So why is Mark Ronson’s Version on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
I love a good cover song.
It’s an artform, really: taking a recognizable song and interpreting it, re-interpreting it (making a Version of your own, you might say in Mark Ronson’s case), to produce a song that can not only stand as its own unique thing but, in the very best cases, it becomes even greater than the original.
For these reasons, I absolutely adore what Mark Ronson did – with help from Wu-Tang Clan alum Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Tiggers – with Britney Spears’ “Toxic.”
While I’m not the biggest Britney Spears fan in the world, I dig some of her stuff quite a lot (see: Blackout, #835 of best 1,000 albums ever), and “Toxic” is far and away my favorite song that she’s produced to date.
And the Ronson… version of “Toxic” is nothing short of magical in a strange, slightly funny, and deeply groovy and lounge-ified kind of way. And if that’s not enough, it includes some of the best ODB bars of all time.
“Apply Some Pressure” (featuring Paul Smith), originally by Maximo Park, has endless energy and pep under Mark Ronson’s producing wizardry. The horns are fantastic here, and gives the song a feel – as is true throughout much of Version – like you’re in some far gone hipster lounge out of the 1960s.
And speaking of that particularly delightful devil, I offer you the instrumental track, “Inversion,” which is all upbeat and exciting horns and jamming piano.
“Stop Me,” featuring Daniel Merriweather, a cover of the great “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” by The Smiths, completely reinvents the original into a gorgeous, emotional, and soulful number that’s umpteen kinds of wonderful.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with Mark Ronson’s Version
“Apply Some Pressure” reminds me that there are a number of incredible songs that have the word “pressure” in the song title.
The obvious first song to go with here is the iconic “Under Pressure,” by David Bowie and Queen.
And if you’re a fan of 1980s pop and rock, then surely you’re down with Billy Joel’s “Pressure,” off of The Nylon Curtain (#665 of best 1,000 songs ever).
An absolutely fantastic deep cut that I highly recommend is the scorching ska number, “Too Much Pressure,” by The Selector.
Some stats & info about Mark Ronson – Version
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Dance Music, Pop Music, R&B
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was Version released? 2007
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #363 out of 1,000
Mark Ronson’s Version on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Mark Ronson’s Version that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
I like to wait to see how things turn out if you apply some pressure.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.