Playtime is over. Time to get down to business. The seventh track on my Amy Winehouse Mix CD is the title track from Amy’s classic 2006 sophomore album Back To Black. It was the third single from the album, released on April 30, 2007. It was written by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson and produced by Ronson. It peaked at #25 on the UK Singles Chart. Modest numbers, yet the video has over 1.1 billion views on YouTube. That’s billion. With a B. It is the humble opinion of the author that it’s one of the greatest songs of all-time. Period.
If it’s the greatest song, why put it seventh on the list? I don’t know how to answer that. When I was putting together the sequence of the album it just fit here. It’s almost – but not quite – in the middle of the album and that’s where it felt right in my mix CD as well. I like the idea of cruising through this mix CD with some lighter stuff like “Me & Mr. Jones” and “You Sent Me Flying” and then…BAM. You weren’t expecting that yet, were you?
I don’t even know what to say here. Some writer I am. This song is one of those pieces of art that’s so good that nothing my (or anyone else’s) dumb ass can say can add anything valuable to it. I watched a video of Mark Ronson explaining how he had no idea what he was doing when he recorded this track while simultaneously telling a story about how he was such a novice on the drums that he couldn’t play the bass drum with his foot. So, he pulled the mallet off of the foot pedal and played it with his hands. I watched that and thought, “You say you knew nothing, but you were smart enough to do that and know how to record it so it sounds good?” He was either being humble or he’s much better than he gives himself credit for…most likely both.
I’ve also watched the clip from the 2015 documentary Amy of her standing in a tiny booth recording the vocals for this track and it’s like watching Heath Ledger playing The Joker. Brilliant work that took the artist to such a dark place that they were damaged beyond repair. I’m not saying the song itself killed Amy. I’m saying her ability to plunge to the depths that she felt and ultimately allow her to create this song did. Drugs and alcohol obviously played a part, but those were just a way to dull the pain.
Seeing those videos now of a young Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse in the studio I wonder if they had any idea how monumental the music was. I know I’m far from alone in the opinion that this is one of the greatest songs ever written. Even now after 17 years and hundreds (thousands?) of listens whenever I hear the opening piano, drums, and bass it still makes me gasp. This is not just any other song.
There’s no need to point out favorite lyrics on “Back to Black” because the entire thing is a masterpiece, but I will anyway. It’s simple. The best lyrics are the chorus, especially the final one.
“We only said goodbye with words.
I died a hundred times.
You go back to her
and I go back to black.”
The song stops abruptly. No happy ending. No redemption. Just the darkness that a broken heart brings. I’m not sure time ever fully healed her.
I wrote this on the last Amy post, but I’m saying it again: I don’t have a favorite live performance of “Back To Black”. Unlike her other music, I never found live performances of “Back to Black” anywhere near as compelling as the studio version. This song wasn’t meant to be consumed by large audiences. This song was meant to be listened to alone in the dark. Most of the performances I’ve seen are more uptempo than the studio version and I wonder if that was some kind of concession. Amy and the band’s way of saying, “We know we can’t match that but you came here to hear my most popular songs, so I’m gonna burn through this one real quick and move on.” A song that epic should’ve been the show-stopping encore of every concert for the rest of her life. Her “Purple Rain”. It was impossible to match that grit and darkness live.
Instead of a live version I present something far more divisive. “Back To Black” performed by Beyonce and Andre 3000 from the 2013 “The Great Gatsby” soundtrack. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: STOP covering Amy Winehouse songs. There are certain people who should just be left alone. She’s at the top of the list. You’re not Amy Winehouse, so just stop it. However, Bey and Andre did something here that I didn’t expect: They completely recreated it. It’s a haunting interpretation that’s simultaneously electronic, old western, and incredibly dark. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I love it. Nothing matches the original and that’s not what they were trying to do. They took it in a completely different direction and I applaud them for it. That said, leave Amy’s music alone. It took Beyonce and Andre 3000 to pull this off. Even as great as Beyonce is, I listen to this and think about how amazing Amy would sound on this version instead.
If I live to be 200 years old I will go to my grave with the belief that “Back To Black” was one of the greatest songs of my lifetime. Amy’s lyrics, voice, and performance combined with Mark Ronson’s music created a masterpiece. I’m forever grateful to them for sharing it with us. I have nothing more to add right now. I’ll be back again tomorrow with more.
mookiefantana 