'Yon Na

The group's debut album came out in 1991, long after Ambivalent Crowd and The New Minstrels, masters of vocal harmony in the Philippines, bowed out of the recording scene. 'Yon Na (That's It) introduced the world of vocal harmony in varying styles—from a cappella and choral to dance and ballad—to a young generation of Filipinos unfamiliar with the genre's musicality. The results were stunning: the album was a best seller, gave The CompanY the first of their several music awards, and affirmed the sextet as an important musical group in the nineties.

Harmony

The CompanY's fourth album, released in 1994, surrounded the group with gentle ballads and relaxed arrangements, including the Filipino classic “Kahit Ika'y Panaginip Lang (Even If You're Only a Dream)” sung a cappella. The exception was the title track, which was the band's initial foray into dance remix (catch the eerie sampling of a Philippine Lenten chant). The best track is “Itutuloy (To Be Continued)”, a dreamy, bittersweet paean to a love that transcends this material world.

Recycle Deluxe II

As the Philippines marked the centenary of its independence from Spanish colonial rule in 1998, the local recording industry flourished with remakes of older songs. The aptly titled Recycle Deluxe (1998) and Recycle Deluxe II (1999) were The CompanY's contribution to this wave. The repertoire includes pop and movie songs from the late 1960s and 1970s, which were the childhood years of most of the band's members. The group's love and respect for this era is evident in the assured manner of singing and the funky orchestrations of the upbeat tracks.

Between the two albums, Recycle Deluxe II stands out for revisiting lesser known songs and for containing the band's most powerful a cappella reading ever, the medley of “Love theme from 'Sunflower'” and “The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye”.

Storybook

The CompanY's ninth studio album, released in 2001, marks the band's return to original music after a series of greatest hits and remake packages. Never mind if the new songs are too “narrative” by today's Britney-esque standards: Storybook, after all, is a collection of “short stories in song” (which may make it even harder for the nubile fanatics of teen pop to grasp the album's essence), and it succeeds in telling stories about love and its ramifications. On the basis of the soaring, driven vocals, Storybook reaffirms The CompanY's stature as the premiere vocal blenders of the Philippines.