Uptown Special
Superproducer Mark Ronson first branded himself via Sixties pop-soul flavors with Amy Winehouse. This LP moves on to Seventies and Eighties funk, with more sharp casting: Stevie Wonder offers a harmonica benediction alongside session guitarists Carlos Alomar (David Bowie) and the late Teenie Hodges (Al Green); Kanye point man Jeff Bhasker rocks verses by novelist Michael Chabon; and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker morphs from psych-rocker to space-funker. The magic is in the details. Mystikal conjures James Brown on “Feel Right,” and Bruno Mars animates a Minneapolis groove with EDM builds on “Uptown Funk.” It could even teach Prince a trick or two.