Frank is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse. It was released on 20 October 2003 by Island Records. Production for the album took place during 2002 to 2003 and was handled by Winehouse, Salaam Remi, Commissioner Gordon, Jimmy Hogarth and Matt Rowe. Its title alludes to the nature and tone of Winehouse's lyrics on the album,[3] as well as one of her influences, Frank Sinatra.[4]
"Pumps" / "Help Yourself" Released: 23 August 2004
Upon its release, Frank received generally positive reviews from most music critics and earned Winehouse several accolades, including an Ivor Novello Award. The album has sold over one million copies in the United Kingdom and has been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Backgroundedit
After playing around with her brother's guitar, Winehouse bought her own when she was 15 and began writing music a year later. Soon after, she began working for a living, including, at one time, as an entertainment journalist for the World Entertainment News Network, in addition to singing with local group the Bolsha Band.[5][6] In July 2000, she became the featured female vocalist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra; her influences were to include Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington,[7] the latter whom she was already listening to at home.[1]
Winehouse's best friend, soul singer Tyler James, sent her demo tape to an artists and repertoire (A&R) executive.[1] Winehouse signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in 2002 and was paid £250 a week against future earnings.[8] While being developed by the management company, she was kept as a recording industry secret,[9] although she was a regular jazz standards singer at the Cobden Club.[8] Her soon-to-be A&R representative at Island Records, Darcus Beese, heard of her by accident when the manager of The Lewinson Brothers showed him some productions of his clients, which featured Winehouse as key vocalist. When he asked who the singer was, the manager told him he was not allowed to say. Having decided that he wanted to sign her, it took several months of asking around for Beese to eventually discover who the singer was. However, Winehouse had already recorded a number of songs and signed a publishing deal with EMI by this time. She formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi through these record publishers.[9]
Beese introduced Winehouse to his boss, Nick Gatfield, and the Island head shared his enthusiasm in signing her. Winehouse was signed to Island, as rival interest in Winehouse had started to build to include representatives of EMI and Virgin starting to make moves. Beese told HitQuarters that he felt the reason behind the excitement, over an artist who was an atypical pop star for the time, was due to a backlash against reality TV music shows, which included audiences starved for fresh, genuine young talent.[9]
In a 2004 interview with The Observer, Winehouse expressed dissatisfaction with the album, stating:
Some things on this album make me go to a little place that's fucking bitter. I've never heard the album from start to finish. I don't have it in my house. Well, the marketing was fucked, the promotion was terrible. Everything was a shambles. It's frustrating, because you work with so many idiots—but they're nice idiots. So you can't be like, "You're an idiot." They know that they're idiots.[10]
Release and promotionedit
In the liner notes for Winehouse's 2011 album Lioness: Hidden Treasures, producer Salaam Remi wrote about the track "Half Time", an outtake from the recording sessions for Frank, and revealed that Frank's title refers partly to Frank Sinatra, an early influence on Winehouse.[4]
Frank was first released in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2003 through Island Records.[11] In 2004, the album was released to European countries, including Poland and Germany, as well as being released in Canada through Universal Music Group.[12][13][14]
In 2007 the album was released once again to Australia in March and the United States in November, with the latter being released via Universal Republic Records.[15][16]
In 2008, the album was re-released as a deluxe edition, including an 18-track bonus disc of rare tracks, remixes, B-sides and live performances.[17][18] It was first released in Germany on 9 May 2008,[19] followed by its release in the United Kingdom on 12 May 2008 through Island Records.[18] Over May, June and July the album was released in Australia,[20] Canada,[21] United States[22] and Japan.[23]
Following the release of the critically acclaimed documentary film about Winehouse, Amy (2015), Frank was reissued on vinyl on 31 July 2015 by Republic Records.[24]
Frank received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 11 reviews.[25]AllMusic's John Bush called Winehouse "an excellent vocalist possessing both power and subtlety".[26] Nate Chinen of The New York Times complimented her original lyrics and called the music a "glossy admixture of breezy funk, dub and jazz-inflected soul".[36]The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin commended its loose, organic songcraft and wrote that it "features languid, wide-open neo-soul grooves and jazzy vamping".[27] Beccy Lindon of The Guardian described Winehouse's sound as "somewhere between Nina Simone and Erykah Badu ... at once innocent and sleazy".[30]Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman found its musical style reminiscent of Sade.[29]MusicOMH's John Murphy said that her lyrics are "commendably feisty and, as the album title suggests, frank".[3] Dan Cairns of The Times called Frank "a staggeringly assured, sit-up-and-listen debut, both commercial and eclectic, accessible and uncompromising".[37]Robert Christgau, writing for MSN Music, was less enthusiastic and graded the album a "dud",[28] indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought."[38]
Winehouse was nominated for British Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act at the 2004 BRIT Awards,[39] while Frank was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize that same year.[40] The album earned Winehouse an Ivor Novello Award.[41] In retrospective reviews for both Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, critic Douglas Wolk was ambivalent towards Winehouse's themes and felt that they are relevant to her public image at the time,[32][34] writing in the former review, "in the light of her subsequent career, Frank comes off as the first chapter in the Romantic myth of the poet who feels too deeply and ends up killing herself for her audience's entertainment".[32] By contrast, PopMatters writer Mike Joseph felt that the album shows that Winehouse's success is "based on pure talent rather than good producers or gimmicks".[33]The Washington Post's Bill Friskics-Warren noted most of its content as "sultry ballads and shambling neo-soul jams", while writing that it "more than confirms what the fuss over Winehouse – then just 19 and with a lot fewer tattoos – was originally all about... her attitude and command were already there. And then some".[42] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[43] In 2019, the album was ranked 57th on The Guardian's 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century list.[44]
Commercial performanceedit
Frank entered the UK Albums Chart at number 60 before climbing to number 13 in late January 2004.[45][46] Following Winehouse's death on 23 July 2011, the album re-entered the UK chart at number five,[47] before reaching a new peak position of number three the following week, with 19,811 copies sold.[48] The album was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 19 December 2008,[49] and had sold over one million copies as of September 2014.[50]
Frank debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling 22,000 copies in its opening week.[51] In the wake of Winehouse's death, the album sold 8,000 copies to re-enter the chart at number 57 on the issue dated 6 August 2011.[52] The following week, it rose to a new peak of number 33 with sales of 12,000 copies.[53] The album had sold 315,000 copies in the US by July 2011.[54]
Elsewhere, the album charted inside the top five in Austria and Poland, and the top 10 in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Portugal.[55][56][57] In late 2011, Frank was certified double platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for sales in excess of two million copies across Europe.[58]
^ abcMulholland, Garry (1 February 2004). "Charmed and dangerous". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
^Pareles, Jon (23 July 2011). "For Winehouse, Life Was Messier Than Music". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
^ abMurphy, John (19 October 2003). "Amy Winehouse – Frank". musicOMH. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
^ abRemi, Salaam (2011). Lioness: Hidden Treasures (liner notes). Island Records. 279 043 6. I had this amazing track, 'Half Time', that we had worked on during the Frank sessions. In fact she mentions Frank Sinatra in the song, and although it never made the album, was actually one of the reasons why she named her debut album Frank.
^Eliscu, Jenny (23 July 2011). "The Diva and Her Demons: Rolling Stone's 2007 Amy Winehouse Cover Story". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
^Winehouse, Amy (2007). "Amy Winehouse". Access All Areas. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
^"Amy Winehouse and NYJO – photos and a tribute". LondonJazz News. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
^ abcBouwman, Kimbel (23 February 2004). "Interview with DARCUS BEESE, A&R at Island for Amy Winehouse, Sugababe". HitQuarters. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
^Mulholland, Garry (1 February 2004). "Charmed and dangerous". The Observer. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
^ abc"Amy Winehouse – Frank". Island Records. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
^ ab"Frank/ Explicit by Amy Winehouse". HMV Canada. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
^ abc"Amy Winehouse | Frank" (in German). Universal Music Germany. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
^ ab"Frank – Winehouse, Amy". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
^ ab"Frank". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
^ ab"Frank [The Super Deluxe Edition UK] – Amy Winehouse". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
^ abc"Amy Winehouse – Frank (Deluxe Edition)". Island Records. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
^ ab"Amy Winehouse | Amy und Frank (Limited Deluxe Edition)" (in German). Universal Music Germany. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
^ abc"Amy Winehouse Store – Frank (Deluxe Edition INT SJB)". Getmusic. Australia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
^ ab"Frank/ Deluxe Edition : 2CD by Amy Winehouse". HMV Canada. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
^ ab"Frank [Deluxe Edition]". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
^ ab"Discography – Amy Winehouse" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
^"Amy Winehouse's Frank reissued on vinyl". Fact. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
^ ab"Frank by Amy Winehouse Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
^ abJoseph, Mike (19 November 2007). "Amy Winehouse: Frank". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
^ abWolk, Douglas. "Amy Winehouse: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
^Gardner, Elysa (27 November 2007). "Winehouse acquaints us with 'Frank'". USA Today. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
^Chinen, Nate (26 November 2007). "Critics' Choice: New CDs". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
^Cairns, Dan (5 October 2003). "Amy Winehouse: Frank". The Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
^"Key to Icons". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
^"Brits 2004: The winners". BBC News. 17 February 2004. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
^"Ferdinand win Mercury Music Prize". BBC News. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 7 November 2007.
^Farber, Jim (26 November 2007). "Amy Winehouse's sober debut". New York Daily News. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
^Friskics-Warren, Bill (20 November 2007). "Amy Winehouse: A 'Frank' Assessment". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
^"The 100 best albums of the 21st century". The Guardian. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
^Jones, Alan (5 November 2006). "Girls Aloud topple Robbie from album summit". Music Week. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
^"Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 1–7 February 2004. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
^"Fans pay tribute to Amy Winehouse while JLS take 5th singles crown". Official Charts Company. 31 July 2011. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
^Jones, Alan (8 August 2011). "Cher Lloyd leads first all-UK top five since 2007". Music Week. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
^ ab"British album certifications – Amy Winehouse – Frank". British Phonographic Industry. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
^ abMyers, Justin (6 September 2014). "Official Charts Pop Gem #72: Amy Winehouse – Back To Black". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
^Caulfield, Keith (28 November 2007). "Josh Groban Takes 'Noel' to No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
^Caulfield, Keith (27 July 2011). "Amy Winehouse Returns to Top 10 of Billboard 200, Adele Back at No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
^Caulfield, Keith (3 August 2011). "Eric Church Lands First No. 1 Album, Amy Winehouse Continues to Climb". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
^Grein, Paul (27 July 2011). "Week Ending July 24, 2011. Albums: Amy & Adele". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
^ ab"Ultratop.be – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^"Austriancharts.at – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^"Albums : Top 100". Jam!. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 26 December 2004. Retrieved 25 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Top Kombiniranih – Tjedan 30. 2011" [Top Combined – Week 30, 2011] (in Croatian). Top of the Shops. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 32.Týden 2011 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^"European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 26th May 2008" (PDF). Billboard. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
^"Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) – Week: 45/2021". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^"Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2011. 32. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
^"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2008" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
^"Classifiche ufficiali degli Album e dei DVD musicali più venduti e dei singoli più scaricati dalla rete nel 2008" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 13 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016. Click on "Scarica allegato" to download the attached ZIP file.
^"Top 50 Albumes 2008" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
^"End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2008". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
^"Jahreshitparade Alben 2011". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2016.
^"Classifiche annuali Fimi-GfK: Vasco Rossi con "Vivere o Niente" e' stato l'album piu' venduto nel 2011" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015. Click on "Scarica allegato" to download the attached ZIP file.
^"Austrian album certifications – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in German). IFPI Austria. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^"Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^"Brazilian album certifications – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
^"Guld og platin i maj" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Amy Winehouse; 'Frank')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
^"Italian album certifications – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 4 October 2017. Select "2015" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Frank" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
^"Portuguese album certifications – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
^"Russian album certifications – Amy Winehouse – Frank" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
^"Spanish album certifications" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 30 August 2022. Select Álbumes under "Categoría", select 2008 under "Año". Select 45 under "Semana". Click on "BUSCAR LISTA".
^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Frank')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
^フランク [Frank] (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
Bibliographyedit
Winehouse, Mitch (2012). Amy, My Daughter. It Books. ISBN 978-0-062-19138-0.
External linksedit
A B&S Classic Interview Before 'Rehab' at Blues & Soul