Elly Roberts reviews
Mark Ronson: Version
Distributed by
Sony/Columbia
- April 2007
- Rating: 10/10
At the moment, Mark Ronson seems unstoppable.
If there was ever a threat to Fat Boy Slim’s crown, then he is it!
When you’ve got friends like Amy Winehouse (he produced her hit album Back To
Black last year), Lily Allen (who ironically went head to head at the Brits
2007 – Amy won of course) you know you’ve made it. Both drop by to put a smile
on Mark Ronson’s face. Robbie Williams and Kasabian give a bit of hand too,
along with lesser known names.
By the sound of this brilliant album, they did the trick. Uber Anglo –
American DJ Ronson, 29, turns producer-performer once again, as he tries his
luck with an album of covers, with sensational results. His treatment (or
bouncing) is sparkling and bold to say the least, which will surely bring a
nomination for one of the albums of the year.
Boosting the potential sales of the album, lead single Stop Me (a re-invention
of The Smith’s album track Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before
from 1987) went to No.2 in the UK singles chart (w/c April 16th). And that’s
where this scintillating album becomes a winner – respectful re-invention is
at the heart of everything here. When ex-Smiths’ Morrissey gave his blessing,
Ronson was over the moon.
Ronson has a clever ear – you need one to be a top DJ – so his love of both
rock and dance fuse magnificently. Needless to say, the hard work (i.e.
songwriting) has been done by others, though these interpretations have been
well thought out, with Ronson saying, "It started off with a Radiohead
track ‘Just’. I hadn’t even thought of doing covers before, but that did well
over here – even Thom Yorke went on Radio 1 and said he loved it. Basically
I’ve taken these well known songs – plus some lesser know ones – and turned
them into Motown stax 70’s versions."
His eclectic taste shines throughout the tracklisting starting with a blazing
sax-driven Northern Soul take on Coldplay’s God Put A Smile Upon Your Face,
which segues into funky Oh My God featuring gobby Londoner Lily Allen.
Single Stop Me follows and it’s worth every bit of its 3 mins 58 secs,
with Daniel Merriweather’s stylish vocals oozing with class.
On Valerie, a hit for Scouers The Zutons, Winehouse does what she does
best, cocksure attacks with the song virtually turned into a Tamla Motown
shuffle (next single for sure). Other highlights includes a virtually
unrecognisable Pretty Green (The Jam) which turns into a '60s girly
blast with dropped – in sound FX and sliding brass that, again, would make
a great single.
Unfortunately, Robbie Williams’ contribution on The Only One I Know
could have been much better, as his vocals sound almost ghostly thin, though
Kasabian fair much better on LSF.
Mark adds, "I Keep the up-most respect and appreciation and appreciation
for the original versions of songs I use. I’m just trying to find something
in it, add something to the arrangement or change the groove."
Job done - and how.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
