Asif Kapadia’s documentary on the demise of Amy Winehouse was a hit in cinemas this summer. Four months later, presumably with one eye on the Christmas market, the soundtrack follows. This is not a Best Of collection; the chosen music follows the trajectory of the film. Kapadia’s theory is that there was a massive change in Winehouse’s life and performances after the success of Back to Black, and indeed there is a striking difference between a 2006 live recording of We’re Still Friends, with her vocals silken and mellifluous, and her 2007 duet with Tony Bennett, on which her voice is tapered and slurred. There’s also an early demo, Like Smoke, the album version of Tears Dry on Their Own, which shows her in her pomp, 10 interstitial pieces from the film’s score and a random piece of trip-hop from William Orbit. It’s a collection for those that want to remember the film, not the artist.
