Amy's debut album Frank was a BIG album for a debutant. It won her legions of fans with her distinctive voice and streetwise mix of pop, soul and jazz.

It's hard to believe that the girl is still only 22. Her mane of black hair , heavy make-up and pout is pretty damn scary. This is not a lady you would want to argue the toss with.

For the difficult second album Amy's decided to take a switch of direction. A brave move after the success of Frank. This time she's come up with a huge slab of 1960's soul of the sort pedalled by Holland Dozier Holland et al. It reaches back to the girl groups like The Supremes and to the gospel of Aretha.

Yet it's a remarkably modern sounding record - an autobiographical confessional of her life post Frank, but at the same time sounding wonderfully dated.

Quite what her legion of fans will make of it is hard to predict. But just like Amy it's big, bold and sassy.

****

Review by Pete Whalley

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly