"Lioness" consists of 12 previously unreleased archive recordings and alternate takes, compiled by long-time friends and producers including Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, in the wake of her death this July, aged just 27.
In the wrong hands, this might have been a slapdash collection, but "Lioness" is presented with genuine tenderness and it never paints Winehouse as a tragic diva stereotype.
The focus, quite rightly, is her vocal talent - not just its soulful power but also its stylistic range. And while there's an obvious melancholy in hearing Winehouse's tones again, there's also dreamy warmth, demonstrated by the opening reggae version of "Our Day Will Come" (originally by 1960s group Ruby & The Romantics Our Day Will Come: Very Best of).
Some of these tracks predate Winehouse's 2003 debut album, "Frank": there's... Read more

Considering the impact of 2006's instant classic Back to Black I don't think many would have thought they'd still be waiting for a follow up in 2011. In the years between the two albums Amy became a drug user and by 2008 at age 24 was diagnosed with emphysema as a result of smoking crack cocaine, cannabis & tobacco. Images of Amy on drugs from 2008 onwards were grim. Weight drained with sunken cheeks she looked like a completely different person to the happy curvaceous Frank singer of 2003.

Amid stories of bar fights and substance abuse eventually reports of new music trickled through. In October 2009 Island Records co-president Darcus Beese claimed- `I've heard a couple of song demos that have absolutely floored me', while Amy stated in July 2010 that a new album similar in sound to BtB would be released by 2011. Throughout 2010 Universal had kept several London studios open around the clock incase Amy would want to record. However following her death most reports... Read more

Listening to this recording is such a bitter-sweet experience. Amy Winehouse had the voice and the musical talent to build a career for the ages. Unlike so many pop divas, her genius was built to last. She could have become an Ella Fitzgerald-like figure -- a towering icon. If only. If only the self-destructive part of her psyche could have been brought under control. You read the liner notes of this CD and you see the photos of the intrinsically lovely but deeply damaged person -- you see the signs of personal destructiveness on her body. And you sigh for what might have been.

I don't think this was Amy's best work. I didn't love all the arrangements. But it shouldn't have mattered. She should have had many years to do better and better, to nurture and grow that talent, to fulfill that huge potential.

What I do like about the choice of music is the way she was consciously placing herself as a link in the chain of a grand musical tradition. There are songs here... Read more