The band that changed Mark Ronson’s musical perspective
Mark Ronson has been creating music that makes people move for decades now. Although he has collaborated with some of the biggest stars in the world, like Amy Winehouse and Paul McCartney, Ronson’s niche always returns to the old days of dance music, notching up some of the most infectious hits for acts for Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Before Ronson honed down his internal sense of rhythm, he was beginning to immerse himself in the British rock scene of the early 1990s.
While the hair metal scene may have been going strong in the US, the UK Madchester movement was just starting to gain prominence, with acts like The La’s gaining attention with their delicate approach to rock and roll. Though this updated version of what acts like The Smiths were doing suited Ronson’s musical niche fine, it wasn’t until The Stone Roses came along that he truly started to turn his head.
Though The Stone Roses possessed the same attitude that came with a traditional rock band, their love of dance-centred beat structures struck a nerve with Ronson, who called their tune ‘Fools Gold’ one of his favourites. Going on for nine minutes on the main cut, Ronson marvelled at the power behind the tune, telling American Songwriter: “I recall hearing it, and it changed my entire musical perspective because it was a combination of New York hip-hop and British pop melody. It had that amazing sampled breakbeat with this haunting, incredible melody delivered by Ian Brown.”
Throughout The Stone Roses’ debut, the band always toed the line between traditional rock and roll and dance textures, with the final track ‘I Am the Resurrection’ featuring a massive outro that captures the hypnotic energy of being in a sweaty club. Then again, The Stone Roses’ time in the spotlight was never meant to last much longer.
After their storied gig at Spike Island in the early ’90s, the road to making their follow-up Second Coming was absolute murder to throw together, featuring songs that were way too long and every member disagreeing about which direction they should focus on for the final mix. Although the band only made it for a few more gigs before disbanding in the mid-1990s, Ronson was already working hard at carving out his legacy.
Though Ronson was cutting his teeth as a producer and arranger at the time, his love of old-school sounds with modern dance textures led to him teaming up with future music legend Amy Winehouse for her first handful of songs, including a breathtaking cover of the song ‘Valerie’. His knowledge of musical arrangements also made him one of the most in-demand producers of the late 2000s, eventually working with Bruno Mars to create the funk rock pastiche ‘Uptown Funk’.
Even after becoming one of the biggest producers in the world, the model that The Stone Roses had became the example for Ronson to follow, always infusing their aesthetic in whatever song he could. Mark Ronson might have his identifiable moments as a producer, but it’s easy to see that Madchester beat is slowly working its way into his modern hits.
