Like a Version Presents: Mark Ronson, Kevin Parker & The Uptown Special - "Sat By The Ocean" (Queens of The Stone Age)
London-based music producer Mark Ronson simply has NO BOUNDS; we're talking about the fearless genre-blending visionary who single-handedly spearheaded Amy Winehouse & The Dap-Kings' 21st century Doo-Wop revival, or revamped "New-Wop" sound, produced Lily Allen's early Reggae/Dancehall-indebted hits, and has since worked with everyone from Duran Duran to Billy Joel-sampling Rap-singer Action Bronson. Ronson's own New-Wop-indebted Uptown Special is quite easily one of the year's greatest mainstream success stories and arguably, an "underground sleeper," due in part to the assistance of Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker and Miike Snow multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wyatt. Mark Ronson recently decided to re-team with buddies Parker and Wyatt for the first time since recording Uptown Special, along with guitarist Kirin J. Callinan and Jay Bratten on Moog synthesizer, to record a live in-studio cover of Queens of The Stone Age's rockin' and rollin' live stand-out and second proper ...Like Clockwork single, "I Sat By The Ocean."
Mark Ronson & The Uptown Special recorded their spirited Psych-Rock leaning QOTSA cover for Australian radio station Triple J's rather inventive Like a Version segment, wherein "every Friday morning, a musician or band comes into the studio to play one of their own songs and a cover of a song they love." Ronson alluded to his first encounter with Bronson's ripping "Baby Blue" guitarist during a brief mid-session interview: "[Kirin] had the 19 pedals, and I was like, 'something tells me this guy's not gonna play "Crazy In Love."' Then, following a few disjointed spoken-word allusions to Eminem's rap-along 8 Mile anthem "Lose Yourself," "the sextet begin in jazzier territory than the studio version – think "Riders of The Storm"-era Doors – before transitioning into the track's cosmic-funk riffs," Rolling Stone scribed, a fitting description of Ronson's Kevin Parker-assisted non-"Uptown Funk" single, "Daffodils." Mark Ronson's latest studio album, the aforementioned Uptown Special, should rightfully, already be in heavy rotation in your car stereo and if not, I suggest you come out from under your rock!!! (ha)