BRUNO MARS.

Bruno Mars constantly has rhythm and melody propelling each other forward. The vocals can move lightly over a tight groove and open up a chorus at precisely the right moment. His records combine a clear pop sensibility with attention to interplay.

Doo-Wops & Hooligans gives the voice plenty of space. Unorthodox Jukebox allows different rhythms and production colors to coexist.

On 24K Magic, bass, drums, and short accents carry a large part of the movement. Listen to how the vocals sometimes land on the rhythm and then hover above it for a moment.

The Romantic adds another record to the selection, also in a colored vinyl edition. The stories about funk and R&B provide context for the relationship between groove and voice.

Stevie Wonder turns rhythmic fluidity into a melodic language of its own. Prince places different accents within a similarly broad musical world. Al Green, James Brown, and Bee Gees provide the selection below with additional listening routes.

On your next listen, follow the bass line beneath a familiar refrain. She often holds the music together while the vocals seek new space. It is precisely this interplay that makes a familiar song interesting anew.

Bruno Mars on vinyl makes the interplay behind the recognizable choruses particularly worthy of attention. On Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Unorthodox Jukebox, the songs take on different rhythmic environments. 24K Magic maintains a lot of movement in bass, drums, and short instrumental accents. A LP side demonstrates how those details are distributed across an album. The vocals can stand slightly above the groove and then land precisely on an accent. Listen to the backing vocals as well: they broaden a chorus and sometimes provide an additional response to the rhythmic movement.

A Bruno Mars-LP fits into a vinyl collection where pop and groove reinforce each other. The individual albums offer different listening paths; a new title or different pressing calls for attention to the precise execution. Give the entire record time and, on a second listen, focus especially on following the bass line beneath a familiar melody.