RECORD REVIEWS

Meghan Trainor

Album: “Title” (Epic)

Grade: B—

There’s plenty to like about Meghan Trainor’s first full-length album, “Title.” The set, which includes music from a previously released EP of the same name, serves up all the doo-wop sass that hooked fans on the singer-songwriter’s Grammy-nominated hit, “All About That Bass.”

Jump to almost any track on “Title” and you’ll find a similar juxtaposition of cheeky lyrics stamped over malt shop-inspired production. Unfortunately, therein lies the problem: by album’s end, it seems Trainor and “Title” producer Kevin Kadish have beaten their brand of shooby-doo flavor to death.

Sure, the throwback vibe has worked to set Trainor, 21, apart from her radio competition, and the sound works on second single “Lips Are Movin”’ and “Dear Future Husband.” But too much of that good thing turns out to be bad for the singer’s mainstream debut.

“Title” is still worth a listen, though doing so in one sitting is ill-advised. Trainor is the funny girl-next-door on “Walkashame”; she’s an example of self-acceptance on “Close Your Eyes”; and she’s admirable — refusing to be friend-zoned — on the relatable title track.

Perhaps the most refreshing song from “Title” is the subdued “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” featuring John Legend. It gives Trainor’s vocals the main stage, without a catchy hook or quirky production yanking away the spotlight.

—Melanie Sims, Associated Press

Mark Ronson

Album: Uptown Special (RCA)

Grade: A

Producer and composer Mark Ronson goes beyond his most famous work — the warm, updated soul sound on Amy Winehouse’s best recordings — to find a fired-up sonic mix for his solo efforts. With its buoyant live-band blend of electro, disco, new wave, and R&B, Ronson’s 2010 “Record Collection” came close to perfection. “Uptown Special” goes just a little further. You have the lava-lamp psychedelia of its trippy tracks, with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. You have a grittier groove, as in the aptly titled “Uptown Funk,” with partner-in-crime Bruno Mars. And you have nastier stuff, as in the James Brown-like “Feel Right,” featuring the shouted-out soul of New Orleans’ Mystikal.

Ronson’s instrumentalists are a huge force in the album’s melodic funk: Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar, R&B rhythm giants Steve Jordan and Willie Weeks, harmonica giant Stevie Wonder.

—A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer