Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (3xLP, Clear Vinyl, 20th Anniversary Edition)

Amy Winehouse's Back to Black arrived in 2006 and quickly became the record that defined her career: a sharply written, soul-rooted album that won five Grammys in 2008, including Best Pop Vocal Album, while "Rehab" took both Record and Song of the Year. Twenty years on, this deluxe edition underlines why the album hit so hard in the first place: Winehouse and producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi matched classic girl-group, soul and ska touches to songs that were funny, bruised and brutally direct.

The core album still does the heavy lifting, from the defiant snap of "Rehab" to the title track's darker heartbreak and the weary grace of "Love Is a Losing Game." What makes this anniversary set especially useful is the way it widens the picture without turning into filler. Alongside the original album, it adds four previously unreleased demos, rare B-sides and further demos, plus the February 8, 2007 Paradiso, Amsterdam show presented in full and on vinyl for the first time.

There is real archival value in the presentation too. The set uses alternative cover art and includes Amy Winehouse's handwritten lyrics, previously unseen photographs by Mischa Richter and Alex Lake, and exclusive new liner notes from Ronson and Remi. For anyone who knows the album well, this edition gives the Back to Black era a fuller frame; for newer listeners, it shows how a concise studio album became a much larger story.

Features

• 3xLP, Clear Vinyl, 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
• Includes the original album, four previously unreleased demos, rare B-sides and additional demos
• Live at Paradiso, Amsterdam, February 8, 2007, presented in full and on vinyl for the first time
• Alternative cover artwork with handwritten lyrics, unseen photos by Mischa Richter and Alex Lake, and exclusive liner notes from Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi
• Includes limited-edition tattoo sheet

Reviews

• Has any song ever so perfectly caricatured its singer as well as Winehouse’s autobiographical signature song, "Rehab"? - AllMusic.com
• Winehouse has been blessed by a brassy voice that can transform even mundane sentiments into powerful statements. - Pitchfork
• Back to Black offered a reminder of what it sounded like to really mean it. - The Guardian