Today, while playing Amy Winehouse's Frank in my store, an older gentleman inquired as to who was singing. He'd never heard of Amy Winehouse, knew nothing about her rocky marriage or her consuming addictions to drugs and alcohol. All he knew was that she was "fabulous."
And listening to Frank, you realize that he's absolutely correct. Before all the bullshit, and the media frenzy, and the world watching to see just when Winehouse would go too far, there was a young women with the voice of a 60 year old jazz singer.
There are no songs on this album to recall the catchy pop of "Rehab" or "You Know That I'm No Good" from her sophomore release Back to Black. Frank is just an old school jazz voice over electronic beats. It's such a simple concept, and it's wildly effective. Frank is an exceedingly listenable album because it DOESN'T get stuck in your head. It swims through and leaves you nodding unintentionally, and longing to listen again, but it doesn't stick.
It's not to say that Frank lacks for single material. Songs like "You Sent Me Flying," "Fuck Me Pumps," and "What is it About Men" are all excellent stand-outs. But this is not an album about songs, it is an album that is most effective as a whole, and is certainly worth listening to as such.
***.5 out of *****
3.5 out of 5
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