Customer Reviews

Frank [Explicit]

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Amy, Amy, Amy.....(to quote a song from this album)
FRANK, the debut by the wildly talented Amy Winehouse, released five years ago, is a fusion of 1940s and 1950s jazz/blues and contemporary soul. These songs were released when Ms. Winehouse was nineteen and filled with worldly insight. Yes, most of it's pretty bitter and uncensored accounts of her bad experiences with men, the infamous subjects of her song "F-Me Pumps," who are aging golddiggers, and frank observances about substance abuse and sex.

The band is tight and seamless here. The combination of a soaring horn section, soulful percussion and Amy's sultry vocals make the album as technically brilliant as it is entertaining. I found myself giggling, because her lyrics are just so honest and real! Amy doesn't pull any punches. I particularly love "Amy, Amy, Amy" which is a grand nod to the great jazz and soul bands of the 1930s and 1940s. Damn, that horn is seductive. Also, she penned all of the tunes on this album herself, with the exception of her beautiful, reggae-inspired cover of "Moody's In the Mood For Love." You really can't compare her to anyone! One of a kind.......Brilliant, wonderful and bitingly intelligent..........

If you think Back to Black is brilliant, wait until you hear Frank! Soul and Jazz stylings meet together here and the end result is magnificent.

I stumbled upon Amy Winehouse through a music profile on a friend's myspace page. The song was "Back To Black" from the same-titled recent release.

I was completely blown away by the sound. Her voice is like silk over the tripped up beats and rehash of the 1960's.

I looked deeper into her book of work and picked up "Frank". While "Back to Black" is a flawless piece of work... "Frank" is simply perfection. It's much simplier but in it's simplicity lies it's beauty. She allows the beats to remain scarce so that her voice is the anchor to each song.

This album is definitely worth hunting for.

I have liked this album better each time I listen to it, and I definitely like it better than "Black". Her voice is noticeably better, and the caustic humor is just as biting. "You should be stronger than me", is a great example.

So here's the short version,
Frank is a very good CD if... you love old school R&B (60's)
AND
You aren't put off by bad language, and adult themes. In other words, I would never play it with my parents or kids in the room, but I like it for what it is.

I was introduced to Amy Winehouse when I finally purchased Back to Black months after the CD had been released. After hearing "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab", I still didn't know what to expect from the entire CD, so I decided to wait until a friend of mine finally convinced me to buy it. The CD had an old school feel to it and my favorite tracks ended up being "Back To Black", "Tears Dry On Their Own", "Me & Mrs. Jones", "Love Is A Losing Game" and "Rehab". I was seacrhing for music one day on amazon and I found out that she was
re-relasing a CD that she had previously released overseas in 2003 entitled "Frank".

The CD gets off to a nice start with the track "Stronger Than Me". Amy speaks about a courtship where while she is 7 years younger, she seems to be the wiser of the 2 and she wants a man that is being just that, a man. She doesn't feel that she should be the one telling him or advising him to be a man. She expects him to already know those requirements. It also seems that he wants a relationship and she just wants him to satisfy her in the bedroom only. Things get even better with "You Sent Me Flying". The track starts off as a piano led slow jam and midway through the track it becomes an uptempo track. Amy talks about being caught off guard by the man that she was involved with kicking her to the curb. This track sounds different than anything Amy did on "Back To Black". There is no old school 60s or 70s track in the background. The beat will remind you of a more up to date r&b track. "Know You Now" has Amy wanting to get to know the man that she has just met. Sometimes in relationships people want to take things slow and get to know the person. In this instance, it seems as if Amy is on the fast track. "F____ Me Pumps" is a funny but true tale about a particular type of woman. This woman wants to achieve a certain type of status by dating and being seen with famous celebrities and/or athletes. She also has no concept of commitment because they are so eager to live the fast life while they still have their physical attributes to get them what they want. "I Heard Love Is Blind", "Moody's Mood For Love" and "There Is No Greater Love" are all ballads that you heard and have come to love from Amy. These tracks sound as if they were the blueprint to the ballads that are found on "Back To Black". "I Heard Love Is Blind" is hialrious in some aspects because she is trying to find excuses for why she cheated on the man that she was with by saying since she was left alone for a particular time she had to "be" with someone. She says that while she was with the other man, she wasn't cheating because she was thinking of her #1 man. If you say so, Amy..lol My favorite track ends up being "In My Bed". Amy uses the beat from Nas' "Made U Look" from his
God's Son CD. Amy uses the track to create her own anthem about not wanting to catch any serious feelings for any particular man. She still wants the benefits of "relations" but she doesn't want to be tied down to any 1 man. The combination of the Nas track and Amy's lyrics and voice blend well together on this song. "Take The Box" has Amy frustrated because while she doesn't have to lay her eyes on a man that she broke up with, she doesn't want to be reminded of anything that has to do with him. She is coming to collect her belongings and in my opinion she is mad because she had to come by his place & doesn't want to deal with the situation anymore after today. "October Song" is an upbeat, midtempo track that is clearly different than anything that I have heard from her. I am not use to any positive vibes coming from any Amy Winehouse track. "What Is It About Men" has Amy questioning her ways when dealing with men in general. She is trying to understand why she is weak when it comes to certain aspects about men. "Amy Amy Amy" has Amy back to her devious ways when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex. After listening to "Amy, Amy, Amy" and the Outro, which are both on Track 12, you will find yourself treated to 2 nice bonus tracks that are just as nice as the rest of the tracks on "Frank". Track 12 clocks in at over 13 minutes long.

Overall, I feel that "Frank" is just as nice as Back to Black. "Frank" is the perfect introduction to "Back To Black". Once you listen to "Frank" you will notice certain aspects on "Frank" that made "Back To Black" the CD that it was. The production is different on "Frank" in some instances because of the traditional r&b sound on some tracks, but the quality is still A+ in my opinion. If you are a fan of Amy Winehouse then you should have both CDs in your collection. Let's just hope that she gets her personal life together so we can continue to hear these great CDs.

James' Top 6

1) In My Bed
2) You Sent Me Flying
3) Know You Now
4) There Is No Greater Love
5) Moody's Mood For Love
6) F___ Me Pumps

Honorable Mention:

The rest of the CD (All of the tracks are nice)

Frank, Amy's actual debut album is just as fantastic as those who know her Back to Black album would expect. From listening to the entire American debut album, it is obvious that she is a talented lyricist and singer, and that she has an exceptionally fine-tuned ear for overall music quality. This new-to-America album possesses the same musical and lyrical maturity, delving (sometimes deeply) into the emotions of anger and pain caused by others (usually men). "F**k Me Pumps" could very well have been the inspiration for Pink's "Stupid Girls" single, as it humorously and scathingly takes on the dime-a-dozen "hollywood glamor" girls that us sane people have come to despise. Perhaps the most stunning track on the album, however, is the sorrow-drenched "What Is It About Men", where Amy's vocal and lyrical talents shine the brightest (major hats off to the production on this number, as well).

The tabloids love to try to bring Amy down by broadcasting her substance abuse problems and rowdy behavior, but the thing is that she doesn't try to cover it up. She's a full-fledged bad girl, and she readily admits it. Perhaps it's this dysfunctional lifestyle that has enabled her to pen such brilliant lyrics and sing with such musical conviction. Regardless, I'm thankful that she's made her way over here from England to help distill the pollution that is the American music scene right now. Nowadays, you can pretty much live by this rule when judging music acts: anyone who uses live horns has gotta be okay.

I first heard of Amy Winehouse like a lot of people in the US did. In the news with nothing but negative comments about her personal life. But when it came to the music I always heard praise on the album. I first heard the single "Rehab" and did not think to much of the song at first. After watching the VMA in Las Vegas I decided to give the album a chance. I was hooked instantly by the soulful sound of Amy Winehouse. It was a voice that I have not heard since the Motown days of music. It seemed like I listened to that album like everyday. Than I actually heard that Frank was her best and debut album. It took me a while to make the choice to purchase the album but when I finally did I could not believe what I was listening to. This was the Amy Winehouse that I felt was missing from the Back to Black album. Eveything worked for her in this album her soulful voice, the classic Motown/lounge style music and mixed with some great lyrics. Back to Black had everything just the music headed more pop than Frank. Her voice did not have as much control as Frank, but the music stuck to it's true form. I say if you listen to Back to Black and liked/loved the album. Frank will blow your socks off...

Frank
Great work of music I love it, but imagine my disgust and surprise when I tried to download the CD I had purchased and waited months for Amazon to send to me (I got a back-order notice at one point) to my iTunes so I could enjoy "Frank" on my iPod but couldn't. Very clearly printed on this cd is an "FBI Anti-piracy Warning: unauthorized copying is punishable by law".

Since when is backing my music up to my iTunes and listening to it on my iPod a crime? Fine (not). So then I went to iTunes and paid $3 less for "Frank" plus I received two bonus songs. And it's on my iPod now. Which is how I listen to my music 95% of the time whether through headphones, my radio adapter or hooked up to speakers in my office.

So, two things learned here:
1. This album was worth buying twice. It's that great. I love the sexy and playful ode to office crushes in "Amy Amy Amy." The wicked humor of Paris-Hilton-wannabes bashing in "F**K me pumps" is tinged with just the right amount of that kind of bitchy-sweetness you get when smiling while insulting someone.

Where Amy's amazing album "Back to Black" smacks of a 1960's alcohol and cigarette-ravaged, dive-lounge torch singer hasbeen who's still pushing it with bravado every Thursday and Saturday nights, "Frank" (being three years younger) has Amy's voice a bit fresher and smoother but there's still that attitude in her performance and lyrics that makes the album a necessary part of the Winehouse collection. If you like the retro attention given to "Back to Black," "Frank" uses it in a milder but effective way.

2. Always try to make sure, when purchasing from Amazon, that there is a notice in the product page that the cd is "FBI-protected." If there is no such warning, and you intend to download something to your MP3 player, maybe just try iTunes first. Or...Amazon: where's your online mp3 download store?

okay yes amy has her "issues" but this cd is great. as an artist she has produced a great cd. i've listened to the whole album 3 times in a row so i can for sure say i'm digging it. my fav is stronger than me because of the message. i like her voice. i have her previous cd and this one is as good or better.

Amy Winehouse is a throw back. Although she is in her early 20's her voice certainly is not! After falling in love with her 2nd album Back to Black, I had to have the first album also. It did not disappoint!