Version - Mark Ronson
Metascore
63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 15
  2. Negative: 2 out of 15
  1. Most of the time... Ronson's big-band arrangements play like smart glosses on the albums he made with Winehouse and Allen, with waggish horn lines and supple guitar-bass-drums interplay throughout.
  2. Ronson just went off and created one of the most enjoyable records of the year. [Summer 2007, p.84]
  3. 80
    A stylishly sweaty summer party. [Jul 2007, p.102]
  4. Occasionally, the combination of parping horns with perky indie melodies means the sound slips its moorings and drifts into another genre entirely: the kind of jolly, vaguely saucy-sounding easy listening found on the soundtracks of 70s sex comedies.... More often, however, the formula works perfectly.
  5. Version is destined to become one of the great party albums of the summer - just playing it once is guaranteed to cheer you up.
  6. All of these tracks are listenable and easy to digest- some are just notably better than others.
  7. Version has its share of undeniable clunkers, but its successes are so immediate and so animated that no reasonable listener could possibly begrudge Ronson for forcing them to rely on their track-skip button.
  8. At 14 tracks Versions is too long... At its best, though, it's a blast. [May 2007, p.124]
  9. His choices are faultless and his sense of fun is very apparent.
  10. 60
    A coffee table record. [Jun 2007, p.114]
  11. An audacious set of... left-field covers (Radiohead's "Just," the Jam's "Pretty Green") turned into dance-soul tracks.
  12. Why the hell is Ronson being applauded as a wunderkind for basically recycling big beat and hiring some horns?
  13. Ultimately, the greatest achievement of Mark Ronson's genetically modified Version is to demonstrate the superiority of the organic source material.
  14. Slapping a brand new bag on these pasty-white-dude tunes more often bombs than not.
  15. Version is proof that you can't just slap a bunch of horns and old-time R&B beats on rock songs and turn them into soul songs.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. DanB.
    6
    Pleasant. Unnecessary. The version of The Only One I Know is... not as good as the original, no matter how you slice it.
  2. elmo.
    3
    Version starts off feeling fresh with the horn reworking of coldplays "god put a smile upon your face" but from there the album slowly tails off in quality and you become increasingly aware that the songs he has chosen were best left alone.the high point is the bombastic version of valiere sung by amy winehouse. The low point of the album is the offensive version of radioheads "just". Full Review »
  3. johnnyb.
    10
    EXCELLENT! This album will absolutely make Mark Ronson a huge star in America. The album was well done and recorded beautifully.