Version (album)

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Version
Studio album by Mark Ronson
Released 16 April 2007
Genre Motown, funk rock
Length 43:53
Label Columbia
Producer Mark Ronson
Stuart Zender
Mark Ronson chronology

Here Comes the Fuzz
(2003)		 Version
(2007)		 Record Collection
(2010)
Singles from Version
  1. "Stop Me"
    Released: April 2, 2007
  2. "Oh My God"
    Released: July 16, 2007
  3. "Valerie"
    Released: October 15, 2007
  4. "Just"
    Released: February 18, 2008

Version is the second album by New York-based English producer Mark Ronson. It is an album of cover versions. It was released on 14 April 2007 in the iTunes Store. It entered the UK Album Chart at number two on 22 April 2007. Mark Ronson describes the sound as Motown/Stax.[1]

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 double platinum in the UK for sales of over 600,000 copies.[2]

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.

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.[3]

Response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [4]
The Guardian [5]
NME (6/10)[6]
Okayplayer [7]
Pitchfork Media (3.3/10)[8]
Stylus Magazine (B)[9]
Rolling Stone [10]

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."[11] The New Statesman commented on "the record’s most essential qualities: warm-heartedness and a sense of fun."[12] Giving the album three-out-of-five stars, Rolling Stone called Version "an audacious set of...leftfield covers...turned into dance-soul tracks.[13] Despite the praise, the album inspired a number of mixed reviews. Giving it a 60% rating, Rich Hughes said that "whilst it was an admirable project and some of the results here are genuinely great, the misses just seem to dominate it."[14] Michelle Dhillon called the album "a conglomeration of obvious singles, littered with distinctly horrible numbers that are better ignored."[15]

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

Tracklist

No. TitleOriginal artist Length
1. "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" (featuring Daptone Horns)Coldplay 3:12
2. "Oh My God" (featuring Lily Allen)Kaiser Chiefs 3:35
3. "Stop Me" (featuring Daniel Merriweather)The Smiths 3:53
4. "Toxic" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard & Tiggers)Britney Spears 4:05
5. "Valerie" (featuring Amy Winehouse)The Zutons 3:39
6. "Apply Some Pressure" (featuring Paul Smith)Maxïmo Park 3:36
7. "Inversion"    1:47
8. "Pretty Green" (featuring Santigold)The Jam 3:16
9. "Just" (featuring Phantom Planet)Radiohead 5:20
10. "Amy" (featuring Kenna)Ryan Adams 3:32
11. "The Only One I Know" (featuring Robbie Williams)The Charlatans 3:59
12. "Diversion"    1:19
13. "L.S.F." (featuring Kasabian)Kasabian 3:30
14. "Outversion"    1:50

Bonus tracks

iTunes digital edition

No. TitleOriginal artist Length
15. "Pistol of Fire" (featuring D. Smith)Kings of Leon 2:57
16. "No One Knows" (featuring Domino Kirke)Queens of the Stone Age 4:37
17. "You're All I Need to Get By" (featuring Wale & Tawiah)Ashford & Simpson 3:10

Japanese CD edition

No. TitleOriginal artist Length
15. "Stop Me (Kissy Sellout remix)" (featuring Daniel Merriweather)The Smiths  

Chart performance

Chart (2007)[16] Peak
position
Dutch Albums Chart 44
Irish Albums Chart 21
Swiss Albums Chart 51
UK Albums Chart 2
US Billboard 200[17] 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 2013-07-27. 
  2. ↑ "Version goes 2x Platinum". Retrieved 2007-12-27
  3. ↑ Allen, Liam (2010-07-21). "BBC News - What is a £1m record deal?". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-13. 
  4. ↑ Allmusic review
  5. ↑ The Guardian review
  6. ↑ NME review
  7. ↑ Okayplayer review
  8. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  9. ↑ review
  10. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  11. ↑ Vrabel, Jeff (2007-07-14), "Version". Billboard. 119 (28):43
  12. ↑ Rogers, Jude (2007-04-09), "Here comes the summer". New Statesman. 136 (4837):42
  13. ↑ Rob Sheffield (2007-06-14), "Version". Rolling Stone. (1028):101
  14. ↑ Hughes, Rich 13 April 2007, "Mark Ronson - Version". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2007-12-14
  15. ↑ Dhillon, Michelle (2007-05-06). "Mark Ronson: Version" NG Magazine. Retrieved 2007-12-14
  16. ↑ "Mark Ronson - Version - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 2012-03-13. 
  17. ↑ "Mark Ronson : Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26. 

External links

Mark Ronson
Albums
Singles
Producer
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