We all knew The Soul Queen of Camden had unreleased material, the question was when it would reach the rest of us. The question has been answered with the announcement of the December release of Lioness: Hidden Treasures, a collection of previously unreleased tracks spanning the course of her career. The 12 tunes are a mix of new, unheard material and alternative versions of her most familiar tracks as well as a few covers. American producer Salaam Remi, who had worked with Amy since she was signed to Island Records in 2002 says, “It’s not the album she would have made. But these are things I would like people to know that she did. It makes no sense them sitting on my hard drive wilting away.”
In classic Amy fashion, jazz standards are included in the mix with contemporary hip-hop tracks. Listeners will be glad to hear the inclusion of an original version of "The Girl From Ipanema" and Donny Hathaway's "Song for You" recorded in one of Remi's first sessions with Amy when she was 18.
For fans the release of this posthumous collection will bring mixed emotions. On the one hand, we can always be grateful for new or unreleased material from a beloved artist, but this collection presents only a shadow of what her 3rd album would have been and will most certainly leave us with a twinge of regret that we'll never hear the final product.
One of the first tracks to leak features verses from her close friend and creative influence Nasir Jones, better known as the rapper Nas. Winehouse's tune Me and Mr. Jones was written about a boyfriend who she wouldn't let get between her and the Nas gig in Brixton. After her death Nas agreed to add lyrics to the previously recorded original. Listen to the track below.
Amy Winehouse- Like Smoke (ft. Nas)
Check back for more news on the full album set to be released on December 5th
-Hillary D.
