Ryuichi Sakamoto - llustrated Musical Encyclopedia - Vinyl LP

Japanese Pressing

Mastered by Bernie Grundman

Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia (originally released in 1984 in Japan, as Ongakuzukan) opens with “Field Work,” a low-key dance-rock joint venture with Thomas Dolby that was also released as a single; it’s immediately likable but unrelated to the feel of the rest of the record. The LP’s title states an idea Sakamoto has toyed with since Thousand Knives: combining pieces of Eastern and Western musics so they’re not readily identifiable yet complement each other as part of an organic whole.