Audiopile Review: Here’s another to file under ‘how did they only just get around to reissuing this one?’ Yeah, our filing system gets a bit specific sometimes, we’ll admit. Anyway, we were shocked to learn that the reissue industrial complex had not yet addressed the issue of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s excellent 1987 album ‘Neo Geo’. Sure, it came along a little later than early-80s Sakamoto classic like ‘B2 Unit’ and ‘Left-Handed Dream’. But, like 1985’s wonderful ‘Esperanto’, it’s right in the zone. ‘Neo Geo’ begins with a meditative piano interlude before kicking into the title track’s fourth world punk-funk. And who’s that crooning his way through the gorgeous ‘Risky’? Why, it’s only Iggy Pop! Basically, ‘Neo Geo’ has all the elegant beauty, deadpan humour, and technical brilliance you’d expect from 80s Sakamoto. We’re glad the powers that be finally got around to rubber-stamping this one’s re-release into society.

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s seventh solo album, “Neo Geo,” co-produced with Bill Laswell for global release, showcases a fusion of top musicians across various genres, including Sly Dunbar and Bootsy Collins. Infused with electronic tones intertwined with organic and ethnic flavors like traditional Okinawan and Balinese music, the album was meticulously crafted in both Tokyo and New York, reaching audiences in over 20 countries and marking a significant milestone in Sakamoto’s solo journey.