Amy Winehouse - The Ska EP Expanded

What a great cover.

I won't be getting into the unfortunate girl's fate here, as I'm sure you've read more than enough about it these last days (as I'm writing this it's been less than a week since she has passed away); I'll just share a part of her musical story some of you may have not be aware of - at least I wasn't, until quite recently. Here is a collection of her ska recordings, comprising four studio covers of classics you probably know if you're at least a bit of a ska fan; six more live recordings of (mostly) the same songs; a live cover of a song I never liked, but have included for completeness' sake ("Free Nelson Mandela" by The Special AKA); and a bonus cover of one of Amy's songs performed by 2Tone legends The Selecter, a few hours after she died, less than two miles from her flat. Heavy shit.

Here's what Terry Hall of the Specials looks like these days. And what has been seen, CANNOT BE UNSEEN.

Anyway, from what can be heard on these recordings, Amy was a fantastic ska performer, picking mostly material from the 2Tone era (either Specials songs or songs The Specials had covered, basically), but delivering them in a wonderfully giddy, childish tone, which makes them sound much closer to the Jamaican originals of the Sixties, at least to my ears; add to that the clipped sound featured on many of the songs here (that's the way to think of it - a feature, not a bug!), and you've got yourself a great fake ska classic from '65. Have fun!

Track listing:

1. Monkey Man (2:54)
2. Hey Little Rich Girl (3:33)
3. You're Wondering Now (2:32)
4. Cupid (3:23)
5. Hey Little Rich Girl (Glastonbury 2008) (3:46)
6. A Message to You, Rudy (Glastonbury 2008) (4:07)
7. You're Wondering Now (Glastonbury 2008) (3:00)
8. Cupid (Glastonbury 2007) (4:00)
9. Hey Little Rich Girl (Glastonbury 2007) (4:19)
10. Monkey Man (Glastonbury 2007) (3:05)
11. Free Nelson Mandela (Mandela's 90th Birthday) (5:24)
12. The Selecter - Back to Black (O2 Arena Islington 2011) (4:26)

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