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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 /TiVo
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Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1998 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, Instruments, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer - Joe Lee, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Engineer, Production, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer - Pilar Basso, Additional Vocals
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Composer, Writer, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd, a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Bobby Robinson, Composer - Moby, Producer, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd, a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - ALAN LOMAX, Composer - RICHARD HALL, Composer - Vera Hall, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd, a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Producer, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Moby, Performance, MainArtist - RICHARD HALL, Composer
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Album review
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 /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 18 track(s)
- Total length: 01:03:13
- Main artists: Moby
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Mute, a BMG Company
- Genre: Electronic
© 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1999 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
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