Winehouse's talent shines on Frank

When she's singing, not drinking, the Brit is brilliant.

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Dec. 4, 2007

The images of Amy Winehouse, the British R&B maven and the object of Perez Hilton's obsession who flooded the pop culture airwaves, usually involve her excessively imbibing some sort of party-girl ambrosia: vodka and Red Bulls, cheap wine or just straight-up whiskey. Her tendencies toward excess have earned her a reputation as a complete and utter train wreck, and the bloggers want to look away but can't. For all her musical ability, she will forever go down in the pop culture lexicon as "Amy Wino."

Which is why listening to her 2003 album, Frank, recently released in the United States for the first time, is almost tragic. Frank, featuring a much more refined Winehouse, is a sophisticated lounge effort that is more martini-with-dinner material than the soundtrack to a whiskey bender.

The album's introductory track, "Stronger Than Me," begins with sultry scatting and horns. Sometimes it sounds like a Billie Holiday warm-up. It shows off Winehouse's jazz background before unfolding into an equally snarky and sexy "screw you" to an overly sensitive man. The song drips with attitude but always stays in control.

"You Sent Me Flying" is everything modern R&B ought to be, full of vulnerability, soul and a certain sensuality that is about more than booty. The backing piano is simple and elegant, giving Winehouse plenty of room to work with an impressive range and power behind arguably one of the best female soul/R&B voices since Lauryn Hill's heyday. The Tropicalia-influenced ending is an unexpected turn, a light and delightful accompaniment to one of the album's most satisfying tracks.

Perhaps in one of the greatest oxymoron moves on an album this year, on "Fuck Me Pumps" Winehouse takes a cheeky but well executed stab at the Hollywood party girls she herself is often depicted beside. The track features a groovy backbeat and wisecracks like "Don't be too upset/if they call you a skank/'Cause like the news, every day you get pressed."

The gentle, demure "I Heard Love Is Blind" is a great smooth jazz number. Winehouse complements the track, which is one of the album's two that she wrote exclusively, with an ensemble of skilled backing musicians. With this song, Winehouse proves that good R&B is not overproduced but done best the old-school way with real musicians, real instruments and an authenticity that most modern producers couldn't even begin to replicate.

Woozy guitars and bongos bring an exotic, smoky vibe to "In My Bed," which also gets treatment from breathy jazz flutes in between Winehouse's bitter, badass kiss-off.

"Take the Box" is the heartbreak anthem with Winehouse channeling the best of old and new, most notably evoking Mary J. Blige when bringing the cinematic lyrics to life.

The album's outro, "Amy Amy Amy," clocks in at a ridiculous 13 minutes, 17 seconds. A snapping hi-hat beat and Winehouse's seductive vocals drive the song, which is effective since this is a song about the art of seduction. It also seems like a moment of self-actualization for Winehouse, who acknowledges emphatically her "weakness for the other sex" and how she's "been here before," perhaps a far more reaching gaze into her fights with temptation.

Here, Winehouse's weaknesses become her strength. By taking ownership of the music — and her vices — she becomes a musical powerhouse.

It seems so wrong, but when Winehouse sings, oh, it feels so right.