Bobby Vinton – Blue Velvet / Blue On Blue [1987; Epic]

Pulling together two A-sides from singles released by Bobby Vinton in 1963 (as on the Blue EP, released the same year, which also included “Blue Moon” and “My Blue Heaven”), this compilation single capitalized on the release of David Lynch’s film Blue Velvet, which featured a performance of the song by the same name. Here, it appears in a honky-tonk-ish pop form, with Vinton’s vocals striking a fine balance between strength and tenderness. “Blue on Blue” carries on in much the same fashion, though the backing instruments get more of a presence, which combines with the higher tempo to make for a less haunting tune, though still pleasant in its emotional outletting.

Here’s one of the alternate covers.

Another alternate.

And another alternate.

Compton’s Most Wanted – Music to Driveby [1992; Epic, Orpheus Records]

On their third album since debuting in 1990 with It’s a Compton Thang, the MC Eiht-fronted group brings over a dozen tracks of thoroughly confident West Coast rap to bear, with plentiful jazz and funk breaks sampled for back-beats and hooks while Eiht’s verses detail gang-land confrontations and troubles. Keyboards, sax, and harmonica from unofficial member William Zimmerman lend things some extra organic texturing, and while Eiht’s delivery tends to be fairly laid-back, his anger and contempt for competitors come through with clarity.

Though the vocals maintain a steady presence and dominance, the beats are machined so well as to give the lyrics strong competition for attention. Loops, scratches, and vocal sample interjections come thickly-knitted together without getting cluttered, with Zimmerman’s additions smoothing over the seams and enabling some more involved progressions. Steady heat and insistent pressure help keep the album moving at speed, with a lengthy thanks track for cool-down at the end, and the balance and control shown throughout the LP speaks well to the group’s ability to incorporate multiple producers while retaining their own clear style.

Here’s the cover art used for the longbox version.

Ryuichi Sakamoto – Neo Geo [1987; CBS, CBS/Sony, Epic, Terrapin]

Fusing a number of world music styles with a synthwave base, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s seventh solo studio album brought in a number of guests, including co-producer Bill Laswell, bassist Bootsy Collins, and (for one song, “Risky”) the vocals of Iggy Pop. Most of the songs run no more than five minutes and change, but in those short durations, Sakamoto takes generally simple riffs and expands on them with flair, whether crunching out translated electrofunk or adapting electronics to fit with traditional instruments.

Most of the songs omit vocals entirely, but that serves to make the various genres which Sakamoto emulates and splices more easily identifiable. When voices are used, it tends to be in ways that add an extra layer of influence (e.g., taiko chants over dubby bass bumps), which would end up at odds with the very clean production and mixing presentation of the whole album. At once mellow and energized, with plenty to absorb even while the the music calls for listeners to just relax and go with the flow.