All that вЂњBetween the CheatsвЂќ has going for it is its cute title, while вЂњHalftime,вЂќ a collaboration that Winehouse, Remi, and Questlove had been working on since the Frank sessions, finds the singer using a nasal drone to repeat the line вЂњHalf time/Time to think it through/Consider the change/See it from a different viewвЂќ over a dozen times. The original cuts on the album, then, are its main selling point, but they arenвЂ™t anywhere near as sharp as WinehouseвЂ™s best songs. Better versions of most of these songs have been widely available for the better part of the six years. The original, half-tempo version of вЂњValerieвЂќ that Winehouse and Ronson recorded together has the opposite problem, lacking the strut and swagger that made the original a truly winning single. To that end, the finest vocal turn Winehouse gives here is on Carole KingвЂ™s вЂњWill You Love Me Tomorrow.вЂќ Ronson doesnвЂ™t touch WinehouseвЂ™s powerhouse, emotional vocal track, taken from the soundtrack to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, but he brings in the DAP-Kings to give the song a completely new production scheme, replacing a relatively stripped-down R&B groove with a full-bore, bombastic arrangement that actively undermines the drama in WinehouseвЂ™s performance. The majority of Lioness consists of covers Winehouse recorded between 20, some of which are given new arrangements by Remi and Ronson. In retrospect, that she was unable to overcome her struggles with addiction gives even greater weight to the self-loathing streak that runs through Back to Black, making that album a far more effective swan song for Winehouse than the odds-and-ends collection Lioness could ever hope to be. Lacking the scope or vision of Frank and Back to Black, the compilation simply canвЂ™t replicate the creativity and inimitable point of view that made Winehouse such a compelling artist. The retro classicists are aggressively claiming Amy for their own here, when in fact Winehouse was so much more than just canon-fodder.Despite the best efforts of producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, the first posthumous Amy Winehouse release since the singerвЂ™s death earlier this year, too often sounds like a cobbled-together cash grab. Ultimately, Lioness is a flawed memorial for a flawed star, whose churning guts were every bit as defining as her distinctive voice. 'Tears Dry' was originally imagined as this slow, regret-laden torch song, while the original demo of 'Wake up Alone' is heartbreakingly, miserably lovelorn. The two alternative cuts from Back to Black glint most convincingly of all. Winehouse was planning a jazz supergroup with the Roots' superlative drummer, Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson, before the release of her own third album 'Half Time' survives from their collaborations. 'Like Smoke' finds Winehouse duetting with Nas, who gets the lion's share of the lines on this promising, but half-baked cut. There's more of a frisson to the two new tracks, 'Between the Cheats', a lush, shimmery 60s soul gem whose grim, mangled words contrast intriguingly with the tune. It's plain why the producer got excited, but this scatty version of a classic is just another sop to those who prefer their Winehouse sipping aspic rather than gargling her own bile.

You can understand the inclusion of 'The Girl From Ipanema', the first song the young Amy sang for Remi back in 2002. But while the Winehouse of the Back to Black era is in fine voice, the devout classicism here is devoid of grit. Winehouse's final Tony Bennett duet, 'Body and Soul', is here, while 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' finds Mark Ronson at the controls of this girl group classic. So Lioness is more concerned with a redacted skim through the past than any future that might have been.Д¬overs make up the backbone of this perfectly enjoyable, but tame release. Producer Salaam Remi has stated that Winehouse's putative third album had been written, but вЂ“ two exceptions aside вЂ“ not yet recorded. Up until this point, however, the version of Winehouse being perpetuated on Lioness is cosier and more vanilla than many would recognise defanged, cleansed of the carpet burns that made her music so deeply compelling. He had something in him, you know.' With this coda, Lioness's compilers go a little way towards acknowledging the inner turmoil that made Winehouse such a compelling artist. ' Donny Hathaway, likeвЂ¦ he couldn't contain himself.

'Marvin Gaye вЂ“ great,' she muses at the song's end.

Amy winehouse lioness hidden treasures