Mark Ronson, Version

Mark Ronson, Version
Columbia

As any Amy Winehouse or Lily Allen fan will know, Mark Ronson is an undeniably fantastic producer. Since his hip hop days (remember single ‘Ooh Wee’?) he has provided countless rap, soul and pop artists with his unique production. On paper then, an album of covers recreated Ronson-style sounds like a recipe for monster record sales and stacks of five star reviews.

The first half of Version ticks all the boxes – tracks by Coldplay, Britney and The Zutons blossom into oddball gems heavy on horns and percussion and heavier on sunny Stax vibes and fingerclickin’ good rhythm. The Jam’s ‘Pretty Green’ is turned inside out and suddenly makes perfect sense as a dancehall nursery rhyme.

By the second half though, horn fatigue sets in and the whole exercise starts to drift. A bland remake of Maximo Park’s ‘Apply Some Pressure’ and a totally pointless version of ‘LSF’ that appears to have left the original Kasabian vocal intact let the album fizzle out. Radiohead classic ‘Just’ is annihilated by Phantom Planet; a whiny vocal that’s a mere impression of Thom Yorke lets down the inventive production. The music on its own is perfect, but Lily Allen’s drippy voice can’t quite lift her cover above mediocre and Robbie Williams’ lukewarm appearance is a real clanger. Still, there are some definite jewels here – get Version on Itunes, but don’t bother with the second half.

29/04/2007

Singles Review, March 2007

Emilie Chalcraft and Sidekick wade through the garbage to find a few gems and one absolute diamond…

The Bees, ‘Who Cares What The Question Is?’
E: If you found yourself in a saloon where John Lennon was behind the bar pouring bourbon and playing slide guitar it’d all sound like this.
S: It also sounds exactly like Chas and Dave. On Route 66.
E: This is true. But they wouldn’t rip a solo like that! Would be nice to see some shuffling railroad blues in the chart wouldn’t it?

Jamelia, ‘No More’
E: I’m expecting a hot’n’fresh-out-the-kitchen nugget of perfect pop, here. [Plays track].
S: Oh my god.
E: Oh dear me. It’s ‘Golden Brown’ by the Stranglers.
S: And the only thing ‘Golden Brown’ ever had going for it was that it’s in 13/8 time - and they’ve dumbed it down to 3/4 time!
E: That’s quite a rarity these days though. Where’s the chorus? This is really very bad. I feel unclean.

Tiny Dancers, ‘I Will Wait For You’
E: This deserves a mention for the packaging alone.
S: Really, the packaging alone. This sounds like that creepy song that gets played at kids’ discos – ‘I am the music man, I come from down your way, and I can play!’ – and then everyone sings ‘Pia-pia-piano’ and does actions.
E: Best to think of it as a pretty poster with a free coaster.

The Noisettes, ‘Sister Rosetta (Capture The Spirit)’
E: Now I know we’re judging the audio experience but I have to really drive home the point that these people look great. No stylist intervention here. Shingai looks like a riotgrrl Ziggy Stardust who’s been living in a bin with Oscar the Grouch.
S: This actually succeeds in being catchy, clever and original – it’s like the holy trinity of a good single.
E: Well, the chorus does sound a lot like ‘Neat Neat Neat’ by The Damned. Still, two out of three…

Lily Allen, ‘Shame For You’
E: I suppose you can’t deny the production is excellent. The squelchy dub bass and that cheeky brass band excite me very much.
S: None of that quite covers up the fact she cannot sing.
E: I think they call that her idiosyncratic delivery. It’s still yawnsome. By far the weakest single off ‘Alright, Still’.
S: I don’t like the way she’s inviting the thought of ‘poking’ her. This fad for sentences instead of lyrics is so bloody irritating.

Mark Ronson, ‘Stop Me’
E: Last one, then. [Plays track. Wild laughter. Track finishes. Plays track again.]
E: This is AMAZING. You seem reluctant – or is that horrified?
S: Um…
E: Can we make this single of the week or something? Probably best to explain that this is ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’, one of my favourite Smiths songs ever, turned completely inside out into a glob of brassy, Motown brilliance with Prince on vocals.
S: It’s not really Prince is it?
E: No. But it’s still genius. Out of ten I give this fifty. Hahahaha...