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Review: Mark Ronson – Uptown Special

★★★★☆
Four Stars
 
Mark Ronson’s multi-talented musical mind has produced, in Uptown Special, his best product yet. That’s saying a lot after the huge success of ‘Valerie’. 2010’s Record Collection lacked the same brilliance he’d previously demonstrated, but Ronson is back on form. The first single off the album, ‘Uptown Funk’, topped the charts in over seven countries and is a floor-filler with lasting value.
 
It seems Ronson’s phonebook is bursting at the seams. Uptown Special features the likes of Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars and double Grammy award winning producer Jeff Bhasker. The first track, even preamble, ‘Uptown’s First Finale’, sets the eclectic tone for the album. This is largely thanks to Stevie Wonder and his deep jazz harmonica laid over a synthesised beat. The lyrical filth of the rap track, ‘Feel Right’, gives the album yet another edge, whilst ‘Summer Breaking’ is a jazz rock track reminiscent of the seventies.
 
With ‘Daffodils’ and ‘In the Case of Fire’, the album goes from strength to strength, especially given the latter’s immediately catchy opening rift. As the album progresses, ‘Crack in the Peal’ sees it at its most mellow, with a wonderfully chilling R&B feel. ‘Leaving Los Feliz’ and ‘Heavy and Rolling’ give the sense that you’re still on the dance floor but it’s nearing time, rounding up one hell of a night. 
 

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