13. Amy WinehouseFrank
This record blew me away when I was maybe 17 or 18. Amy Winehouse had already passed away by that point. That was such a tragic thing to have observed; seeing someone’s rise and fall and deterioration and then comeback. It was such a big story. I remember at the time, when I was growing-up, I never really got to know the music. I didn’t listen to Frank until I had the CD. I remember putting it into my laptop and listening to it while doing homework and I was just like, ‘Wow, this is really fucking good! I get why everyone is obsessed with her because this is so good.’
It’s so sad that she’s not around. Seeing the Amy from before everything happened was really amazing. It was also interesting to hear about how she didn’t really like the production or that all the choices weren’t her own choices. That makes you hear it in a different light, but it’s a great album. I feel very attached to this record because it’s somebody doing something totally different, and they were obsessed with writing really good songs and trying to connect with people. I feel like she opened people up to this whole other world. It created an echo because people got obsessed with Amy Winehouse, but Amy Winehouse was obsessed with all these other amazing artists and a whole other time. People were trying to be Amy Winehouse and she was probably like, ‘You don’t get it!’
At that time, it opened me up a lot more to jazz and it was the first proper time I’d listened to a female voice. I was so obsessed with bands and guitars that I hadn’t listened to many female vocalists properly. I feel like after Frank, I got really into Nina Simonne. I kept going and peeling back the layers to find more and more and also discover what albums are really are about. I also feel like no artist can ever be confined to one record. Each one is a little glimpse or little time capsule of their life. It’s always refreshing when you hear somebody say, ‘Yeah, I didn’t actually like that album!’ and you’re like, ‘What, that changed my life!’ As an artist, it’s very refreshing and calming to hear that. It doesn’t have to be the make or break. It can just be another album. If it was just another album for them, then you know, anything’s possible. You can always move on to the next.
