Unlike with his Hip Hop debut (featuring the hit "Ooh Wee") the Brit-born Mark Ronson released his second album, which came out in 2007 in an alternative manner as he produced in another album with many of his associates, both from the Hip Hop world and in the Soul, R&B, and Indie fields with this covers album "Version".
1. "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" (feat. Daptone Horns)
To get things underway we have a track which you are bound to recognise, in spite of the fact that it didn't really do all that well upon initial release. However it is a hot one and a joint which kicks off the album well with a hyped approach from Ronson, rich in horns, freaky percussion and just general funkiness.
**Five Stars**
2. "Oh My God" (feat. Lily Allen)
You see that in this particular one (a track which was amongst the three most successful singles on the record) he transforms a pretty basic Indie track from Kaisher Chiefs into a hardcore R&B tune by using a Pop artist as the leading role in the tune. It is a killer tune and really sands out here as Ronson shows how well he can cope with this style.
**Five Stars**
3. "Stop Me" (feat. Daniel Merriweather)
This Smith cover has him use the up-and-comer Daniel Merriweather to do what he can with the material in order to shift the direction of the music towards a much more soulful rendition of the Alt. Rock joint. Personally, it didn't really do it for me, and as it was the first single to really make any sort of impact, I wasn't too optimistic about this project at the time.
**Three Stars**
4. "Toxic" (feat. Nick Catchdubs, Ol' Dirty B*****d and Tiggers)
This was an unexpected inclusion on the album as you see that here you get a Hip Hop remix of a popular Britney Spears track. It has Ronson showing his skills at producing in a style which you get throughout this one whilst bringing in some of his earlier work as a Hip Hop DJ with a little of this added to it in addition to a posthumous rap form Wu-Tang's ODB.
**Four Stars**
5. "Valerie" (feat. Amy Winehouse)
This one was probably the biggest songs from the album and on which you cannot do without. It is a boost to what was already a nice little song from The Zutons, but in this case you see that with the modifications and re-working made to fit in with the R&B style of Amy Winehouse, it makes for a killer song which features some of the most exciting melodies you will get in the whole album.
**Five Stars**
6. "Apply Some Pressure" (feat. Paul Smith)
Maxïmo Park 's lead vocalist Paul Smith is the one who holds this one together as you see that in this particular one you have him breaking out in a joint which remixes the Maxïmo Park joint in a kind of Hip hop manner as Ronson introduces more of the typical choices with a little added touches with certain instruments, but most notably the exciting Breakbeats.
The Jam have their song revamped in a manner which reflects the style of the featured artist,. Santagold (now Santigold), who chooses to come with her bluntly-san vocals on top of some of the now standard-styled beats which you tend to get with the artist. However although I enjoyed the production, Santagold's style isn't something I can really get down to, and it only really suits House backing.
**Two Stars**
9. "Just" (feat. Phatom Planet)
This is a freaky take on a Radiohead tune, and one which really stands out as it does the record just with an approach from the artist which appears to take on much more of a Jazzy Funk style on the standardized percussion breaks. The arrangement is lively and gets you moving despite the apparent laid-back nature of it.
**Five Stars**
10. "Amy" (feat. Kenna)
This Ryan Adams cover is on of the tunes on the album which really didn't do all that for me as I couldn't really see where it fitted in with the manner in which the artist goes about things. It doesn't really fit in here and although it takes on many of the basic elements of Ronson's work, it seems to be far too tamed and it prevents it from really breaking out into anything special.
**Two Stars**
11. "The Only One I Know" (feat. Robbie Williams)
Here you get a bit of Robbie from the artist as you see that we get into a jam which has Ronson showing off more of his freaky an energetic self when producing for a diverse artist in Robbie. It was one which took a while to get into, but generally, it is a strong one and has a fits in with the work done in a way which supports the strengths of all involved.
**Four Stars**
12. "Diversion" (Lude)
13. "L.S.F." (feat. Kasabian)
You have another remix on the album as with this one you have Kasabian having a role in the making of the re-don version for Ronson. It is much more appealing than the original as you see that with his jazzy approach it brings out much more energy out of the tune to counteract the plainness of the sound which came form the first version.
**Four Stars**
14. "Outversion" (Lude)
Although this is a pretty alternative album, I couldn't help but feel that the way in which things were done in the album were relentless and pushed to the max as the style only really made big changes for the tunes which came as singles. However, I can't say that I didn't enjoy it for the most part and so in spite of the fact that the Hip Hop elements are relaxed and used only for the percussion, it was a good progressive work form Mark Ronson.
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The instrumental cover of "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" kind of reminds me of Paul McCartney's cover of his own track "Too Many People" on the album Thrillington.
Blair_Waldorf 01.08.2009 15:32
Great review. I liked this album a lot more than I thought I would, though the Robbie Williams inclusion still makes me gag, I was pleasantly surprised at the cover of "Just", no one can touch Radiohead, but I really, really liked it! x
OnVersion, British-born, New York-bred DJ Mark Ronson cocks a sideways glance at some of ... more
the bigger UK chart hits of the last few years, plus a couple of old favourites. Formerly producer for an all-star cast that includes Lily Allen, Christina Aguiler...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
OnVersion, British-born, New York-bred DJ Mark Ronson cocks a sideways glance at some of ... more
the bigger UK chart hits of the last few years, plus a couple of old favourites. Formerly producer for an all-star cast that includes Lily Allen, Christina Aguiler...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
On Version, British-born, New York-bred DJ Mark Ronson cocks a sideways glance at some of ... more
the bigger UK chart hits of the last few years, plus a couple of old favourites. Formerly producer for an all-star cast that includes Lily Allen, Christina Aguile...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
On Version, British-born, New York-bred DJ Mark Ronson cocks a sideways glance at some of ... more
the bigger UK chart hits of the last few years, plus a couple of old favourites. Formerly producer for an all-star cast that includes Lily Allen, Christina Aguile...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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