Customer Reviews

Record Collection

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After success with his poppy Motown meets Camdentown sound on his own album "Version" as well as the even bigger hits that were Amy Winehouse's Back To Black and Lily Allen's Smile, Ronson could have just kept on coasting by on his signature horn section, GQ award-winning good looks, storied socialite status, and obvious charm, but the producer chose to turn a corner into unknown territory. This album is almost the equivalent of comedian Jerry Seinfeld throwing out all his old jokes in the documentary "Comedian"; it's a leap but it works, and much like the aforementioned documentary a lot of old and new faces are along for the ride. "Record Collection" reflects a Ronson who has clearly studied up (most notably with 80s legends Duran Duran) and is thus justified in geeking out with synthesizer rigs and cameos from artists like Boy George and Simon LeBon, whose records surely must have been some of the earliest in Ronson's own personal collection. In addition to those cameos, I really appreciate the way that Ronson gives a push to less-known artists like Kyle Falconer, MNDR, Andrew Wyatt, and Spankrock --inspiring us in the Google generation to do our own digital "crate digging" and find out more about these new voices. While the album lags in spots (most notably the seemingly pointless elevator music interstitials like "The Colour of Crumar" and "Selector"), it is still a solid pop records with a lot of gems that will maintain heavy rotation at my house (the afrobeat burner "Somebody to Love Me" featuring Andrew Wyatt and Boy George being the absolute stand out); with its blend of old and new into something fresh and now "Record Collection" gets my heartfelt stamp of approval. Get it!

Mark Ronson's new CD sees him largely eschewing the horn-rich retro Soul sound of his last CD "Version". The sound this time around is more electronic with a heavy Hip Hop influence, but still with a stellar armada of guests and all original songs, no covers.

Lead-off single "Bang bang bang" features a relaxed Q-Tip and MNDR, a jerky funky affair already a #6 hit in the UK. Boy George sings "I need somebody to be nice, see the boy I once was in my eyes" over a bouncy beat on "Somebody to love me" while an awol D'Angelo appears on "Glass mountain trust", a futuristic Funk joint that sounds very Gnarls Barkley.

"Introducing the business" is a sombre song with skittery beats featuring Pill and the haunting London Gay Men's Choir, while Simon Le Bon, Wiley (raps the intro) and Ronson himself (handles the verses) appear on the poppy title track, a sign of things to come on the upcoming Ronson-produced Duran Duran album perhaps.

Interspersed among the songs are 3 electronic instrumental interludes; "The colour of crumar", "Selector" and "Missing words", as well as the synth/Rock instrumental "Circuit breaker". Closing is my favourite, "The night last night" with the clear vocals of Rose Elinor Dougall juxtaposed with Alex Greenwald's haunting layered vocals set to skittery beats and cryptic lyrics about a dream.

"I wanna be in your record collection" and this should get him in.

Mark Ronson has been one of my favorite producers for the last few years, showing his immense range with his production for Wale, Daniel Merriweather and Amy Winehouse. This album has more of an electronic and new wave vibe than his previous album, without sounding too cliche. Ronson is one of the few producers that can get away with mixing a super pop song like "Lose It (In the End)" with Ghostface's hard delivery. "Introducing the Business" combines Pill's Georgia drawl with amazing production and atmospheric vocals from the the London Gay Men's Choir. D'angelo emerges out of the ether to drop a solid turn on "Glass Mountain Trust" (in which he sounds like Cee-lo/Bilal). In a time where people are afraid to make pure Pop music, Mark Ronson continues to shine. I can't wait to see what he has in store with his future collabs with D'angelo and Adele.

I love this album. Every track. I wasn't familiar with Mark Ronson prior to this album - I checked it on Rhapsody because of a Rolling Stone review and was instantly hooked. It's a mishmash of styles that keeps it interesting listen after listen. Actually, I rarely buy albums anymore because I just keep my playlists on Rhapsody, but I am going to purchase this one for my personal collection. And the leading song, "Bang Bang Bang" - it's a song that will always get me moving. If you enjoy catchy hooks, this is a great album.

My Faves: Bang Bang Bang, Lose It, You Gave Me Nothing, Hey Boy, The Night Last Night. I really like Somebody to Love Me and Record Collection, but the first list are my favorites on the album.

Never really provided a review for an album on Amazon, but I feel the need for this one. Not being terribly familiar with Mark Ronson prior to listening to Record Collection, I don't have a great deal of context for his music, but this is an album that I appreciate more with each listen. Bang Bang Bang is of course the radio-friendly track (not that that's a bad thing, as it is a very catchy song), but the less-obvious pieces exhibit great creativity. Somebody to Love Me and The Night Last Night are especially surprising songs where beats and lyrics that don't seem to go together instead work incredibly well. Highly, highly recommend this album.

The albums and 45's in Mark Ronson's "Record Collection" must have been starting to gather dust around 1982 or so, because so many of these tracks come off as collages from too much of that time period's MTV watching. The likes of Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Boy George of Culture Club, and D'Angelo all make appearances. Heck, the first time I heard "Bang Bang Bang" (the album's first song) I could have sworn Amanda Warner (aka MNDR) was Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons. There's also the usual pop-raps that that were common early in the genre. There's no gangstas in Ronson's world, but a come-on based on the ecological greatness of riding a bicycle is ("The Bike Song").

It makes "Record Collection" an endearing collage of styles without dropping into a sample happy garble. Ronson uses real instruments in place of most of the samples, which does give the album an old-school feel. Vocalists MNDR and Andrew Wyatt (along with Ronson himself) are dominant through the disc, with the cameos often blending in seamlessly among the regulars. For an album that is a collaborative stack of "singles," "Record Collection" works amazingly well. It's a testament to Ronson's eclectic taste in music and skills as a writer/producer that "Record Collection" holds toagther as well as it does.

A friend of mine suggested this album to me. I borrowed it from my local library and to be honest, the first time I listened to it, I wasn't that impressed. However, I have a policy to always listen to an album twice through before making a final decision as to whether I like it or not and by the time I had gotten through the second time, I was hooked. I liked it enough to buy the entire album and not just download a song or two.

I'm familiar with a much of Ronson's work as a producer, and know he's got the Midas touch. I wanted to check out his own work sort of on a whim. The best decision so far of 2011. LOVE IT. It's on heavy rotation.

He does a masterful job of juxtaposing such a range of musical and vocal styles over an electronic base, and it just works.

Faves are
Bang Bang Bang
The Bike Song
Somebody to Love me
Introducing the Business
Record Collection
Hey Boy
The Night Last Night

Yeah, I realize that's fully half the disc. But this is the disc to put on your best sound system and play LOUD.

2010 has been kinda disappointing, but surprisingly "Record Collection" fills the gap in a big big way. No granted, I'm biased cause I like electro, hip hop and jazzy alternative, all stuff that was done briliantly on Mark Ronson's last album "Version"... I thought Record Collection would be good, but had no idea that Ronson would take what worked great for Version and expand on that with Record Collection and then some.

Being that some of the recent albums from artists i like have somewhat disappointed me...this album stands out by far as a great innovative part album, w/ fantastic beats/sounds and musicianship.

Standout tracks:
Bang Bang Bang
Someone to Love Me
Record Collection
Glass Moutain Trust
Circuit Breaker

Actually...all the tracks are great in their own right....sit back, and enjoy. Crank up the volume and party loud.

Superb offering from one of the most talented producer/arrangers around today. Like Danger Mouse, Ronson has an amazing knack for creating music worlds and getting talented musicians to come along with him for the ride. Rolling Stone's review put it well that Ronson makes geeked out dance music. This has earned an esteemed part of my record collection.