Though Winehouse’s debut single stalled at Number 71 when it was first released in October 2003, it later won the singer-songwriter her first Ivor Novello award. It’s a brilliant example of Winehouse’s ability to get properly under the skin of a song, and deliver a cracking pop hit to boot. But she doesn’t so much steal ‘Valerie’ from The Zutons as tempt her away to the jazz bar with a sly wink. Sure, it’s a cover version –and a Mark Ronson cover version at that (technically, Winehouse is simply the featured vocalist). “I told you I was trouble,” she warns in the chorus. A song about self-loathing after cheating, this stand-out track hides darkness within its bright, brassy exterior.
Like so many songs from ‘Back To Black’, it’s now impossible to listen to ‘You Know I’m No Good’ without projecting your own interpretation of late-period Amy Winehouse onto the lyrics. “But that don’t make your place safe in my bed.” Some nifty scat-singing at the climax completes what is surely one of Winehouse’s most empowered and self-confident songs. “Yours is a familiar face,” she warns an ex-boyfriend that she’s about to hook up with. This brassy ballad from ‘Frank’ shows off a different side to Amy Winehouse – one that’s not heartbroken at all.
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