Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures to be released

Added by Pat Williams on November 5, 2011

A new album of Amy Winehouse‘s previously unheard material will be released December 5, according to her family members.

Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures will feature original tracks and covers from the tragic singer including her recent duet with Tony Bennett. A portion of the sales will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity set up by the singer’s family to fight addiction.

Mitch Winehouse, Amy’s father, said, “If the family had felt that this album wasn’t up to the standard of Frank (2003) and Back To Black (2006) we would never have agreed to release it and we believe it will stand as a fitting tribute to Amy’s musical legacy.”

The 12 tracks on the disc were put together by Winehouse’s longtime collaborators, producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, and will include songs she recorded before, during and after the releases of her two studio albums.

The disc is a “chronicle of her musical development” and will feature alternate takes of previously released songs, including a demo version of “Wake Up Alone” and mellower takes of “Tears Dry on Their Own” and “Valerie,” as well as her recently released Tony Bennett duet, “Body & Soul.”

It will also have a number of covers, such as the Shirelles’ “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You” (with just Amy and her guitar, recorded at her London home in the spring of 2009 in the midst of the singer’s struggles with drugs and alcohol) and a 2002 reggae version of the classic ’60s doo-wop song by Ruby & the Romantics “Our Day Will Come.”

Winehouse died in July at age 27 as a result of excessive alcohol intake.

One of the most recent tracks is a duet with Amy’s hip-hop pal Nas titled “Like Smoke,” which was recorded in May 2008. Another unheard song, “Between the Cheats,” is reportedly a take on Winehouse’s troubled marriage to ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, recorded in May 2008 for possible inclusion on her third album. Fans will also hear “Best Friends,” a Remi-produced track from 2003 that used to serve as Amy’s live show opener.

“I spent so much time chasing after Amy, telling her off, that I never realized what a true genius she was,” Mitch Winehouse said. “It wasn’t until I sat down with the rest of the family and listened to this album that I fully appreciated the breadth of Amy’s talent, from jazz standards to hip-hop songs, it really took my breath away.”

More information about Amy Winehouse and many other singers and musicians is available at http://bit.ly/v7Xflv