The album did not perform well chart wise, only peaking at No. 70 in Ronson's home territory, however it did sell more than 18,000 copies in the US.[6] Ronson later addressed the failure of the album, often by joking that "only 12 people bought it." The album has sold 92,676 copies in the UK as of January 2015.[7]
Recording
The song "International Affair" was originally released on Sean Paul's 2002 album Dutty Rock, and featured vocals from Debi Nova instead of Tweet. Nova contributes vocals to the album track "Tomorrow". Rolling Stone predicted the album would stop the critical ill-will towards Ronson, saying Ronson "serves up a grab bag of pumping beats."[8]Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C, saying "the collection's overall disco-licious come-together vibe is cloying and insubstantial."[9] The popularity of the album grew following the release of the follow-up album Version in 2007, which saw Ronson collaborate with a number of well-known British and American artists on covers of well-known songs.
Singles
"Ooh Wee", featuring vocals from Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife Diesel and Saigon, was released as the album's lead single on 20 October 2003. The song was a top twenty hit in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the single also charted at No. 80 on the United States Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 83 in Australia.
"NYC Rules", featuring vocals from Daniel Merriweather and Saigon, was released as the album's second single on 16 February 2004. The single was only released in Australia, and for its release, was re-titled "City Rules". It was promoted as Merriweather's first single in the country, and the cover art stated Ronson as the featured artist. The track peaked at No. 76 on the ARIA Charts.
Critical reception
Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian, gave the album a four out of five star rating. Lynskey remarked, "The whole caboodle is informed by the freewheeling, celebratory spirit of late 80s hip-hop, and adds up to one of 2003's most irresistible party records."[4]
Jessica Koslow of HipHopDX rated the album 3.5 out of 5 stars declaring "The A-list DJ knows what’s hot...Ronson gives us a handful of hot songs and crazy cool collaborations. He definitely has a buzz and well, here comes the fuzz (whatever that means)."[10]
With 3 out 5 stars Matt Collar of Allmusic wrote, "Much in the same way as DJ Shadow's Endtroducing..... or the Avalanches' Since I Left You used the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique as their template to display an eclectic and voracious record-collecting habit, Ronson's Here Comes the Fuzz mixes funk, hip-hop, soul, and rock into an "everything goes when you're having fun" cocktail. While never displaying the innovative vision or giddy melody-mixing heights of either of those albums, Here Comes the Fuzz does still resonate with the pulse of youthful ego driven by libido and hot wax."[11]
Billboard noted in their review, "This year, mix-tape DJs finally received mainstream recognition. However, the problem with mix tapes is that, typically as a result of featuring a host of different artists, the DJ’s vision gets lost in the process. That is clearly not the case with producer/DJ Mark Ronson’s Elektra debut, “Here Comes the Fuzz.” In fact, this sounds more like a proper artist album than a DJ-driven set (though its party atmosphere is in full effect)...This one is a must-have."[12]
Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone,
with 3 out of 5 stars, claimed "With guests such as Sean Paul, Q-Tip and Ghostface Killah alongside rock guys such as Rivers Cuomo and Jack White of the White Stripes, Ronson serves up a grab bag of pumping beats - and plays almost all of the instruments on the album.[5]
