Play

(listening to the blues) pretty good. but i wish 5 seconds of this got looped and put over a shitty drum track and stock keyboards for 2 hours

I listened to this multiple times to just to make sure I hadn't lost my sense of smell and still enjoyed it as much as I initially thought I did. It seems that those who have any issues with this album are simply bent out of shape due to the fact that Moby licensed EVERY song from this album for commercials or television shows or any other medium that would turn a profit for him. The story goes Moby did so because this album was met with such a thud upon initial release, and he needed some way to promote the album and you know, make a living. There are at least six songs here that are absolute bangers. But Moby's naysayers nitpick and suggest he was nothing but a curator, collecting samples from his favorite sources. If I'm interested in hearing how the sausage was made, it's usually because it tastes so good and I can't get enough of it. Go ahead and enjoy the shit out of this gem. My most pleasantly surprising 5 so far.

Do.... do I like Moby?

Moby, Moby, Moby. You sexy little cunt. This record soundtracked the greatest period of my life. I wasn't used to having periods, being male, but one day Play by Moby came on thr wireless and my minge just would not stop gushing with blood. Since then, I've had 7 different incidents, each involving the music of Moby and a lot of vaginal bleeding. Buckets of the stuff.

i mean i don't feel as negatively toward Moby as Eminem, but yeah... not a fan

just elevator music - it's the sort of thing people who "don't really do music" would have playing at a party. 2/10

How to Be a Hitmaker in 5 Easy Steps, by Moby: 1: Sample black vocalist. The older, the better. 2: Add rave piano. Guitars if feeling adventurous. 3: Add sweeping synths. 4: Repeat. 5: Patent technique before Fatboy Slim can. Don't get me wrong, the process produces some good music on occasion, but Moby spends practically half the album doing so, to the point that it ends up sounding like a cynical, AI-synthesized version of Endtroducing... that was created by a car company's ad department. And the less said about the album's other half, the better. Key Tracks: Bodyrock, Natural Blues

3.5 + To me Moby comes across less as a musician, and more as a reupholsterer. He chooses old African-American spirituals, as one might find a beautiful old sofa. He hammers the old melodies into shape, puttying over any small imperfections. He then applies some new material, slick beats crisp and bright (like new fabric on an old sofa), to make the original content marketable to a contemporary consumer. It's a professional and precise product but it feels cold and inauthentic.

Nobody obsessed over this album the way Moby obsessed over Natalie Portman.

While Moby is not as bad as Fatboy Slim or others like that, this just isn't my kind of music. Just feels repetitious and stale.

So many songs, so many car commercials! Moby certainly wasn’t the first (or last) to sample old blues & gospel artists but he did it better than anyone else. Probably due to the fact that in addition to being a "sampler” he was (and still is) a composer and multi-instrumentalist. The non-blues numbers aren’t as strong but still have a nice texture and are easy to listen to. With all the mileage I got out of some of these tracks in my spin classes I have no choice but to give it a 5.

Incredibly repetitive, though clearly purposely so. Also it's like 2 hours long, I didn't listen to most of it. It wasn't particularly interesting to me, but wasn't particularly bad either.

“Play” by Moby (1999) Desperately disparate, this commercialized collection of tracks is like spike proteins racing through the cultural bloodstream, looking for a capillary to clot. As it was peddled to movie makers and product marketing teams, the listener hears something oddly familiar and asks, “Didn’t I hear that on a TV ad?” And the answer is probably “Yes”. “Play” is not so much an album, but a project. The only unifying theme here is the serendipitous whim of the artist. His general method is to take sampled snippets of old recordings, repeat them over and over, and then add electronic beats and textures. It suffers from the same malady as most techno productions. Once the innovations have been picked up by others, it is no longer interesting as music. Compositionally, it is too repetitive. The only movement in each track is in the adding of layers of electronic mood sounds. And without lyrical or melodic support, these progressions are merely random. What he does on “Natural Blues” is a sacrilege. He takes a classic sample of blues and renders it in a perfectly unnatural way. The vocal sample (the a capella spiritual “Trouble So Hard” by Vera Hall) is not in perfect pitch, which is fine if it doesn’t clash with other tones. But then Moby adds perfectly tuned chords and fills that only serve to accentuate the flaws of the original sample. This should be illegal. Anyway, fall in love with this ‘music’ at your aesthetic peril. 1/5

I love everything about the story of this record, from Moby thinking it was going to be his last work before he had to get a real job to the fact that it took months to catch on. It's just bangers front to back. Best track: Porcelain.

Absolute banger. SO many good tracks.

Here's a test of your pre-millennial tolerance, Mark! I played the whole thing through on a plane ride, B-sides included, and conclude that a) Moby understands his quality control pretty well and b) the Lomax/archive samples are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. Packed with catchy bangers, of course, some of which I love to this day (Natural Blues and Run On, especially). Bit of an unsavory character in this period, by all accounts, and the album itself goes on longer than it should, but gotta give credit where it's due. Now excuse me, I've got the sudden urge to purchase an ugly French van..

This album was like readymade songs for ads.

The songs sound one-paced and samey.

Quintessential Moby

Gran Disco

mad how something that was so inescapable and the biggest thing in existence when it came out can end up so forgotten when its no longer the zeitgeist.

Somewhat enjoyed but disjointed and there's so much better elsewhere.

I remember liking this when it came out. I think maybe this album introduced "electronic" music to a lot of people at the time. Just doesn't hold up.

Ehh I remember when this guy was huge for a minute. I liked Southside back then and I still do. Gwen's vocals really make that song. Porcelain is okay I guess. The rest is mostly annoying. A lot of lackluster blues samples on repeat. Moby can't sing. The music is generally forgettable. I always kinda wanted to like Moby. Apparently he has some punk roots. I know he covered Mission of Burma and that wasn't terrible. Anyway this is pretty much a dud. Could and will listen to Southside many more times in my life though.

God this has not aged well at all. I remember loving it at the time, but it’s actually just aural wallpaper and not in a good way

Starts with a bang. Aside from one or two more bangs, this is ass.

Rubbish

Beautiful, interesting, vibrant. Good creative work music, can be ambient or the main event. Techno and soul influences side by side. A new favorite.

I liked it. I didn't expect to...but it was fun.

Toda una sorpresa. Pedazo de disco. Ritmos elegantes y muy bien construídos

Robocop is a zombie hero movie disguised as a cyborg Jesus parable, and so on Play the dead rescue Moby and help him master giant wow crescendoes. Could do with a quarter hour amputated, but still bangs. I don't think anyone has ever done this trick quite as well as Moby.

Moby was good. So many of these songs were in our subconscious and we didn't even know it. I guess that's what happens when you're good at writing music with long cultural teeth and licensing it

Go on, Moby lad.

Moby a connu une ascension assez singulière dans l'industrie musicale. Il a pendant très longtemps fait de l'électro dans sa chambre sans jamais réussir à percer jusqu'au jour où, dégustant une planche mixte charcuterie-fromage en terrasse d'un café, il vit débouler Eminem qui lui passa une soufflante d'une violence inouïe et totalement imméritée puisque les deux hommes ne se connaissaient pas. Très marqué par cet épisode, Moby s'en servit cependant pour lancer sa carrière avec l'album Play. La pochette de ce dernier témoigne d'ailleurs du phénomène pavlovien suivant : lorsque Moby entend le nom d'Eminem (ici diffusé par le talkie-walkie sur la gauche), il sursaute de manière ultra-spectaculaire, ce qui a tendance à amuser ses amis.

I recognized more than I thought.

Nearly 600 albums in, this might be the least surprising inclusion on this list, based on the author’s other choices. That said, the last few tracks on this record, where it gets more ambient, are pretty good and completely out of character with the rest of the record.

One of the first electronic records I ever listened to, so there is some nostalgia here, but it really is just easy listening music for 1999

Transformative sampling essentially started here and in this time. But it's difficult to go back and listen to, even through rose colored glasses.

A disappointing start to my 1001 albums daily listening. Nostalgic middle of the road easy listening.

This really brought back the beginning of the lights for me. But I would like to leave it there, if only for what I know about Moby today. My guess is that it sounded new when it came out, but how seems like tidied up elevator music.

The soundtrack to a thousand tedious dinner parties. "More flan Miriam?"

Uninspiring. Sounds like a bad Bourne Movie soundtrack.

Repetive

Every song is a loop of the first seconds

Gross creepy weirdo whose music sucks.

Not really something I'm going to listen to on purpose ever. There are some snippets of soul/blues with decent beats/samples, but all and all there isn't a lot of substance. I'll never understand people's fascination with Moby.

Fan-fucking-tastic jfc Clear anticipation of much of the synth and vaporwave of 2010s, really sick downbeat electronic stuff. Great use of vocals and general atmosphere

Chill but danceable at the same time. I just love the vibe of this album so much.

rating this today i'd give it a 3/5, but having been a late teen when it hit and knowing just how big and influential it was, i give it a 5. this album was massive and a full on game changer. soooo many copy cats have caused the shine to dull a bit, but man, in my head, it's still an all time great.

A great album with what are now classics. It's hard to overstate the influence this album has had on modern music and culture.

Lots of ambient tracks and the well known Moby hits from early on. Good work music. Front end is a bit more energetic, back end is much more chill lo-fi. Double album, lots of good tracks, definitely good background music.

Every song is incredible and it’s 2 hours long. Sounds like it could’ve been made today. A masterpiece

Classic

I don't know how to explain how much I love this album. Every song has it's own "soul" but they all work so well together too.

So I've heard about Moby, but I just thought he was a weird bald dude that made some kinda electronica music. I never really got the hype. But listening to the album, it made me realise that it has been a part of the wider soundscape for at least the last 23 years. There were so many familiar songs throughout, although I couldn't exactly pinpoint from where they were familiar - whether it was movies, ads or TV shows it's been a part of the wider musical zeitgeist. The lo-fi electronic beats, expertly moulded into ambient background music, it was really what I needed at work today. Not to sound too corny, Play took me to a zen, meditative state, where I was really able to focus and remove all intrusive thoughts. Definitely gave LoFi Girl a run for their money. Best: Procelain Worst: N/A

Oh yeH this rocks

Varied, chill, relaxing

Seminal album from a strange, strange man

Damn nice

Toch meer piano en gitaar dan ik verwachtte. De singles kende ik al, maar de rest van dit album is ook top!

One of my favourites. Perfect.

Moby's ambient expressions that are so hauntingly beautiful. Should be in everyone's library.

Wonderful album

Excellent album. It’s a regular on my in car playlist. Sensational.

Really good album. Every song is so different but great. Definitely adding a few to some playlists

Pretty interesting!

Love a lot of this album!

This is such a beast of an album. There's not a single bad track. The whole thing slaps end to end. How is that possible?! It's a perfect mix of mainstream rock traditions and club electronica concepts. The samples are all purposely chosen and perfectly used. The beats are concrete, they're so solid. Everything is so layered that, even on a second, third, or thirteenth listen, there's more to explore and enjoy. It doesn't get old. It's just... damn. So good.

Fantastic!

Yep, still love this album. Loved the mash up of Black folk/heritage music and dance music, and ambient/chill tracks like Everloving. I know this album isn’t for everyone, but it definitely has a place in my sonic landscape, even after 20+ years.

Great use of samples especially of Lomax collected blues music. The music is upbeat and driving which prevents the album from dragging which is necessary for an album that is about an hour long. I enjoy the use of blues/RnB samples with an electronic and string overlay. It adds a different depth of emotion to an already emotional genre. The strings particularly add an expansiveness with a tinge of melancholy.

Transcendent electronic house jams. A fantastic era for the genre, I love the sound of the late 90's.

I know I’m rating it in a biased fashion, but this album is so damned beautiful, start to finish. It was my lone companion on a nighttime bus ride from Pittsburgh to Detroit circa January 2001.

Also classic

Defined the genre

Cracking album. Brought techno and sampling to the masses. Cover art 5/5

An amazing electronic album, well worth the title of classic

I'd spent years studying Alan Lomax so to hear his recordings sampled by Moby and become a humongous album cheered me enormously - bringing so much good music to the electronica pretentiously inclined. And it was an amazing album in too many ways to list.

What an album! Only knew the song "Extreme Ways" before this so this was a revelation. Such a variety of sound and feeling across the record but it melds so well. I'll definitely be listening to this more.

Awesome, just awesome

Became background, although I used to listen to this album a lot. A few tracks surprised- sounded a bit like Prodigy/Underworld. Also ‘Guitar flute and strings’ raised a fun chat

Classic

This album is quite nice, very nice. Wow. This album is quite nice, very nice. Yeah. This album is a bit repetitive, perhaps. Wow. But just some lyrics, though. Just some. This album is quite nice, very nice. Wow. This album is quite nice, very nice. Yeah. This album is a bit repetitive, perhaps. Wow. But just some lyrics, though. Just a few, babe.

Play was one of my favorite albums of the late 90s! Loved seeing Moby performing it in concert even more. And then sometime in the 2000s I forgot about it. But I’m glad I got reunited with it. It flows so effortlessly, bouncy one moment to deeply mellow the next. It was a soundtrack for a snapshot in time that could be reimagined as a snapshot for today. Love it!

wonderful album. Brought me back to high school when I owned the CD and used to play it in my car.

Didn't realize how good this album was..

This album has significant musical and sentimental impact in my life. Beautiful blend of modern dance and blues music.

Had this CD stuck in the car 20 years ago and must have played it a zillion times. Still like it though- the tracks are like a soothing mantra to me. On the face of it Play is a bunch of samples with a disco beat but I think the sum is greater than the parts.

Best Song: Find My Baby. All the vocals looped throughout were excellent. Worst Song: Porcelain. Overall: Excellent collection of songs with great sampling and mixing. Track ordering is sometimes weird though, resulting in heavy tonal shifts between tracks (e.g., the transition from Rushing to Bodyrock). Last third of the album also slows down considerably.

Very moody. I loved it!

Bring Sally up!

Ótimo album! Música eletrônica com pitadas de soul!

All time classic. Got played so much it was in danger of being over-exposed but after a while away from it, it's just great.

Moby always AMAZING! <3

If I had to list out the most important albums of the 2000s I likely would not have thought of this one. Listening to it now it’s pretty undeniable how pervasive this music was during that decade. The bad take is this is the sound of car commercials. Realistically, this is the sound of cool for this era and everyone wanted to be associated with Moby. This album is so clean and so catchy it’s no wonder every song got put under any commercial or movie that would pay for it. 20 years later I think you have to call this the point when ‘selling out’ stopped being a thing.

It could potentially get 5 stars for Porcelain alone, but the album is also undeniably strong, innovative and enjoyable. Even the instrumentals like Everloving hold their own if a very long 18 track release. Fantastic.

Love Moby

A really great album. Electronica with lots of different samples from hip hop, gospel, R&B. Really surprised me, and one of my favorites so far.

Was pleasantly surprised by this one. All the songs were interesting and innovative. Not really my normal genre but really good.

Absolutely love this mix of Blues and Beats. Wonderful use of sampling to be more creative than usual in this genre. Stand out Tracks for me: "Porcelain" "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" & of course "Natural Blues" and well worth it's place in this list.