randomly applied slides and turns. Her voice glints with possibility: tart, smoky, ready
to flirt or sob, and capable of the jazzy timing of a Dinah Washington or the declamation of soul singers like
Martha Reeves and Carla Thomas. What she doesn't have, and may not want, is the kind of focus the older singers
brought to their songs. Onstage Ms. Winehouse added a British layer of detachment with a performance that switched between
confession and indifference.
I think Pareles nails Winehouse here: as much as she suggests Motown and jazz, she's very much of the hip-hop generation.
Lauryn Hill comparisons are apt, but I think Amy's real forebear is Mary J. Blige.
Winehouse is a more technically refined singer and lacks Mary's tear-down-the-mountains emotionalism, but Back To
Black owes a great debt to Ms. Blige's work, her 1994 album My Life, in particular. Like Mary did with "My Life"
and "All Night Long," Amy re-interprets soul classics (like "Mr. & Mr. Jones") to explore her own emotions. It's not a
coincidence that, in "Tears Dry On Their Own," Amy samples the same Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell classic, "You're
All I Need To Get By," that Blige remade with Method Man. It's also no wonder that Winehouse is also being
sought-after as a hip-hop collaborator, just like Mary.
I think Amy's fabulous, and Prince obviously does, too. Amy's psyched that Mr. Rogers Nelson wants to duet with her: "I'll drop everything to do that. Stuff
like that doesn't make me go, 'Oh I must be the nuts.' Stuff like that makes me want to do this tomorrow, and the night
after, and the night after. Now I want to find out how solid that is. I'd do it with bells on. All day long." Who in their
right mind wouldn't?
You will also be pleased to learn that Amy received four nominations from the MOJO Awards, according to The
Times:
Song Of The Year
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Arctic Monkeys - "Brianstorm"
The Gossip - "Standing In The Way Of Control"
Guillemots - "Made Up Love Song No 43"
The View - "Same Jeans"
Best Album
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
The Good, The Bad, And The Queen - The Good The Bad And The Queen
Grinderman - Grinderman
Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther
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Love your blog, and generally agree with your take. However, can't agree that Amy owes a debt to Mary. Mary's great, but Amy's style is totally different. She's got an irony and a diffidence that Mary just can't pull off. I think the reason we all love Amy is that she's totally her own lady-- no doubt a reason Prince also loves her. And another reason why I love Prince. So bummed he's doing THREE weeks in London and not NY!