Second studio album by the late singer. The album was co-produced by her close friend Mark Ronson and features the singles 'Rehab', 'You Know I'm No Good', 'Back to Black', 'Tears Dry On Their Own' and 'Love Is a Losing Game'.  Amy Winehouse's second album, Back to Black, is one of the finest soul albums, British or otherwise, to come out for years. Frank, her first album, was a sparse and stripped-down affair; Back to Black, meanwhile, is neither of these things. This time around, she's taken her inspiration from some of the classic 1960's girl groups like the Supremes and the Shangri-Las, a sound particularly suited to her textured vocal delivery, while adding a contemporary songwriting sensibility. With the help of producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, "Rehab" becomes a gospel-tinged stomp, while the title track (and album highlight) is a heartbreaking musical tribute to Phil Spector, with it's echoey bass drum, rhythmic piano, chimes, saxophone and close harmonies. Best of all, though, is the fact that Back to Black bucks the current trend in R&B by being unabashedly grown-up in both style and content. Winehouse's lyrics deal with relationships from a grown-up perspective, and are honest, direct and, often, complicated: on "You Know I'm No Good", she's unapologetic about her unfaithfulness. But she can also be witty, as on "Me & Mrs Jones" when she berates a boyfriend with "You made me miss the Slick Rick gig". Back to Black is a refreshingly mature soul album, the best of its kind for years. --Ted Kord Review There are two clear traditions of ‘diva’ in soul music. On one side there’s Diana Ross – and her natural heir, Beyonce – all immaculate polish and surface. And on the other there are the likes of Etta James – a woman whose music reeks of desire and emotion. It’s to this ‘Dark Soul’ tradition that Amy Winehouse aspires - she’s certainly got the voice for it. And the music. The much praised opening track, “Rehab”, comes across like an obscure northern soul gem, riddled with pathos and melodrama. In fact none of the music here sounds like it was made after 1967. Much of the rest of this pleasingly short album - eleven three-minute or so tracks – goes on to explore the joyful misery of being young, messy and in love/lust. And Amy doesn’t paint a particularly pretty picture of herself; she plays the cuckold on “Just Friends”, and gets caught out by her ‘lickle carpet burns’ on the fabulous “I’m No Good”. But hey, she suffers for her sins. The title track, owing much to the sonic heritage of Phil Spector and Scott Walker, is a tortured monster of a track - Amy displaying the sort of vocal depth that Marc Almond has always dreamed of. The second half of the album isn’t quite as good as the first, but that’s a minor gripe. One of the best UK albums of the year, with the added advantage that you'll be able to pick it up at the local supermarket checkout... --Matt Harvey This link will take you off  in a new window