Stop me if you've heard this one before, but I'm an opinionated student who needs money. I've been a...
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but I'm an opinionated student who needs money. I've been a bit annoyed about two things recently:
1) People taking my opinions way too seriously and leaving long-winded irate comments in response.
2) People...
Member since:11.11.2000
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'Play' has been Moby's most successful album by a long way. Many of the people who loved 'Play' are now looking to some of Moby's earlier work, extending back nearly a decade, and finding a lot more quality music.
Moby's earliest work was as a techno-house DJ, releasing a number of large underground tracks on 12" vinyl in the early nineties. Much of this can be found on his 1993 release on the Instinct label, 'The Story So Far.' This album includes two mixes the first song which made Moby a recognised name in the dance music scene - 'Go'. This was a fairly simple but effective house tune, massive in clubs across Europe.
Even at this early stage with such basic electronic instruments, Moby dabbled with other styles of dance music. His 1993 album, 'Ambient' comprises twelve low-key tracks, far more subtle than the pounding sounds of 'The Story So Far'. He also released a compilation of B-sides and 'other' tracks on the Pinnacle label as 'Early Underground'. This included the original version of 'Go' and a few other tracks of note, 'Voodoo Child', 'Mobility' and 'Drug Fits The Face'.
It is worth noting that at this early stage, and up until about 1996, Moby flirted with a variety
of pseudonyms including 'Voodoo Child' (under which he released an album), 'The Brotherhood' and 'Barracuda'.
Moby's career reached a turning point with the release of 'Everything Is Wrong' on Mute Records in 1995. It signified his maturity as an artist as he created a quality album of tracks vastly diverse in genre: House, ambient, punk rock, techno etc... I would stand this out as one of the all-time greatest albums ever written. (For more on 'Everything Is Wrong' I have written a review entitled "Something Else To 'Play'").
A wealth of single release accompanied 'Everything Is Wrong', none really achieving the success they deserved, but many showing Moby's capacity for imaginative production and ability to successfully embrace a variety of genre. 'Hymn' (1994) was remixed from an ambient piano melody on the album, to a Euro-house single. It was released in two-CD form, with the second CD filled with a 33-minute ambient remix entitled 'Hymn.alt.quiet.version'. The first CD featured a hard trance mix of 'All That I Need Is To Be Loved', which was a punk rock track on the album. 'Feeling So Real' featured a cover version of Joy Division's 'New Dawn Fades', a major departure from the techno-fuelled A-side.
Moby brought together 26 remixes from the 'Everything Is Wrong' era, and showed off his mixing skills by compiling them onto a two-CD set 'Everything Is Wrong - Non Stop DJ Mix By Evil Ninja Moby' (Mute, 1996). This era also saw the beginning of Moby writing essays for the inlay cards to his albums, embracing environmentalism, vegetarianism, pacifism and democracy.
His final release on 'Instinct' came in 1996, a two-CD set, 'Rare - The Collected B-Sides 1989-1993' and 'Go - The Collected Mixes'. This is the definitive guide to Moby's earlier work, taking in some of his best mixes ('Drug Fits The Face (Drug Free Mix)' is a notable high-point) and other works. This album, like 'The Story So Far', includes his successful attempt at the world record for fastest song ever recorded - 'Thousand' - an unlistenable techno-hardcore monstrosity which accelerates to over 1000 bpm. Also in 1996 came Moby's next album of original material, 'Animal Rights', a slightly less consistent punk-rock album with two single releases - 'Come On Baby' (featuring a fabulous remix by The Crystal Method)and 'That's When I Reach For My Revolver'. The latter embraced the Moby paradox of old, it was a brilliant song which failed to chart in the UK. 'Animal Rights' can be picked up with the limited edition 'Little Idiot' CD, featuring more delicate acoustic guitar work than the heavy tone of 'Animal Rights'.
'I Like To Score' was his next album release in 1997, a collection of songs of his used in films. It also provides an interesting, if not particularly flattering, cross-section of all his work. The classic 'Go' and impressive single release 'James Bond Theme - Moby's Re-Version' are present, plus some of the best tracks from 'Everything Is Wrong'. Unfortunately, his less accomplished earlier track 'Ah-Ah' comes along to spoil the flow.
'Honey' was the first single from 'Play', released in 1998 about a year before what would become a very successful album. Its' eighteen tracks have now all found their away into various adverts. Six songs have been released as singles, and feature remixes from the very best of today's producers: Pefecto, Futureshock, ATB, Rollo & Sister Bliss, Red Jerry, Ferry Corsten etc... A seventh single featured the re-release of 'Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?' and a new version of Honey featuring the vocalist Kelis.
Anyone who bought 'Play' and now wished to hunt through Moby's back catalogue will almost certainly find something to entertain them. However, I would recommend 'Everything Is Wrong' as the best starting point, as some of his earliest work lacks the sophistication and maturity which has made 'Play' so successful. I myself have written a review of 'Play' (entitled 'Everything Is Right') but would recommend Die Analytikerin's review, 'Green' as being the best on the subject. The great wealth of reviews of this album are a good indication of how popular Moby has finally become.
The immense success of 'Play' has prompted Elektra to release 'Songs', compiling a number of the best tracks from Moby's backcatalogue. A new limited edition version of 'Play' with a second CD including all of the B-Sides from the singles came out in October 2000.
If you are looking for internet resources on Moby, may I recommend: http://www.moby.org/ http://www.geocities.com/animal_sight/
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Moby has certainly shown a great diversity in sound over the years. I loved "Go" and a couple of
singles after that but only re-discovered lately with "Play".
The great iconoclast of techno returns with a smooth, sacred and exhilarating ... more
record.Play's concoction of breakbeat rhythms, ambient mixology and inspired blues and gospel samples cry out across musical genres and histories, imparting a time-tested wis...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The great iconoclast of techno returns with a smooth, sacred and exhilarating record. ... more
Play's concoction of breakbeat rhythms, ambient mixology and inspired blues and gospel samples cry out across musical genres and histories, imparting a time-tested wi...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Jan 18th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
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