Meghan Trainor, Mark Ronson turn fun-filled froth into pop-music magic
Meghan Trainor
What do Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk!,” Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” and Pharrell’s “Happy” have in common? Nothing much, except a catchy vibe that makes it hard for pop-music aficionados to resist grooving to them!
These days, the hottest—and catchiest—hooks are being trotted out by Trainor and Ronson, who have seized the spotlight from Swift and her overachieving “1989” disc on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts—in record-smashing fashion!
Bolstered by the sugar-coated froth and uplifting lilt of the tune, “All About That Bass,” which topped the singles chart for eight consecutive weeks last year, Trainor makes the biggest full-length debut by a female act in five years with this week’s No. 1 album, “Title,” expanded from its four-track EP format to its current 11- and 15-song standard and deluxe editions.
Meghan, who turned 21 last month, fields her empowering bubblegum musicality with a dynamic hybrid of Motown (“Title”), R&B (“Walkashame”), doo-wop (“Dear Future Husband”) and ’60s soul (“Close Your Eyes,” “What If I”), embellished with a feel-good sensibility that cleverly evokes the sound of Bruno Mars, Morris Day and The Time, The Chordettes and Kid Creole and the Coconuts—as the harmony-rich opening interlude, “The Best Part,” demonstrates!
As she pounds the rallying sentiment of “Bang Dem Sticks,” the songstress incorporates her exceptional rapping skills into its hum-worthy melody. Her flowing sing-and-rap style swelters and soars as the hitbound “3 a.m.,” “Mr. Almost” (featuring Shy Carter) and the album’s sensational second single, “Lips Are Movin’,” hit their groove-heavy stride.
Trainor’s album isn’t just significant for the musical licks and hooks it creates: In “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” Meghan and guest vocalist John Legend sing their cautionary message about man’s inability to appreciate the blessings that come his way: “Let’s take our time to say what we want/Use what we got before it’s all gone/‘Cause, no—we’re not promised tomorrow!”
Photo from brunomars.com
‘Uptown Special’
For his part, Mark Ronson’s trippy tracks in his fourth album, “Uptown Special,” are just as contagious—from the provocative psychedelia of “Summer Breaking” (featuring Kevin Parker) and the ethereal grace of “Uptown’s First Finale” (with Stevie Wonder and Andrew Wyatt) to his Supertramp-channeling “Leaving Los Feliz,” a winking twit against “aging hipsters who refuse to admit that they’re too old for the parties they frequently attend.”
The 39-year-old producer’s latest collection, which bows at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, is laudable for its appealing mix of funk, retrosoul and R&B, best represented by the irrepressible energy of “Feel Right” (featuring the marvelous Mystikal) and the goofy braggadocio of multitalented vocalist Bruno Mars in “Uptown Funk!”—indubitably the season’s sassiest single!
