Mark Ronson Here Comes The Fuzz CD

Loaded with guest artists and packed with danceable beats, DJ Mark Ronson's first record, Here Comes the Fuzz, is less a showcase for the New York-based artist's turntable skills and more of a radio-friendly pop-rap party album. A rising star on the NYC club scene since the late '90s, the occasional Tommy Hilfiger model and son of glam rock icon guitarist Mick Ronson previously produced tracks for other hip downtown scenesters, including Saturday Night Live regular Jimmy Fallon as well as singer Nikka Costa and rapper Sean Paul -- both of whom return the favor here. Much in the same way as DJ Shadow's Endtroducing... or the Avalanches' Since I Left You used the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique as their template to display an eclectic and voracious record-collecting habit, Ronson's Here Comes the Fuzz mixes funk, hip-hop, soul, and rock into an "everything goes when you're having fun" cocktail. While never displaying the innovative vision or giddy melody-mixing heights of either of those albums, Here Comes the Fuzz does still resonate with the pulse of youthful ego driven by libido and hot wax. To these ends, rappers Ghostface Killah and Nate Dogg take the mic over a funky cowbell and the string section of Dennis Coffey's "Scorpio" on "Ooh Wee." Similarly, Mos Def and M.O.P. add Brooklyn street cred to Ronson's catchy if a bit obvious co-opting of Lenny Kravitz's hit "On the Run." Perhaps most interesting though, are Ronson's attempts at actual songwriting such as on the cosmopolitan disco plea "High," featuring vocalist Aya, and the punk à gogo of "I Suck" with Rivers Cuomo, which finds the Weezer frontman doing his best "Let's Go to Bed"-era Robert Smith warble against a sample from Labi Siffre's "Too Late." ~ Matt Collar

To those in the know, Mark Ronson has for years been one of New York's hottest DJs, producers and remixers. He's only 25, but already he has amassed a sterling A-list of artists who have sought out his services, including Jay-Z, Outkast, Moby, Nikka Costa, Macy Gray, De La Soul, Nelly Furtado and more. This is his debut album and features Sean Paul, Rivers Cuomo, Nate Dogg, Q-Tip, Nappy Roots, Tweet, Mos Def, Freeway and more. 13 tracks. Elektra. 2003.

Personnel: Mark Ronson (vocals, guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards, percussion, scratches); Daniel Merriweather (vocals, guitar); Debbie Nova (vocals, keyboards); Freeway, Ghostface Killah, Aya, Nappy Roots, Nate Dogg, Nikka Costa, Anthony Hamilton, Rivers Cuomo, Saigon, Trife (vocals); Bill Chang (guitar); Tim Izzo (saxophone); Printz Board (trumpet); Guyora Kats (Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ); ?uestlove (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixer: Serban Ghenea.

Recording information: Axis Studios, New York, NY; Head First Media; Quad Studios, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Roxanne Lowitt.

Personnel includes: Mark Ronson, Nappy Roots, Anthony Hamilton, Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife, Aya, Rivers Cuomo, Sean Paul, Tweet, Saigon, Mos Def, M.O.P., Daniel Merriweather, Q-Tip, Debi Nova.

Personnel includes: Mark Ronson (vocals, guitar, scratches); Mos Def, Sean Paul, Freeway, M.O.P., Q Tip, Nappy Roots, Nate Dogg, Debi Nova, Rhymefest, Rivers Cuomo, Saigon, Nikka Costa, Daniel Merriweather, Anthony Hamilton.



This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Q (11/03, p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...There's no mistaking Ronson's gift for thinking outside the loop and packing a track with anarchic energy..."