Play

by Moby

Overview

Following a notorious flirtation with alternative rock, Moby returned to the electronic dance mainstream on the 1997 album I Like to Score. With 1999's Play, he made yet another leap back toward the electronica base that had passed him by during the mid-'90s. The first two tracks, "Honey" and "Find My Baby," weave short blues or gospel vocal samples around rather disinterested breakbeat techno. This version of blues-meets-electronica is undoubtedly intriguing to the all-important NPR crowd, but it is more than just a bit gimmicky to any techno fans who know their Carl Craig from Carl Cox. Fortunately, Moby redeems himself in a big way over the rest of the album with a spate of tracks that return him to the evocative, melancholy techno that's been a specialty since his early days. The tinkly piano line and warped string samples on "Porcelain" frame a meaningful, devastatingly understated vocal from the man himself, while "South Side" is just another pop song by someone who shouldn't be singing -- that is, until the transcendent chorus redeems everything. Surprisingly, many of Moby's vocal tracks are highlights; he has an unerring sense of how to frame his fragile vocals with sympathetic productions. Occasionally, the similarities to contemporary dance superstars like Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers are just a bit too close for comfort, as on the stale big-beat anthem "Bodyrock." Still, Moby shows himself back in the groove after a long hiatus, balancing his sublime early sound with the breakbeat techno evolution of the '90s. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	10/17/2002
Label:	Mute
UPC:	5016025611720

Tracks

1. Honey
2. Find My Baby
3. Porcelain
4. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
5. South Side
6. Rushing
7. Bodyrock
8. Natural Blues
9. Machete
10. 7
11. Run On
12. Down Slow
13. If Things Were Perfect
14. Everloving
15. Inside
16. Guitar Flute & String
17. Sky Is Broken
18. My Weakness

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Moby   Primary Artist,Vocals,Keyboards
Nikki D   Vocals
Reggie Matthews   Vocals
Pilar Basso   Vocals
The Shining Light Gospel Choir   Vocals

Technical Credits

Moby   Engineer,Mixing,Composer,Producer,Instrumentation
I Monster   Mixing
Vera Hall   Composer
Alan Lomax   Composer
Mario Caldato, Jr.   Mixing
G. Jackson   Composer
Mimi Goese   Composer
Gabriel Jackson   Composer
Joe Lee   Composer
B.J. Robinson   Composer
Bobby Robinson   Composer