Mark Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. In 2014, Ronson achieved his first UK and US number one single with “Uptown Funk”, which featured vocals from Bruno Mars. The song earned Ronson the 2015 Brit Award for British Single of the Year, and the 2016 Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. He received acclaim for producing Amy Winehouse’s album Back to Black, for which he won the Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year. He has won Record of the Year twice, in 2008 as a producer and in 2016 as a performing artist. One of the most successful musicians in contemporary British popular culture, Ronson appeared on Debrett’s 2017 list of the most influential people in Britain. (More from Wikipedia)
Mark Deming was just as enthusiastic about this album in his Allmusic review: “Two of Everything doesn’t sound like [Brian] Olive has turned his back on his blues-based earlier work, but he is veering in a different direction; the results sometimes suggest a Midwestern take on Northern soul as Olive and [Dan] Auerbach throw just a little pop polish on Olive’s vocals and let the pianos and saxophones give the music a subtle but distinct retro feel, even as the steady pulse of several tunes nods politely to hip-hop. But even as Two of Everything travels down a smoother road than its precursor, it still sounds organic, committed, and heartfelt; and Olive sure knows how to write a memorable tune: ‘Strange Attracter’ faces a chunky, T. Rex-style guitar figure against an insistent piano-and-drum pattern that fills up the dance floor; ‘Back Sliding Soul’ suggests an unlikely but effective collaboration between NRBQ and Mark Ronson; ‘Left Side Rock’ bounces hard Southern funk rhythms off aggressive horn samples, and ‘Lost in Dreams’ is a beautifully languid bit of stoned soul love pleading. With Two of Everything, Brian Olive is two for two in making smart, distinctive albums that push his blues and R&B influences in unexpected, compelling directions, matching and building on the strength of his debut.”
(February 2015)
