Amy's Legacy

You're wondering now, what to do, now you know this is the end
You're wondering how, you will pay, for the way you misbehaved
Curtain has fallen, now you're on your own
I won't return, forever you will wait

Of course there are a great number of Amy Winehouse songs that one can relate to the circumstances surrounding her life and her death. After all, the very talented singer/songwriter penned most of her own stuff and much if not all of the material came from experiences in her own life. The lyrics above are from a song called "You're Wondering Now" and they sum up the ending to her tragic story perfectly.

I don't think that many people were surprised by what happened to Amy Winehouse. Everyone knew that she battled addictions to both drugs and alcohol, and that even recently her demons were tormenting her talented yet troubled soul. Though her death was not entirely unexpected, it's still very sad to know that we will be deprived of what might have been, as it was with so many other talents whose time on Earth was also tragically cut short.

Fans of Amy Winehouse can at least take solace in the legacy that she left behind. During her short career, she provided us with the fruits of her gift: a small, albeit classic collection of songs. As we mourn her loss, we also should celebrate the music of this tragic and talented figure, music that will forever be etched in our minds.

I cheated myself,
Like I knew I would,
I told you I was trouble,
You know that I'm no good

"You Know I'm No Good" is one of my favorite Amy Winehouse tunes. It exemplified what was so special about her and her music, a unique and fresh blend of the old and the new, a little soul, a little torch, and a lot of rhythm and blues. Though the majority of music fans know her from her biggest hit and most ironically representative song, "Rehab," there is so much more to Amy Winehouse's music than the ordinary fan might know.

Of course, it was that song which first got me to buy her genius breakthrough album "Back to Black," but I soon learned that there was much more from this singer than just that fun, yet silly, tune. "Back to Black" plays like a modern version of a 1960's R&B record, with plenty of vintage beats and melodies, and lots of heartache. Just take a look at these lyrics from the title track:

He left no time to regret
Kept his **** wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black

We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to.....

That is one killer of a song and it's definitely one of the best tracks on the album. Not all of Amy's songs are so sad, though. Two other songs on "Back to Black" take on a much more lighthearted personality, though the heartache is still there. "He Can Only Hold Her" has a nice, summery kind of groove, reminiscent of a classic Motown song, and it's about still holding a candle for a long lost love:

She's so vacant, her soul is taken
He thinks "What she's running from?"
How can he have her heart
When it got stole
Though he tries to pacify her
Whats inside her never dies

Another more up tempo ditty about love lost is "Tears Dry on Their Own." Here Winehouse's baritone voice shines through on the verses as the finger snapping gets the listener moving every time, and the chorus is very catchy:

He walks away,
The sun goes down,
He takes the day but I'm grown,
And there's no way, in this blue shape,
My tears dry on their own,

These songs are amongst my favorites on "Back to Black," but eventually their appeal faded with time, and I, like many other Amy Winehouse fans, yearned for more. Unfortunately, her personal troubles continued and talks of a new project kept hitting new walls. In the meantime I visited iTunes to see if I could find any older Amy Winehouse material and hit pay dirt. I soon found out that "Back to Black" was actually Amy's sophomore effort and that she'd recorded an album in 2003 called "Frank." Other material under the label "Back to Black: The B-Sides" was also available and so I promptly downloaded them all back in 2009.

Though none of this new material was of the same quality as the songs on "Back to Black," I did find two sterling discoveries that to this day still make their way into my most played list on my iPod. The first is off of the "B-Sides" collection and it was originally a collaboration with British musician Mark Ronson for his "Version" CD in 2007. "Valerie" is a cover of a song by British indie group The Zutons and it's very melodic, sad, and beautiful all at the same time.

"Amy, Amy, Amy" is a sultry call and back song that could have been recorded back in the 1920's. It's all about the naughty and lustful thoughts of a woman for her co-worker and it's very jazzy, very sexy, and a lot of fun, too!

Clearly, the music of Amy Winehouse is special enough to have gotten her so much attention in such a short period of time. She's gone now and we'll never get to know all of the wonderful things that she might have done in the future. Reportedly she had completed the long-awaited follow-up to "Back to Black" recently and I'm sure that will be out eventually, though that is little consolation for her loss. Once again, we've been robbed of a wonderful, yet troubled talent, and today the world is just a little sadder now that Amy Winehouse is no longer around. At least we've still got her songs to enjoy!

*Click on song titles within the article to see the videos.

Sources:

http://www.azlyrics.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_(The_Zutons_song)#Mark_Ronson_and_Amy_Winehouse_version