Amy Winehouse is one of those artists that I wish I had paid more attention to. Now that she’s gone everyone that was ever aware of her has gone back and taken a deeper listen to the singer’s body of work and arrived at the same conclusion that I have. Not that it matters because what’s done is done and as the cliché goes, her music will live on.
Since her death there has been much rumor, anticipation and questions about the tracks she had been working on for her third album. The answers may or may not come on December 5th when “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” is released through Island Records. I’m guessing that sales are going to be through the roof for this posthumous recording because the real fans can’t wait and the curiosity seekers are, well, curious. If you can bank on anything in this shaky world economy, you can bank
on this disk going platinum at least once.
“Lioness” will contain a mix of new music, unreleased tracks and different takes on songs from her first two recordings. There are 12 tracks in all and according to the latest post on her website, www.amywinehouse.com the album “proves a fitting tribute to the artist, the talent and the woman and serve’s as a reminder of Amy’s extraordinary powers as a songwriters, a singer and an interpreter of classics.”
The full tracklisting is as follows:
“Our Day Will Come (Reggae Version)” – reggae re-working of classic 60’s doo wop song produced by Salaam Remi. Recorded May 2002.
“Between The Cheats” – new Amy composition recorded in London in May 2008 for potential inclusion on album three produced by Salaam Remi.
“Tears Dry” – originally written by Amy as a ballad, this is the original version she recorded in November 2005 in Miami with Salaam. The later uptempo version appears on “Back To Black”.
“Wake Up Alone” – the first song recorded for the “Back To Black” sessions. This is the one-take demo recorded in March 2006 by Paul O’Duffy.
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” – Amy’s beautiful reading of the Carole King written Shirelles classic. Produced by Mark Ronson and featuring the Dap Kings with string arrangements by Chris Elliott who did all the strings for Mark’s tracks on “Back To Black”. Recorded in September 2004.
“Valerie” – one of Amy’s jukebox favourites. This is the original slower tempo version of the Mark Ronson produced post “Back To Black” single. Recorded in December 2006.
“Like Smoke” featuring NAS – Amy and Nas became really good friends after Amy name checked the New York rapper on “Back To Black’s” “Me & Mr Jones”. “Like Smoke” is finally Amy doing a song with one of her favourite artists. Produced by Salaam Remi. Recorded in May 2008.
“The Girl From Ipanema” – the first song the 18 year old Amy sang when she first went to Miami to record with Salaam. Salaam remarked that “the way she re-interpreted this bossa nova classic made me realise that I was dealing with a very special talent. Her approach to the song was so young and fresh, it really inspired the rest of our sessions.” Recorded in May 2002.
“Halftime” – Amy had talked to Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson of the Roots about working together. “Halftime” is a song that Amy and Salaam had worked on since the Frank sessions. The result is beautiful. Recorded in August 2002.
“Best Friends” – “Frank” era live set opener produced by Salaam Remi. Probably the first song that early Amy fans would have heard live. Recorded in February 2003.
“Body & Soul” with Tony Bennett – cover of 30’s jazz standard with hero Tony Bennett. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios London in March 2011 and produced by Phil Ramone. Amy’s final studio recording.
“A Song For You” – heartbreaking and emotional version of the Leon Russell classic made famous by Donny Hathaway. Hathaway was Amy’s all-time favourite artist and the song was recorded in one take, just Amy and her guitar, at her home in London during the spring of 2009 as she battled her demons. Produced by Salaam Remi.
