Send "Mark Ronson " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 It's very easy to be suspicious of Mark Ronson. Never mind the family connections, the fame garnered from helming albums by Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse-- artists charismatic enough to give any producer a cushy job-- or the dubious entity called the Business Int'l. The real cause for all those cocked eyebrows and dubious looks has been the diminishing-returns appropriation of old soul tropes in service of neo-soul radio hits, which actually sounded great on Back to Black but much less compelling-- almost comically crass-- on Ronson's own cashgrab 2007 album, Version. Full of payback cameos by Winehouse, Allen, ODB, and Robbie Williams, Version was a covers album that tried to position Ronson as a trendsetter, but proved dead-end rather than innovative and fresh.Ronson's moment may have passed, but he actually seems relieved. Record Collection, his follow-up, succeeds at leaving his signature sound in the past and rolling out some new, often impressive tricks. Mercifully, there are no Daptone horns on here (no slam on that group, but they sound better when paired with Daptone artists), and Ronson expands his range beyond Stax, Philly, and Motown to reach into the 1970s and especially the 80s for inspiration. "You Gave Me Nothing" rollerskates on glittery disco beats, "Lose It All (In the End)" mimics the orchestral pomp of 60s crooner pop, and both "The Colour of Crumar" and "Circuit Breaker" soundtrack lost Atari games ca. 1986. The result is a grab-bag of an album: scattered, frantic, distracted, overeager, yet occasionally engaging nevertheless. While that title may suggest a navel-gazing bedroom-auteur beatshop, Record Collection proves a surprisingly gregarious album, varying up the sounds and styles and making better use of cameos by his famous friends. Unlike Handsome Boy Modeling School and N.A.S.A., Ronson doesn't pair up his guests in stunt combinations. Rather, he's more interested in how they complement each other and the songs; he's after chemistry. "Somebody to Love Me" pairs Boy George with long-time Ronson associate Andrew Wyatt, and the former's gritty delivery makes him a nice foil for the latter's youthful falsetto. It's one of the most dramatic moments on the album, especially when Boy George pleads for someone to "see the boy I once was in my life."...full text |
| Rollingstone |
| The album title cuts to the chase. Like all good DJs, Mark Ronson is first and foremost a collector, the kind of guy with untold 45s lining his loft. In his production work for Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse, he proved to be one of music's wonkiest wonks, bringing encyclopedic pop knowledge to geeked-out party music. Some other things that Ronson collects: vintage keyboards and cool friends. His third album is full of chiming synths and guests that run from Simon Le Bon to Ghostface to the London Gay Men's Choir. The single "Bang Bang Bang" pairs Q-Tip and the New York duo MDNR in a buoyant electro trifle; "Glass Mountain Trust" finds D'Angelo doing his best Prince impression. It could be a messy grab bag, but Record Collection hangs together as an album. Ronson is the rare DJ-producer who is as fluent with melodies as he is with beats. (Check the fiendishly catchy "Lose It [In the End]," sung by Ronson himself.) He doesn't just love old music, he understands it: In songs like the stormy "Somebody to Love Me," he does for 1980s synth pop what he did for 1960s girl-group soul on Winehouse's Back to Black, pushing past kitsch revivalism to evoke a timelessly moody romanticism. He's a connoisseur with a heart....full text |
| Prettymuchamazing |
| It’s a tragedy when North American society rejects foreign musicians simply because they don’t fit in with whatever current fad is being blasted through the radio. If you have visited any bar or club in Europe over the last three months, particularly in the U.K., than you were most likely to hear Mark Ronson‘s “Bang Bang Bang,” his electronic pop/rap score that features sensational New York duo MNDR, and the legendary Q-Tip. It’s certainly a change of scenery since Ronson’s last full length, Version, an album devoted entirely to covers of British musicians (except for the rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”) and though debuted at #2 on the U.K. Chart, unsurprisingly did not make any impact on North American soil. Record Collection, his third studio album, is the first to feature the moniker Business International and the first for Ronson to provide some vocals of his own. Known primarily as the renowned producer who did Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black, Ronson steps out of his niche on this record, incorporating synths instead of horns and even inviting a couple of Americans to support the steady rotation of British artists, including Rose Elinor Dougall of the Pipettes and Theophilus London. Sadly, the degenerates and clumsy music critics on this side of the map still fail to give Ronson the praise and respect he deserves, especially after releasing a collection of songs this exemplary. Mark Ronson has always been first and foremost a producer/DJ and aficionado of vintage music. His influences are reflective via his production, whether it be British cult bands The Cure and The Smiths, or modern day conscious rappers Mos Def and members of Wu-Tang. Ronson’s flair for combining these two opposing sounds is what makes him so distinctive; a flair that is no doubt intensified on his third full length. Record Collection is an album that never slows down or loses its relevancy to pop music. Ronson starts off with the explosive “Bang Bang Bang,” the fun summer anthem that merges electro pop and off beat drum patterns with a chorus sung in French by Amanda Warner of MNDR. Maintaing that same level of high intensity, the next two tracks provide an equal supply of popitude including “Lose It,” the swivelling country western rap jam where Ronson sings the chorus, accompanied with some mean verses by Ghostface, and “The Bike Song,” the jovial eco-friendly groove with Spank Rock and Kyle Falconer. Even the love ballads here are brimming with pop and hip hop like the impassioned “Somebody To Love Me” and synth oeuvre “Glass Mountain Trust” where D’Angelo sounds more like Cee-Lo doing a Marvin Gaye impression....full text |
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