Record Collection – Mark Ronson and the Business International
Three and a half stars
‘I only want to be in your record collection, and I’ll do anything it takes just to get there’, chimes the chorus on ‘Record Collection’. This is without a doubt a feeling shared by many frustrated musicians across the UK. It is all about reaching that problematic balance between maintaining integrity and musical autonomy whilst also achieving fame and recognition. Mark Ronson, under the various guises of DJ, producer, multiple instrumentalist and visual icon, appears to be one of the lucky few who appear to achieve this.
Though well received, it has been remarked upon that his second album Version is merely ‘other peoples songs with horns added’. Surely anybody can do that assuming you know the right people? Fortunately, Record Collection, is not more of the same. Instead this album of original songs is the result of Ronson’s new band and alias ‘The Business International’, together with guest rappers and singers.
It’s not too bad either. As the title suggests the album is an eclectic collection of music, uniting some unlikely genres including hiphop, 1980s synth-pop, funk and soul. The artists are diverse too with both rapper Spank Rock and Kyle Falconer from the View both appearing on ‘The Bike Song’.
Of course this could spell a recipe for disaster. Too much diversity and not enough cohesive uniting factors could result in a rather disjointed and confusing result. For some reason, however, this has not occurred. Perhaps it is because any seemingly miscellaneous bits can be labelled under the umbrella term of ‘retro’.
Record Collection is likely to be a success because Ronson is a talented producer and his success orientates around genuine musicianship and his own varied anthology of music. But of course, having an address book filled with famous and influential friends always helps.
Becca Luck
