Ryuichi Sakamoto

Since leaving the pioneering electro pop outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra, Ryuichi Sakamoto has worked in many different genres, including Japanese pop, world, classical, experimental, soundtrack, and sophisticated, adult-friendly pop music. The difficulty with this is that it's very hard to get a handle on Sakamoto, and surely some of the people who enjoyed the pop sensibilities of albums like Neo Geo or Beauty may have been thrown off by the classical and soundtrack work in between -- and vice versa. It's probably one of the main reasons why someone of Sakamoto's obvious talent hasn't become better known in North America, despite some very pop-oriented collaborations with popular musicians like Thomas Dolby and Iggy Pop -- the sheer number of Sakamoto projects is intimidating enough, and not knowing what type of music he's playing on any particular album is probably enough to scare away most of the rest of his potential audience. Moto.Tronic may not clarify things for the neophyte, as it veers wildly between styles; the sophisticated pop of "Forbidden Colours" is followed by a more traditionally classical piano instrumental, then a Brazilian number and an orchestral piece from the soundtrack of The Last Emperor. This unpredictability repeats throughout, but all of the included work is excellent, even if the collection doesn't satisfy the need for an easily available definitive overview -- if there can ever be such a thing considering how many different record labels would be involved -- of Sakamoto's pop career. (Notably, nothing from Illustrated Musical Encyclopaedia or Beauty is included here.) The release includes a bonus DVD, which features five videos, three of which are live performances. One real saving grace for this compilation is the previously unreleased remix of the Brazilian "Insensatez" by digital ambience master Alva Noto. ~ Sean Carruthers, All Music Guide