Yeah, it was inevitable. The backlash, that is. When the turbo-hype visited upon soul sensation in the UK started to pick-up steam stateside, it was only a matter of time before the chorus of praise would be matched by a groundswell of derision -- or what's the BFD questioning (at least one simply can't understand what all the fuss is about).
But when you set aside the tabloid tales of excess drinking and feuds with Lilly Allen, there's the music. And here at Bostonist Headquarters, many of us are quite enamored of Amy's hip hop influenced update on the sound of Motown, Philly Soul, and early '60s girl group R B. Amy's smoky soul vocals have been described as Billie Holiday crossed with Lauryn Hill.
But as the mighty ?uestlove noted ( ), Amy's Back to Black is the album Lauryn would've killed to make. Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi's production work is a big part of what makes Back to Black so phenomenal and infectious -- whether they're worshiping in the church of Phil Spector for the album's stunning title track, or channeling Berry Gordy and Gamble-Huff while experimenting with new hip hop beats.
The show's been sold out for some time and tickets have reportedly been going for up to $75 on ebay. So consider yourself lucky if you secured yours early on. Fellow Brit and indie violinist/singer Patrick Wolf opens.
He's touring in support of his just released third album The Magic Position, which has been described as a "collection of Victorian-peaked electro/folk-pop" with a bit of soul sheen.
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