Version (album)

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Version
Version - Mark Ronson.jpg
Studio album by
Mark Ronson
Released14 June 2007
Recorded2005–2007
Studio
  • Allido Sound (New York City)
  • Metropolis (London)
  • Sarm West (London)
  • Daptone (New York City)
  • MCP Pacific View
Genre
  • Pop soul
  • funk
  • Motown sound
Length43:53
Label
ProducerMark Ronson
Mark Ronson chronology
Here Comes the Fuzz
(2003) 		Version
(2007) 		Record Collection
(2010)
Singles from Version
  1. "Stop Me"
    Released: 2 April 2007
  2. "Oh My God"
    Released: 16 July 2007
  3. "Valerie"
    Released: 15 October 2007
  4. "Just"
    Released: 18 February 2008

Version is the second album by New York-based English producer Mark Ronson. It is an album of cover versions with a retro-inspired sound that Ronson considers to be reminiscent of Motown and Stax releases.[1] Version was released on 14 June 2007 in the iTunes Store, and it entered the UK Album Chart at number two on 22 June 2007.

The album reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and has sold 105,584 copies as of January 2015.[2]

About[]

Released in mid-2007, the album charted in the Billboard 200 and debuted at number 2 in the UK, supported by the success of single "Stop Me", which charted at number 2 in the UK, top 5 of the US Dance charts, and in the top 40 of Italy and Australia. Upon its release, the album managed to crack into the World Top 40, charting at 29.

Ronson's next single, "Oh My God" with Lily Allen, became his second top 10 single, peaking at 8 in the UK. "Valerie", Ronson's third single, also peaked at number 2 in the British charts, kept out of the top spot by the Sugababes. It has spent a dozen weeks in the top 10 and has sold well over 300,000 copies. The song ended the year as the ninth biggest seller, behind number 1's "Bleeding Love", "Umbrella", "Grace Kelly" among others. "Valerie" also charted in the Switzerland and New Zealand charts and even managed to top the Dutch Top 40 for four consecutive weeks, keeping Leona Lewis from the top spot.

Ronson released "Just", featuring Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet, as the fourth single in the United Kingdom. The song was quickly added to BBC Radio 1's "A-List".

Overall, the album has spent 45 weeks in the UK Top 75, with 10 weeks in the top 10. In December 2007, the album was certified triple platinum in the UK for sales of over 900,000 copies.[3]

As of 2010 the album has sold 65,000 copies in United States.[4]

BBC Radio 1 listed the album as the 12th most successful of 2007 in the UK, outperforming the likes of Justin Timberlake, Foo Fighters, Nelly Furtado and Lily Allen.[citation needed]

In February 2008, Ronson received a BRIT Award for Best British Male Solo Artist over favorite Mika. He also performed a medley of 3 songs from the album, the most acclaimed being "Valerie" in which Amy Winehouse appeared. After the ceremony, Version soared from 22 to 4 in the UK Albums chart.

The album cost more than £870,000 to launch.[5]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3/5 stars[6]
The Guardian4/5 stars[7]
NME(6/10)[8]
Okayplayer4.5/5 stars[9]
Pitchfork Media(3.3/10)[10]
Stylus Magazine(B)[11]
Rolling Stone3/5 stars[12]

Critical response to the album was generally positive. Billboard called Version "the massively enjoyable sound of a guy determined to not miss a minute of his moment."[13] The New Statesman commented on "the record’s most essential qualities: warm-heartedness and a sense of fun."[14] Rolling Stone gave the album three-out-of-five stars, calling Version "an audacious set of...leftfield covers...turned into dance-soul tracks.[15] Despite the praise, the album inspired a number of mixed reviews. Rich Hughes gave it a 60% rating, saying that "whilst it was an admirable project and some of the results here are genuinely great, the misses just seem to dominate it."[16] Michelle Dhillon called the album "a conglomeration of obvious singles, littered with distinctly horrible numbers that are better ignored."[17]

Singles[]

The following tracks from the album were released as singles.

  1. "Just" – 2006 #48
  2. "Toxic" / "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" – 2006 (promo/vinyl release only)
  3. "Stop Me" – 2007 #2
  4. "Oh My God" – 2007 #8
  5. "Valerie" – 2007 #2
  6. "Just" – 2008 (re-release of 2006 single) #31

Track listing[]

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."God Put a Smile upon Your Face" (featuring the Daptone Horns)
Coldplay3:12
2."Oh My God" (featuring Lily Allen)
Kaiser Chiefs3:35
3."Stop Me" (featuring Daniel Merriweather)
The Smiths, The Supremes3:53
4."Toxic" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Tiggers)
  • Cathy Dennis
  • Christian Karlsson
  • Pontus Winnberg
  • Henrik Jonback
  • Russell Jones (add.)
Britney Spears4:05
5."Valerie" (featuring Amy Winehouse)
  • Dave McCabe
  • Russell Pritchard
  • Sean Payne
  • Abi Harding
  • Paul Molloy
  • Boyan Chowdhury
The Zutons3:39
6."Apply Some Pressure" (featuring Paul Smith)
Maxïmo Park3:36
7."Inversion"Mark RonsonOriginal1:47
8."Pretty Green" (featuring Santigold)Paul WellerThe Jam3:16
9."Just" (featuring Phantom Planet)
Radiohead5:20
10."Amy" (featuring Kenna)Ryan AdamsRyan Adams3:32
11."The Only One I Know" (featuring Robbie Williams)
The Charlatans4:00
12."Diversion"RonsonOriginal1:19
13."L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" (featuring Kasabian)
  • Sergio Pizzorno
  • Christopher Karloff
Kasabian3:30
14."Outversion"RonsonOriginal1:50
Digital deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
15."Pistol of Fire" (featuring D. Smith)
Kings of Leon2:57
16."No One Knows" (featuring Domino Kirke)
Queens of the Stone Age4:37
17."You're All I Need to Get By" (featuring Wale and Tawiah)
Ashford & Simpson3:10
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
15."Stop Me" (featuring Daniel Merriweather) (Kissy Sellout remix)
  • Morrissey
  • Marr
  • Holland-Dozier-Holland
The Smiths & The Supremes5:36

Personnel[]

Chart performance[]

Chart (2007)[18] Peak
position
Dutch Albums Chart 44
Irish Albums Chart 21
Swiss Albums Chart 51
UK Albums Chart 2
US Billboard 200[19] 129

Release history[]

Country Date
United Kingdom 16 April 2007
United States 10 July 2007
Brazil 22 July 2008

References[]

  1. ^ "Mark Ronson – Intro Clip 2". YouTube. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  2. ^ Jones, Alan (26 January 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: Ronson first artist to top singles and albums charts since 2013". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Version goes 2x Platinum". Retrieved 27 December 2007
  4. ^ https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956933/mark-ronson-readies-record-collection-release
  5. ^ Allen, Liam (21 July 2010). "BBC News - What is a £1m record deal?". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  6. ^ AllMusic review
  7. ^ Alexis Petridis. "CD: Mark Ronson, Version". the Guardian.
  8. ^ NME.COM. "NME Reviews - Mark Ronson - NME.COM". NME.COM.
  9. ^ Okayplayer review Archived 13 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Mark Ronson". Pitchfork.
  11. ^ "Mark Ronson - Version - Review - Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com.
  12. ^ Rolling Stone review
  13. ^ Vrabel, Jeff (14 July 2007), "Version". Billboard. 119 (28):43
  14. ^ Rogers, Jude (9 April 2007), "Here comes the summer". New Statesman. 136 (4837):42
  15. ^ Rob Sheffield (2007-06-14), "Version". Rolling Stone. (1028):101
  16. ^ Hughes, Rich 13 April 2007, "Mark Ronson - Version". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 14 December 2007
  17. ^ Dhillon, Michelle (6 May 2007). "Mark Ronson: Version" NG Magazine. Retrieved 14 December 2007
  18. ^ "Mark Ronson - Version - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  19. ^ "Mark Ronson : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 26 July 2013.

External links[]

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