*Burn Cut of the Month

Strut On: Amy Winehouse

Lioness: Hidden Treasures (2011)

 By C. Reid

 Lioness: Hidden Treasures is a myriad of outtakes compiled together by Island Records that showcase the final efforts of Amy Winehouse.  Winehouse grappled personal addictions and legal entanglements over the years after the enormous success of Back to Black released in 2006.  The five-time Grammy  Award-winning songstress could do no wrong on wax and many expected her career would blossom into other branches of the industry, i.e cinema.  Her untimely demise last July, vanquished a promising light in a field of unidentifiable entertainers.  Winehouse had a sound and an irrepressible    style (Ronettesque beehive and 50s garb) that set her apart from her contemporaries in a marked fashion.  Simply put, she had an unconventional image that was qualified with a soulful, gut-wrenching voice.  She was miles more than a gimmick strutting in platform heels— rather the Real McCoy live—front and center.

Lioness: Hidden Treasures bears a few, rehashed cuts—“Wake Up Alone” and “Tears Dry on their Own”—from Back to Black and relies on covers (“The Girl from Impanema” and “Our Day Will Come”) to satiate Winehouse Stans eager for more from their beloved chanteuse.  Once again, producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson provide an intriguing blend of in-the-pocket bass lines against seductive horns that pair smoothly with lush background vocals reminiscent of the Motown “Wall of Sound.”

The duet on “Body and Soul” showcases Tony Bennett’s smooth baritone which pairs well with Winehouse’s soulful phrasings on this much-anticipated ballad.  Winehouse holds her own and purrs a primal, sass-filled delivery that is comparable to the late, iconic Billie Holiday.  Bennett leads throughout the measures and Winehouse lays back, retorting slyly with verve that does not miss a beat.  One does miss the power of the Winehouse of old and this absence creates a solemn rendering, rather than a celebration of a cross-generational performance.  However, this ballad is addictive and one will be drawn to replay it over again.

The mercurial highlights are “Between the Cheats” and “Half Time” which are standouts in this diverse collection.  The producers have to be heralded in how they are able to create a retro sound, but add contemporary elements to the track, “Between the Cheats.”  The track incorporates backing vocals that one would find on any of Nat King Cole’s familiar ballads (i.e.“Get Out and Get Under the Moon”), but it is blaringly inventive: unlike anything churning on the airwaves.

Moreover, the backing vocals move center stage and then dissipate for Winehouse’s leads.  One thinks of one of the many cruising scenes in  American Graffiti as the track unfolds, and it creates a reversion in time      that is identifiable for younger generations.  “Half Time” is Winehouse at her best, and she reaches inside, crushing your doubt under heel.  The track has    a quiet power that lulls the listener—as if Winehouse is singing only to you.     The execution of this track is brilliant and will only increase her growing, iconic status.

One can only wonder the heights Winehouse would have scaled, if she had been granted more years.  Thankfully, her body of work lives on and will recapture her inordinate talents for perpetuity.~