CD reviews
Preceded by the unstoppable global hit Uptown Funk, which reached the No 1spot pretty much everywhere, Mark Ronson’s fourth solo effort has a lot to live up to.
Uptown Special
Sony Music
Preceded by the unstoppable global hit Uptown Funk, which reached the No 1spot pretty much everywhere, Mark Ronson’s fourth solo effort has a lot to live up to.
Uptown Special features a starstudded cast of musical talent: Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Andrew Wyatt and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, all coupled surprisingly with the lyricwriting talents of Pulitzer Prizewinning author Michael Chabon.
Ronson has produced an album drowning in funk and soul that sounds like a forgotten classic from the ‘60s, yet could also have just beamed back from the future. It opens with Mr Wonder’s harmonica before New Orleans rapper Mystikal obliterates the loose funk jam of Feel Right, the best song The Godfather of Soul never released.
The aforementioned Bruno Mars single derives its brassy funk groove from Ray Parker Jnr, and you’d be forgiven for congratulating soul diva Chaka Khan on her vocal performance on the fruity 1980s dance track I Can’t Lose, but that would be newcomer Keyone Starr.
I doubt you’ll find a brighter, funkier DJ mix party album released all year.