You may not be familiar with Mark Ronson, but chances are you’ve heard his music. He’s produced music for Lilly Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Robbie Williams. On top of that, he is the man responsible for soul chanteuse/tabloid darling Amy Winehouse’s retro-sixties sound.On his sophomore release, Ronson called in some favors and assembled a virtual who’s who of British pop stars to do cover versions of indie-rock songs, but with Ronson’s trademark hip-hop, soul twist.
“Version” is definitely a hit or miss album. When a track is on point, it is phenomenal. But when it’s bad, lordy is it bad. Try sitting through the cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” with Ol’ Dirty Bastard (?) rambling away in the background. Suffice to say, it isn’t pretty.
Even Robbie Williams’ cover of The Charlatans “The Only One I Know” leaves something to be desired. The only difference between the two songs is the addition of some horns and Robbie Williams’ languid vocals.
Don’t let these few missteps fool you, dear reader. There are some real gems on this album. Lilly Allen’s take on the Kaiser Chiefs’ “Oh My God” is brilliant. Allen’s lazy, nonchalant vocals paired with Ronson’s blaring horns and thumping drum beat pays appropriate homage to the Kaisers. Daniel Merriweather tackles The Smiths “Stop Me,” and as a Smiths fan, I can honestly say he does Morrissey justice.
The real star of this album is Amy Winehouse. Her cover of The Zutons “Valerie” far surpasses the original. Ronson turns “Valerie” into a kind of sweeping Phil Spector production, reminiscent of The Shangri-Las. The horns, the strings, the piano, all positioned perfectly behind Winehouse’s soulful voice, almost prove that the very song was written just to be covered on this album.
When all is said and done, “Version” is a solid album and is a definite must for everyone from hipsters to Motown devotees.