Without Amy, No Adele: Critics Remember Winehouse

Amy Winehouse was a great singer—when sober—who changed pop music and still had her best years ahead of her, say music critics as they eulogize the troubled pop star. "Without Amy, there would have been no Adele, no Duffy, and no Lady Gaga," writes Adrian Thrills in the Daily Mail, adding, "she was without question the outstanding vocalist of her generation." Thrills especially praises Back to Black, saying that "nothing has come close to packing the sheer emotional punch" of Winehouse's famous second album. "Rooted in emotional turmoil, it will go down as one of the classic British albums."

"At her sober best, Winehouse displayed a rich and resonant instrument, emotive enough for soul but skilled enough for jazz," writes Jim Farber in the New York Daily News. Farber also focuses on Back to Black, calling it "pitch perfect," "an ideal batch of neo-soul songs, sounding as warm as its '60s reference points, yet enlivened by a current sensibility." He muses, like Thrills, that Winehouse influenced other singers including Duffy, Rumer, and Adele. Now, however, everyone is left to wonder if Winehouse's long-rumored third album will ever be released. Click for more Winehouse appreciation, or watch her last public appearance. (More Amy Winehouse stories.)