From the sound of things, one can tell British DJ-producer Mark Ronson seriously channels his current influences through the records he listened to as a kid.
With the moniker Mark Ronson & the Business Int’l, “Record Collection” reaches out to some of those influences. Legendary music heavyweights like Boy George, Q-Tip and D’Angelo play a hand in creating an excellent batch of original songs that manage to shine the spotlight on Ronson’s production abilities.
Ronson’s 2007 covers album, “Version,” found him doo-wopping out pop gems like Britney’s “Toxic” to fine effect. Amy Winehouse even recreated The Zutons’ “Valerie” so masterfully that the album got a Brit Award the following year. Win.
On this album, Ronson takes that soulful ability and multiplies it by awesome — as in synthier drum loops, punchy ’80s electronics and sweetly-laid harmonies. He even busts out a mic and sings backup on the sparkling “Somebody to Love Me.”
Joints like Spank Rock assisted “The Bike Song” cruise on a parade of tricked-out fixies via fresh hip-hop breakbeats. The theme here for Ronson and crew is to have fun and revisit the past. Consider your record collection enhanced.
Add this to your ‘record collection’
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