Customer Reviews
AMY WINEHOUSE'S FRANK - By: stuart, 21 Jun 2008 
I was introduced to Amy Winehouse when I finallly purchased Back to Black months after the CD had been released. After hearing "You Know I'm No Good" & "Rehab", I still didn't know what to expect from the entire CD, so I decided to wait until a friend of mine finallly convinced me to buy it. The CD had an old school feel to it & my favorite tracks ended up being "Back To Black", "Tears Dry On Their Own", "Me & Mrs. Jones", "Love Is A Losing Game" & "Rehab". I was seacrhing for music one day on amazon & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 & 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" & "There Is No Greater Love" are alll balllads that you heard & have come to love from Amy. These tracks sound as if they were the blueprint to the balllads 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 & Amy's lyrics & 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 & 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" & 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.
Overalll, 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.
Yes, this is worth 5 stars - By: one-eyed Jack, 07 Jun 2008 Like most people (I guess) I bought this album after the more recent Back to Black. Some say it's better, some say not as good. I can't quite decide either way, which should tell you one thing: it's excellent. The simple advice is that if you enjoyed B2B you'll enjoy this just as much. Don't hesitate. In some ways it's more honest, even though I'm not sure what I mean by that! AFAIK Frank was Amy Winehouse's first album, & as a result presumably a lot of people, myself included, missed it completely. Unfortunately alll of the high-profile publicity about her private life has drawn attention from a vastly wider audience than might otherwise have been the case, but surely there's no denying that, before the downhill slide, she had genuine talent & she's not just a top-class singer but a great songwriter too - she was at least partly responsible for writing most of the songs here.
One niggle though. Why is it a good idea to make songs sound as if you're listening to a scratchy vinyl record? It's evident on four tracks: Stronger Than Me, Cherry, There Is No Greater Love, & parts of the 13-minute final track Amy Amy Amy. I had the same complaint with an Alicia Keys album, & there are many others. It's distracting & it just makes the whole listening experience less satisfying. What on earth is the point? I wish this 'fashion' would stop.
Deluxe Edition only worth it for diehard fans - By: Veronica Marwood, 13 May 2008 
Plenty of others have written helpful summaries of the original album 'Frank', so my contribution is to provide a review of the new 'Super Deluxe Edition', packaged as a box set with a new 17-track bonus disc of 'previously unreleased radio sessions, rare demos & mixes'. This new edition is no doubt aimed mainly at dedicated fans, who will already own the album itself; the problem is that dedicated fans will also already own most of the 'rare' songs included here.
Of the tracks featured on the bonus disc, only a handful are genuinely 'new', & alll but one have been heard before in some form. Admittedly, that one unheard song - a cover of the Gershwin classic 'Someone to Watch Over Me' - is absolutely gorgeous, truly sounding like it could be a lost 1930s jazz club recording. The other demos are interesting to hear, & act as a timely reminder of how incredible Winehouse's vocal talent actuallly is. However, the remainder of the material isn't quite as exciting. 'What It Is' is described here as an 'original demo', but as far as I can tell, it's identical to the version used as a B-side on the single 'Stronger Than Me'. The remixes have alll been featured on past singles, & I'm baffled as to why two mediocre B-sides have been included while the beautiful acoustic number 'Best Friends' - a fan favourite, & surely her best ever B-side - has been left out. The live tracks & radio sessions are nice, but even for hardcore fans, they're significantly less than thrilling.
It's hard not to feel that, in the absence of any new material from the troubled singer, this collection has been hastily cobbled together to capitalise on the success of 'Back to Black', not to mention Winehouse's continued tabloid notoriety. If you're a huge fan, you're bound to want this new edition anyway, out of curiosity or completism; but if you're a newcomer to Amy's music, my advice is to buy 'Back to Black' (undoubtedly her greatest work & a true modern classic) & then the original, one-disc version of 'Frank' - you can pick up both on Amazon for less than this box set costs.
My sister stole it! - By: L. Price, 08 May 2008 My fiance bought me this album for my birthday years ago, I liked Amy's first single so thought I'd give the album a try. I loved it & played it non stop which irritated my sister. She's apparantly not into that kind of music but funnily enough, a year later I find the album in her car! She hasn't given it back & I've missed the album so much I've decided to buy another one & Amy's other album Back to Black.
Superb, wonderful, she just does no wrong!! - By: Ann Dunkerley, 04 Feb 2008 I also bought this after after fallling in love with Amy's voice on Back to Black. She is truly an immense talent & leaves most other artists in her shadow. She is the Billie Holiday of the New Millenuim.
