Life is for Living (Welcome to Coldplay) | Burnley Football Club | Thinking Tackle | Scary Stuff | Just who is Jack Schitt? | Real Life Mr Men | Road Sign Story | Moby | Magic Eye 2001 | If | Indian Curry Rhapsody | Popstars | AMA | Links | Contact Me | About
Moby
Moby has been experimenting with all types of Techno music throughout the 1990’s.
Play was actually released over a year ago, but is now becoming a sleeper hit on the charts (it has now sold a million copies, even though it has yet to break into the Billboard Top 50 Album chart). Moby is a man of deep convictions – from spirituality (he is a Christian) to animal rights (he is a strict Vegetarian). While some may not consider his approach on some of his beliefs totally conservative, it’s at least refreshing to see an artist who is honest.
With this album, Moby experiments with mixing older gospel and blues vocals with techno beats and samples. Don’t let that scare you off – this is not Will Smith or Vanilla Ice approach to sampling (in other words, he does not rip-off other artists, he takes pieces of their music to make a whole new original sound). Moby writes, produces, engineers, and plays all instruments himself.
You will probably recognize several tracks from television shows, commercials, and radio, without knowing they came from this man. Most notable on the recognition thermometer is “Porcelain”, which has been used in a Nordstrom television advertisement. It is definitely the most impressive track on the CD. It has a very dreamy, atmospheric structure to it, which correlates well with Moby’s vocals.
“Natural Blues” features samples from an old Vera Hall recording, “Trouble So Hard”. Her soulful voice and gospel/blues lyrics fit beautifully with Moby’s music. On a similar note is “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad”, which features vocals from the Shining Light Gospel Choir. For “Run On”, Moby uses the full vocals from the old gospel recording by Bill Landford and adds piano and drums to it, making it sound timeless.
For those who prefer the old dance-floor techno that Moby has sporadically provided throughout his career, you will not be disappointed either. “Bodyrock”, which has been getting a little airplay on mainstream radio, fills the dance floors with its energy and even rap. Others that fill these criteria include “Honey” “Machete”. On the other end of the spectrum, you have “Guitar Flute & String” … which is exactly what the title says.
No matter your age or music taste, you will find something on Play that you will like. Whether it’s the looped blues sampling of “Find My Baby” or the gospel-tinged “My Weakness”, there is something for you here. Moby’s Play is definitely one of the most impressive, creative, and original recordings released last year.
More Moby to Follow soon........
