The Red and Black

Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Out & About

AMY WINEHOUSE

"Frank"

For those growing bored with Winehouse's arresting album "Back to Black," the American population can now savor "Frank" - Amy's British debut from 2003 finally made available stateside. A much younger but equally verbose Wino wails over a collection of trip-hop tinged slow jams more stagnant in sound than the Motown turns fans are accustomed to. She's a louder vocal doppelganger to Erykah Badu, with a flow like Neneh Cherry that better belongs in a smoky Lower East Side neo-jazz haunt than under big lights with a brass band. Though her vocal quality significantly has smoothed over, Winehouse still shows she's a lady unafraid to speak, or rather sing, whatever is on her mind. Like the little knicker pocket dedicated to her troublesome hubby that's tattooed on her chest, she makes it clear that she's wearing the pants. She shares a sensibility with the likes of "You Just Keep Me Hanging On" by The Supremes as she sings lyrics like, "you keep me flying when you kick me to the curb." While the album overall lacks the innate listenability of her breakthrough "Back To Black," intimate moments like "I Heard Love Is Blind" and "No Greater Love" contrasting with the hilarious gold-digger deconstruction of "F**k Me Pumps" reassure us why we fell in love with this boisterous British bird in the first place.

VERDICT: If you're wild for Wino, give it a try. But if you're annoyed by Amy, just say "no, no, no."

ALICIA KEYS

"As I Am"

On her latest release, Alicia Keys beckons for us to take her as she is - which, as her newest batch of songs indicates, is the embodiment of a strong, independent woman, sometimes left scorned and struggling for her words but packing a hell of a set of pipes to make everything all better. From this perspective, one thing is definitely clear: the girl can write a hook. Alicia's lyrics are lacking and there's a noticeable rise in a strange throatiness to her vocals - but both blunders completely are compensated by her ability to craft choruses that will set up camp in your cranium and never vacate. Keys is best when backed by multilayered harmonies, such as the angelic choruses of affirmation behind her on "Superwoman," or when she makes a surprising return to the classic '90s slow jam on "Like You'll Never See Me Again," channeling Toni Braxton and Deborah Cox more so than Aretha Franklin or Patti LaBelle.

Incidentally, the entirety of the album is outshined by "Lesson Learned," a track co-written and performed with John Mayer. From start to finish, the song is a sultry, smoldering gem and a sparkling addition to both's respective catalogues. With a chorus built around a Mayer guitar line almost directly ripped from the rolling bridge of "City Love" from "Room For Squares," the song's most outstanding asset is its achievement in vividness. It literally sets a scene for break-up sex better than any film could ever portray, as Keys sings through her heartbreak "Yes, I was burned, but I call it a lesson learned ..." and her protests build phrase by phrase against Mayer calmly cooing "it's alright, it's alright." With a song so solid, it could teach us all a lesson on how to embrace a broken heart.

VERDICT: Her vivacious voice and John Mayer's mastery of song make it worth a listen.

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