Play

fun and groovy, not super memorable but definitely danceable and i liked the variety. just some good populist dance music.

Some cool chill background music and some interesting blues takes. Would listen again.

almost turned it off on the first track. the rest were not too bad.

Moby would have passed me by had it not been for a mate giving back word on a Moby concert at Manchester Apollo and giving me his tickets. Moby was on tour promoting this album. I went not expecting much but the concert was fantastic so I bought this album straight after. Moby became big in the UK soon after and his music was all over the place on radio and countless TV adverts. This album and the next one 18 I had on my iPod and I remember a particular day walking in the Lake District having these albums on repeat. It was one of the most memorable days in the Lakes I have had (and I have had many) so always think of Moby when I recollect that day or when I occasionally touch the same route again. My fascination of Moby did not last long and after buying 18 I lost track of what he was doing and I don’t think I played this album again until prompted by this list. Listening again was pleasant enough and obviously brought back those memories but I do wonder what made me have the brief dalliance with Moby as dance music is not my thing. I do like ambient sounds which I believe Moby’s later work includes (will have to research that) and there are traces of ambient on this album along with some nice ochestration. This album belongs in my past and at that time was a favourite so my rating reflects that and is higher than if it was an album which was new to me today.

Some good songs. Mostly background music.

Me encanta.

I ended up liking this a lot more than I expected. I knew the song "South Side" so I thought the whole album would be like that but from the first song, I could tell that my hypothesis was wrong. The album kind of petered off at the end but I still think it was pretty good! Favorites were "South Side", "Honey", "Run On" (which contains an awesome sample) and "Porcelain"

It was okay

I will forever prefer Johnny Cash‘s take on “Run On,” but overall some pretty entertaining tracks.

My favorite electronica album yet! The negatives outweighed the positives though. Soo much repetition in places. The last few tracks reminded me of getting a massage so that was nice. A 3.5 rounds down to a 3 on this one.

This would be another great candidate for 3.5*. I enjoyed it and it's got several strong tracks on it. No complaints, really. Good representative of the genre.

I feel like this record is not unlike the vegan food Moby loves; it’s a bunch of shit thrown together acting like it’s something it’s not with the individual parts being way better on their own. But honestly, I don’t hate this as much as I thought I would. Again, like vegan food.

This has scratched a particular itch in my brain. Easy to lie back and be taken on a journey. It’s like soulful ambient lounge music but more elevated. 3.5/5 ⭐️

Nice and varied. Some standout tracks but would need another listen to see if anything catches. Felt too long for what it is.

7/10 Moby's masterful use of drum/piano combo is cool, it just felt repetitive

zanimljiv, cak sam neke stvari i znala od prije al me nije odusevio

90s 🤘🏻

Kann man gut nebenbei hören das Album

This was a pretty solid, feel good, groovy, dance music album. Several tracks had excellent use of piano, vocals, and harmonies. The tribute to bluesy and soulful roots was also excellent. My only criticisms are that some songs were a bit boring, there was a lot of repition, and the album is a little too long.

Dated in a way where some of it comes off as silly/goofy. Which isn't the worst way to age as music goes. Depending on the hour, I have alternating feelings about remixing recordings of spirituals as pop songs. In one way, it feels more honest. On the other, the recordings feel like they have been orphaned from their entire purpose.

Strong start but not so good of a finish.

The classic made for TV adverts album 😄 I really used to enjoy it but am suffering from over exposure now

Feels like everyone knows most of these songs because half of them were on car adverts or TV shows over the years. Also a lot of the work isn't exactly his, or original, but it resulted in massive popularity, so I guess he's happy. I wouldn't willingly go back to listen to it now like I did when it was out and I was younger, but I'll give it a decent 3 because it's loads more listenable than some of the other electronica bollocks we've had.

It's fine but it's a bit of a one trick pony, and having to hear that trick about 18 times is way too many. Cut it off at like 12 songs and it'd be a pretty fun listen, some of the samples are gorgeous, 'Porcelain' being the obvious one.

combination of several styles into a very listenable album. although not my typical preference in music, i recognized three songs that received radio airplay back in the day. quality stuff, albeit considering the genre, many of the songs became redundant. highlights: “south side”, “bodyrock”, “natural blues”.

Yeah, this was a jam.

I respect this, but it feels like background music. Interesting and kind of a cool vibe.

Surprisingly, not bad. I was never a big fan of Moby but I sort of liked quite a few of the songs. It's great background music when you're involved with another task, but then you start bobbing your head or tapping your fingers.

brings back memories of the 90's

Roughly the same way I feel about Fatboy Slim... this is probably as good as this type of music will ever get for me. I get it, it's just not for me.

Listened to half of it and enjoyed it but it did feel repetitive

This got me feeling pretty good, surprisingly. Best song was, 'Why does my heart feel so bad'.

Some of this is quite beautiful but sometimes I completely forgot it was even on. 😂

Super solid album.

Decent background music, would work well in a large store or something. Stand-out: Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?

Music for people who think they were losers in high school but were actually bullies.

Added a couple of songs to my downbeat playlist from here and I’ve always loved “Flowers” since I heard it in gone in 60 seconds.

Best song is the catchy tune Green Sally up…

Second half is best find the blues samples pretty naff, all dated

Some jams but it's all just all a bit twatty, isn't it?

I never paid too much mind to Moby and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with the overall experience. Not my favorite artist but I see the appeal; even if the "just a curator" criticism was true, it takes some talent and ear to curate an performance that is cohesive and entertaining. The upside: - Fun dance/party music, a couple of bangers and a pleasant enough experience overall. - The highs are quite high and the album finishes stronger than it starts. The downside: - The less inspired tracks are better suited as backing music whilst you do something else other than music you want to sit and listen to. - It'd be great as a 40 minutes album.

Melodic & rhythmic

I like this for it's ambient and melodic mood, but it does get a bit repetitive Moby made some pretty good music, and this record stands out the most! But the interludes could be skipped. Standouts: Honey, Porcelain, Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Bodyrock, Natural Blues, Machete, If Things Were Perfect, Everloving, The Sky Is Broken, 7 out of 10

meh, not bad bad at all but sorta just passed me by

Honey - 7.8 - great sampling. good dance music Find My Baby - 5.5 - the "wooh" feels off-beat and doesn't lend to dance. second half is better. Porcelain - 9.2 - amazing lyrics and sampling. feels very floaty. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? - 6.5 - hate the "doors" parts, but the rest is great. South Side - 6.0 - basic lyrics - spoken word parts sound good, if a little disjointed. gets better throughout Rushing - 6.8 - doesn't accomplish being dance music - it's like a lo-fi song. Bodyrock - 4.7 - usually good at making it not seem repetitive. not here. ugh Natural Blues - 7.2- good, but this is where moby's algorithm with making music is apparent to me. Machete -7.8 - vocals too quiet in beginning. really picks up at the end, sounds tortured. 7 - 3.5 - sounds terrible. thank god its only a minute. Run On - 8.2 - great sample. Down Slow - 6.7 - sounds fine. a bit boring. If Things Were Perfect - 8.9 - awesome lyrics. Everloving - 8.0 - like the guitar. melancholy. Inside - 7.0 - too slow for me. end feels like a conclusion, but there's still three more songs. Guitar Flute & String - 6.4 - lives up to the name. The Sky Is Broken -6.8 - don't like the echo on vocals. I wish he would do something interesting flow-wise once. lyrics are great. My Weakness - 7.7 - great conclusion. like the strings.

First half was good. The other 14-15 songs were pointless

Nice, but not my style.

Love this

Moby was everywhere when this hit in the year 2000. Car adverts, in the charts, on the radio, on TV. I preferred the Fatboy Slim take on this trend of blending old gospel songs with techno, but there's no dispute that something here was commercially viable. That's probably my main problem with this album, it's a bit soulless. It was interesting to hear the tracks that I somehow managed to avoid back in the day. I would have rated this as a 1 star when it came out, but time has been kinder than I expected and I will bump it up to 3.

This has more of a roots/bluesy foundation than I was expecting based on Moby’s radio tracks. I was surprised to like it a bit. Some of the songs are underdeveloped IMO. They’re more “riff” than “song”, but I feel that way about most electronic music. 3.5

Pretty good. Feels like 2000 in places, but this album is probably the reason why. Alan Lomax samples, but it's the beats that sound dated in 2023. B-side is more soundtrack-y. 3.7

porcelain is a 5/5 star’s track the rest of the album brings it down

Thought about a 4 but not quite. 3.5

Some nostalgia points, and some great tracks but a lot of below average too. But when it is good, it is really good.

5.4/10

While some songs could have lasted for 10 seconds and nothing would be missed, others are quite fun and feature nice samples. Album full of ups and downs

Has some really cool parts but also has a few too many boring tracks to really appreciate it as an album.

Man, this didn’t age well. The samples are over played. Just way too many times. Porcelain was a staple of my youth and is a wonderful song, but I still have so much fatigue from hearing it EVERYWHERE.

101223 10:53 3.5

Moby introduced EDM to so many Middle aged dudes. This album is actually super great but waivers a bit at the end

Maybe normally I wouldn’t care for this one but it makes me a bit nostalgic, since these songs would play on the radio all the time when I as a kid. [0082/1001]

This got off to a rough start. After the first few songs, I figured I was in for a lackluster ride. But once it reached Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, it become way more consistent, and actually felt like something interesting was being attempted. The way vocal samples are used on this record is really cool. It features a lot of old vintage sounding vocal performances, but some also sound more modern, which makes me think they were recorded live for the album. I enjoy the more upbeat and danceable tracks. The problem is that about two thirds of the way into the album, all of that danceability goes away. It takes a more mellow and ambient approach. And it feels very flat. I don’t really like any of those songs. They just feel like generic ambient trip hop. If this wasn’t as long as it is, and didn’t feel so bloated, I might have liked it more. Rating: 6/10

Some good songs, but you really have to be in the mood for techno, even slow techno.

Moby's "Play," released in 1999, is an electronic music landmark that seamlessly blends ambient, techno, and samples of old blues and gospel recordings. Tracks like "Porcelain" and "Natural Blues" are standout examples of its innovative approach. However, the ubiquity of the album's tracks in commercials and media has somewhat diminished their impact over time. While "Play" showcases Moby's skillful production, its widespread commercial use might make it feel less groundbreaking to some listeners. It remains a solid representation of electronic music's crossover into popular culture, deserving a middle-ground 3/5 for its creative fusion and cultural impact.

Was more music than singing in the songs

This album is a classic from my youth, it starts at such heights it is quite disappointing how long it drags and how little did Moby decided to leave out. Porcelain is of course the jewel of the crown, being it such a perfect track, but this could have been easily a 5, even with the stuffing, were not for the huge disappoint that is hearing the album version of “South side” as the feat. Stefani one is greatly superior. It is a let down that stays for the rest of the album so there goes a Star. Another one taken for staking Natalie. Not ok bro.

Interesting album for sure. Didn’t know much about Moby prior so wasn’t sure what to expect and I feel like I’ve heard quite a few of these songs before in commercials. Lots of randoms samples and what not overall pretty cool 3/5

Deserves to be on the list but man oh man has this aged poorly. A surprisingly boring album punctuated by a couple brilliant songs.

Pretty good. Feels like 2000 in places, but this album is probably the reason why. Alan Lomax samples, but it's the beats that sound dated in 2023. B-side is more soundtrack-y. 3.7

More premise than payoff. These are pleasant on the surface and the layerings and contrasts (club beats, gospel vocals) present some interest. But on subsequent listens they soften to the point of blandness and offer no depth or resolution other than their own shine, which seems a pretty generic sort of attraction. The hits were the hits and one remembers the moment, but it all feels quite generic now and its coming and going so inoffensively and non-compellingly makes perfect sense.

Good bluesy electronica

Oddly comforting but I could not shake the feeling that It may lead me to shooting up a school at some point

2.83 per track. If it wasn't for the second half of this album it would have done significantly better.

This is decent background music. I'd like to listen to some of his source material over this album, I think.

The goodwill built up by the first three tracks on this album was erased by South Side, a track so cringey I wanted to turn it off. Most of the rest of the album was fine, but any time that Moby was using his own vocals, the track suffered. There's a reason that he succeeded by using samples extensively. I never again need to hear his attempt at sexy pillow talk. "Porcelain" and "Natural Blues" are the standout tracks. Highs are canceled out by lows, it gets a 3.

If you can set aside the cartoon character that is Moby, I believe there is a 4 or 4.5 star album here, but there's so much useless underground electronic DJ set filler squeezed into the cracks that drags it down.

Oh, Porcelain and South Side are the songs I know from this album. Go listen to "The Genealogy Detective" and their 3 part series on whether Moby is actually a relative of Herman Melville like he has claimed to be.

It was better than I was expecting. I listened while working on an assignment, and it did help me focus. But god, was that first song annoying.

I don't love this but I have to admit I don't hate it enough to roast it. I don't think I'm ever like "hmm let me put on an entire Moby LP" but some of these were decent zone-out music and I regrettably enjoy Bodyrock.

Knew from trip-hop/electronic - mildly disappointed with album as a whole when compared to the two standout tracks of porcelain and everloving. Decent background music but nothing more, especially when compared to other artists of the same era/genre. 3.

Nostalgie

A ver… este disco es medio raro Por un lado, cumple con la función de entretener la hora y pico que dura, tiene algunas ideas muy buenas y la calidad de sonido es excelente Por el otro lado se siente como una carpeta de loops que te quedan después de un par de años con Ableton/FL Studio. Es un lindo disco de… ¿Electrónica, creo? Que se queda corto en varios momentos. La falta de estructura en las canciones y la repetición de las mismas convierte a un disco con mucho potencial a, justamente aquello que dije antes, un lindo disco Solido 3

ambient music - nice to study to but can be a little too loud and busy for acads at times some songs felt kinda disconnected - as if i was being abruptly pulled out of water fav track: my weakness

GOOD fun, not too deep, fun to listen to when you’re vibing/smoking w friends

definitely more somber than expected, but a solid hit from the 90s

Kind of like a downtempo Daft. Not bad, though

3. Some songs on this album slap, but a lot of them drag the album behind for me. It's still a good piece of electronic music even if it isn't my favourite genre

One drum loop?

It was very peaceful. Not my favorite, but had some songs I liked with good beats

I was really into it for the first couple songs, but as the album progressed, I started losing interest. The varied voices is kind of a weird thing to do. It just makes me worried about inconsistency with the vocal quality of the songs. To me, there's three distinct sections to the album, a beginning, middle, and end. The middle section is the different by being the most upbeat, and to me, it's the worst section. If you just got rid of it, I think there would be a complete album with a full feeling, and there wouldn't be any necessarily bad songs.

Surprised how many I recognised. Lit

Prima, porcelain is natuulk wel vet

So much of this album is a pastiche of African spirituals that a white man repackaged with gloss and techno, dance vibes. The ideas are thin, the loops are too long to back a simple dance number, but too short and repetitive to carry a full-length pop song. A good sample in a song is usually a fun nod, an Easter egg, an elevation of an idea or a rhythm that the artist then builds something new from. But here on many of the tracks, the spirituals feel like the entire idea, and Moby works around them. This leaves the subtext of it all -- the African spirituals are generally about struggle. Is Moby comparing his own personal struggles to those of enslaved people? Probably. Weirdly, despite Moby not having a strong voice, the tracks with his vocals are the best. Porcelain and South Side remain great songs.

Solid album, some classics.

Great album, but I think the awesome selection of samples does a lot of the heavy lifting

I like its ecclectic mix of sounds. Liked the song South Side a lot

Really different kind of music from what I listen to. Probably a common theme. Actually kinda fun music. Probably won’t listen to it a ton but it had some good songs.

I liked like one or two songs

Was a good listen. For a relatively recent release, felt comfortable as background.

First listen ever. It's not bad, it has some good (even great) moments too. But I found it repetitive and not that interesting or unique. Sounds like some quintessential 90s/2000s to me though, really captures the zeitgeist of the time. Not all bad, just not my thing, I can respect it though.

Funky and different. Overall I liked it

knew it before

This one is a classic, though I'm not sure how well it holds up.

Was alright, not my cup of tea but glad that I listened

As someone who is not a fan or electronica/electronic music, this album was a pleasant surprise. While it still had too much of one sample running over and over for 3 minutes on some of the tracks, a lot of the album was more musical. Tracks I liked: Porcelain South Side Rushing Bodyrock Run On Everloving Guitar Flute & String The Sun Never Stops Setting

Didn't like at first, but kinda grew on me. Solid album, chill vibes.

+ honey find my baby porcelain why my heart does feel so bad? natural blues

3 i mean yeah it's listenable but the novelty of it ended after song two faves: honey, my weakness

I'm left conflicted by this album, after the passage of time (over 20yrs - yikes!) I listened to it A LOT in period. But I think the overplaying and over commercialisation of nearly every album track to either a film or advert (or both) has harmed it. Too many associations are brought up when you hear certain tracks, which disconnects you from the music itself. In many ways it was ahead of its time and I appreciate the arrangement and production. But not enough that I finished the album feeling it had been left tarnished by the passage of time. 3, rather than 4*

It was alright I guess

3.5 Kind of dreading this one. I actually listened to Blue Lines by Massive Attack before this one, so should be interesting as they kind of come out of similar ideas. Ok, I'm actually shocked at how much I enjoyed this, as I always found Moby to be annoying as a person. But, man, this album sounds really good on headphones. I'm sure there's some issues with the use of samples from POC spirituals and songs in general, but who care? They are used to really good effect and sound much better than whoever, i assume it's Moby, is singing. I don't know if I'll be saving this one to my library, but I gotta hand it to the little bald creep--this sounds pretty damn good. It does have a fully realized, effective vision, not overly intellectualized. Of course there are the of-its-time ubiquitous record scratching effects that I could do without or much less of, but whatchoo gonna do. The repetitions and loops do create hypnotic effects. The tossed off and improvised become solid and composed through repetition. The breakbeats aren't groundbreaking, but within the chill, reverbed piano lines and rootsy samples, serve the songs well. I'm shocked.

Album 157 of 1001 Moby - Play Rating : 3 / 5 Favorite Track : South Side Not really for me, though I do like this more than the other "electronica" I've heard. It serves its purpose, I guess.

Objectively good but doesn't sit well with me, less found sound and more cultural appropriation

Porcelain, Bodyrock and Everloving goood! i do like the style but hmmm would i listen to it more??

A few records can last more than 1 hour and still feel fresh at the end. This was not one of them. Could've been great if like 1/3 of generic stuff was cut.

3/5 Best: Porcelain Worst: Find My Baby

Good instrumentation but long

More familiar than I expected. So many Tracks of that time

Some great songs on here... but I've heard it sooooo much

While it’s a little hit and miss, there are some truly great electronic songs to be found here.

Some bangers but the all quite similar

Porcelain stands out but there's other good ones. Liked the chilled out beats: Rushing, Everloving, Inside, The Sky is Broken.

Impressive body of work. Nice to have on in background or to zone to, but does not really draw me in. Would rather have more expressiveness and less looping and sampling.

Standout songs: Porcelain Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?

Some foot tapping grooves, and you can't help but know the hooks from 90s TV ads. But it's background music, not something you listen to.

Couldn’t follow. Was in and out, but there’s cool stuff here

Really cool album. Love the use of samples across the tracks. Moby creates a coherent atmosphere, with a mix of electronic sounds, symphonic instrumentals, and samples of roots music.

Got some great tunes (porcelain, why does my heart) and some annoying ones. Probably the best electronica album I’ve heard.

Artistin tavoitteena on tuoda bluesin virtuaalinen melodisuus kaikkien kuultavaksi, ja arvostan tätä pyrkimystä siinä määrin, että olen melkein valmis ohittamaan levyn täytebiisien junnaavuuden. 3,5.

Very strange, but in an endearing way

Undeniably catchy but the gramophone roaring twenties vibe that underlines it is really wack

🤪

few good songs otherwise meh

Pleasant cleaning music.

Some bops but they go on very repetitively for a while. There is 100% a use case for this but not sure what it is

3.25/5 pleasant

In general my exposure to Moby has made me find him moderately pretentious but I still enjoyed the album. 3.5 stars!

If Fatboy Slim cared a little more about the music he made, and made slightly better music, he would be Moby.

Highlights: Porcelain, Run On Leave Em's: Machete, The Sky Is Broken, Inside Overall Thoughts: While this two hour project did not feel like a waste of time I was fortunate to listen to it as background music at work. As such, the album was relatively enjoyable, however I couldn't imagine sitting down and trying to deeply listen to this thing. Big shoutout to the A$AP sample, it's always fun to find the original sample for some of my favorite rap songs. I personally don't see a whole lot of replay value in these songs but I'd welcome many of the tracks as background music in the future. I preferred the songs that had lyrics the most but I did not enjoy the spoken word songs and would prefer an instrumental to a poem spoken over a beat. Score Breakdown: 2.704 & 3 -> 2.852

Very solid background music. I like his style, very groovy dance-y beats. It was fine and maybe I’ll choose to listen to it at the gym or something in the future!

This had some pretty good moments. I knew "South Side" from before, but most of the rest I had not. For the most part I liked it, but again it just didn't wow me. Maybe I need to listen to it again, but there wasn't a song I would say this is the s**t right here. Saying that, it was very well-done and produced well. It's probably the best of the techno albums I've heard. But that's not really saying a huge amount, you know? Definite one I need to come back to.

It's fine.. The songs he's sampling often sound more interesting than his own songs. One of these was a set work for our music gcse which kinda ruins it a bit

Kinda disappointed!

Nicht schlecht, aber irgendwie auch belanglos.

It's weird that the fact Moby is most well known for being a Buddhist vegan that I assumed his music would reflect this. Turns out he makes Fatboy slim-esque dance music. I think this album is well known for having a large number of songs used in car adverts which explains why I recognise most of it. First half much better than the second, lost its way a bit. Overall I liked it but it felt a bit sanitised, like something an AI would make.

some great tunes but fuck he's one note aye jesus

As far as electronica goes this is not bad at all. It certainly is not my favorite thing, but this is groovy and chill. The DoppleDeaner really hit it out of the park on this one, or the Fake Moby from HIMYM take your pick, it's the same dude.

i didn't love this album. i liked it--but most importantly, i found it riveting. the evolution throughout the album progressed from electronica and techno to rather ambient music, including some acoustic songs. the electronica songs could be extremely catchy ("honey"!), and the acoustic tender. the samples that moby used were well and sparingly chosen; they suited his songs and purpose nicely.

As far as electronic ambient albums go, this was better than most I've encountered on this project. It was well-produced and very easy to listen to. Sonically, there was a lot of diversity and variation. This was all just very tight and enjoyable. It goes to show why Moby has stood the test of time in this field unlike some of the other ambient electronic acts that have been featured on this project.

Not bad, but not quite a 4, so let's say 3.5.

Parts of this album are cool but the repetition that comes out of this genre just bores me.

I've heard quite a few of these songs over the years. Always very chill music. Some songs can get a bit repetitive but I still enjoy it for the most part.

Enjoyed the familiarity of the first song, not the right vibe for the rest. Let it grow on me.

It was ok but it never made a real connection for me. And it definitely didn't need to be over an hour long. Next.

Definitely very 2000

6/10. Yeah, this was fine I guess, I don't think I'd want to sit around just listening to it because it's kinda long and boring, but it was nice in the background.

When I was a kid there was a commercial that played constantly for one of those CD compilations where they play clips from the songs included - remember those? Well, Porcelain was on there and the little clip they played scared me so much as a kid; I was a weenie, but it was just so haunting and ghostly. That's a memory that's burned into my brain. I really like South Side, though.

Favorite Song(s): Bodyrock (the guitar!) Super vibe-y album. It would be good to put on at the end of a party, as it gets slower/sadder as the album continues. Def. wouldn't listen to this everyday, but it's cool!

I have definitely heard Porcelain sampled in another song (or vice versa), can't wait to forgot completely about this and then hear the song 4 years later, bringing back memories of the first time I listened to Moby. Starts off kinda emo. It has an enjoyable sound to it that reminds me of The Matrix that I can't quite describe. Songs are pretty repetitive The hard switch into Bodyrock was a bit jarring, but it made me pay attention again. Interestingly; the second half of Bodyrock samples a song from Planet Rock: The Album. I did not listen to all of the B-sides, but I enjoyed this album enough. I can hear the influences it had on techno and other electronic music. Probably not going out of my way to listen to this album again, though.

7/10. weno pero pense q me iba a gustar mas. supongo q no me gto tanto pq era muy monotono. enbola es un 8 pero por ahora no me mata.

Very generous 3... easy to listen to but repetitive and feels quite sterile

Not bad but kind of trails off at the end. Some classics on here for sure though

This DEFINITELY screams late 90s. Not at all a bad thing

It was nice, but too long.

I know the songs that sample the Alan Lomax field recordings are what got all the attention for being novel at the time, but I actually prefer when he sticks to his moody downtempo techno on the latter half of the album. I definitely don't like when he sings. He seems like a weaselly dude. Apparently a friend loaned him the Lomax boxed set that he used for the samples and Moby never really acknowledged it or gave it back to him. https://www.stereogum.com/1902582/former-friend-of-moby-seeks-credit-for-lending-him-cds-sampled-on-play/news/

the front half is boring electronic but the second half ironically goes into really interesting almost orchestral music 3,5

som não é dos piores mas alguns repetitivos meio irritante até

Molto interessante l'apertura con 'Honey', ma mi pare si perda un po' proseguendo. Bellissima 'Natural Blues', ma poco altro.

Nice! Altijd chill om eens een album te luisteren zonder één generieke ‘sound’ of ‘genre’. Klinkt een beetje als wat je op een dag mee zou kunnen maken

Moby is voor kortharige 45-jarige vrouwen die nog steeds naar trance festivals gaan en allemaal shakra spullen en buddha beeldjes thuis hebben staan. Het album was oké, niet spectaculair. 2.5

Great production, some real good songs. A bit repetitive.

Yeah, this is a thing. It's ubiquitous and it certainly did a lot to make electronic music a little more mainstream. I think the biggest positive for the album is that it introduced Vera Hall to a much larger audience - however the majority of that audience probably still has no idea who Vera Hall is! The music is fine enough that I can't write off the entire album simply because Moby can be an insufferable twat

The album was alright. I recognized some of the songs. I would listen to those songs again but probably not the entire album.

Love the piano on Honey, it is quite repetitive though Okay so I assume this album is gonna be very repetitive. Even though the music is quite strong I feel like the repetitiveness is gonna get annoying quite fast for me personally. I feel like I'll quite enjoy this album but not enough to where I'll actually listen to any of it by itself. I'm now at Everloving and I was right lol. Most of the songs now are fine but it's getting stale. Yeah I was really done with it for the final couple of songs. The repetitiveness works well for the first half or so and I assume they'll be fine to listen to when listened to on their own but a whole album is too much for me.

Not my cup of tea, generic electronic music.

It’s giving shopping at the gap at the nittany mall circa 2002 vibes. Absolute distillation of the late 90s pre-9/11 vibe

Not bad background music... not quite my cup of tea. I'd give it a 5/6 out of 10. Some of the songs were a bit annoying as they were super repetitive.

I did like this, the hits are excellent but found some of it a bit lack lustre and boring.

Hey, I've heard most of these before! At least parts of them. They're okay songs, but not something I would write home about. Ultimately, too long. I got tired of this album fifteen minutes before it ended, which is always frustrating.

This guy is clearly a maestro with the beats. Docking him 1 point for having an unexceptional voice, 1 point for shoe choice in the album cover. Fav song = Rushing

Started real strong, very long, very unique sound, upbeat sort of mild funk, liked it

I don’t think I ever listened to this whole album before, but I remember hearing almost every song on commercials or in movies. Crazy how this album wove its’ way through popular culture.

eh

Interesting but nothing special

Was never the Moby type, but glad I listened if only because I totally forgot about South Side.

Comes in really strong and groovy but wanes off towards the end. Got the obvious classics on there, and some new favourites too

This is *fine* I guess

Too long

Good

A bigger name, but ultimately a beats album that like the others just ends up feeling like it’s missing a true dedicated vocalist, rather than odd samples and interpolations.

Probably one of the best Electronic Albums so far on this list because the songs don't just consist of 20 seconds looped over and over again

I like some parts of this album quite a bit but I find other parts repetitive and annoying.

Massive at the time and I often played it. It stands up well, but I don't mind if I never hear it again.

Liked the first half better than the second half. I am betting the second half is the b sides. I had never listened to moby outside of the radio hits and actually enjoyed it quite a bit. 3.5 stars?

Porcelain is such a great track will always enjoy listening to it! Not so taken with the rest of the album.

A 3.5 for me. Definitely a very interesting listen with some songs I definitely know. I think Honey, Find My Baby, and Natural Blues were my favorites.

Was such a prominent album when it came out - listening back now I find it bland and repetitive. Enough good songs to lift to a 3 but only just.

Great vibes, great accessible electronic music with electric guitar. Would love the album if it wasn’t attached to a negative time in my life. Will give other Moby a listen for sure. Super chill, but you can tap your foot to it.

Smart in subtle ways I'd dig into more if they were delivered with some more bombast. I like the sadder ones, hit harder than the dance-y ones. A few tracks too long perhaps, but Flower being relegated to B-Side is a tragedy.

A solid album with a great opening run of songs, they didn't all hit for me but the general vibe is great throughout

not my fave - but does have some iconic songs

Cool

Erste Nummern tanzbar und poppig, später trippier, nimmt zur Hälfte die wendung mit kurzen techno abweichungen, sprechgesang, das album ist eine reise, wird immer elektronischer, immer weniger Text gegen Ende, letzte Nummer catcht mich wieder.

Ein paar gute Sample-Lieder und der Klassiker "Why does my Heart feel so bad?" Gut als Berieselung mit energetischen Ausreißern. Nur drei Sterne weil ich wahrscheinlich meistens ein anderes Album wählen würde wenn ich die Auswahl hätte.

Not my type of music, but it was interesting. Blues, soul vocal lines on a pleasing electronic base. I kinda like it, but would never listen it on my own decision.

Good techno album. Still not my thing to listen to on the regular, but enjoyed the listen

This is some of the best background music I’ve ever heard. Montage music. I’ll master the art of cooking to this album. I ain’t gonna listen to it just for kicks though. 3/5

It’s a fun one.

HL: “My Weakness”, “Run On”, “Porcelain”, “Find My Baby”, “Natural Blues” Leave it to me to be well and truly done with this album at the end, then get enchanted by the final track “My Weakness”. Some really good tracks, and some tedious stretches. It really sold 12 million copies, eh? November 24, 2022

Pretty decent if not spectacular.

Some good songs, makes me want to listen to more of this type if music.

I've always had a vaguely negative opinion of Moby, for no good reason, having never given his music a chance. Giving Play a spin I'm surprised by how many of these songs are already familiar. Some of the songs I like quite a bit, some not really. I'm willing to like electronica but find it can be really hit or miss with me. Play is maybe a little more miss than hit, but Porcelain is genuinely great so I'm rounding up.

This is one I've heard about so many times and seen the cover, but I don't know the first thing about any of the songs, or even what it sounds like. Got some interesting slide guitar in the first track, and then some really nice mixing, modulating back and forth in stereo. Sounds like another one of those types that uses repetitive vocals as a droning instrument, but this time the music is interesting enough for it to work out. I can really hear the late 90s here, Porcelain puts me in mind of Millennium by Robbie Williams. South Side sounds super familiar. I get real big soundtrack vibes from this album. Not really feeling Machete, it seems like he was trying to go harder than he is comfortable with or maybe good at. Run On sounds really cool, I love the contrast of the vocal style and music. Old meets new. I've just noticed there's a pervasive warm crackling that makes this all feel like vinyl. It's more noticeable in some places, but it seems like it is on almost every track, if not every track. The last couple of songs were pretty boring, made me wish the album was over. Overall, pretty good.

3.5/5 Many many great songs.

"Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing - - " -wikipedia Lyriikoista ei saa selvää missään biiseissä, mutta se ei ole tärkeää ilmeisesti, eivätkä ne paljoa kerrokaan mistään, jos ne tekstinä lukasee. Miten menee vanha sanonta.. Biisin melodian lutveissa on se enempi kuin puhheen jauhannassa.. kuva kertoo enemmän kuin tuhat sanaa...Tässä muutama ukrainalaisille... Heikot sortuu elon tiellä ja toiset senkun porskuttaa.... Se on myöhästä itkee ku paskat on jo housussa.......Ei lukemalla uimaan opi... veteen on mentävä..... Kappaleet jäävät pitkäksi aikaa joihinkin tunnetiloihin. Tunnetilojen luominen voi olla yksinkertaista ja kappaleista voidaan siksi myös saada yksinkertaisia... Tärkeintä on oikea ajoitus, milloin soitin tulee sisälle musiikkiin... Tämä artisti tajunnu ajoituksen idean, sen avulla luatavat mekaniikat.. Millisekunnin viisarin tarkalla kellolla katsoen.. ajoittaen, hän päräyttää kuuntelijalle päähän kokonaisuuksia, jotka tuntuvat täydellisiltä. Muutamassa kohdassa kuulee lyriikoitakin esimerkiksi melankolisessa "Bring me summer" biisissä jonka nimi on kuitenkin kesähoentavuorosanasta riippumatta "If things were perfect" Lyriikat on nyt ommeltu biisiin tavalla että niistä saa selvää. Ne on silti ommeltu biisiin sopivaksi niinkuin muissakin biiseissä, erilaisten efektien avulla. Lyriikat luovat tunteen, ne voivat yltää pitkälle, jos ei yritä liikaa.. viisastella.. Tässä ollaan onnistuttu... viisastelua ei ole harjoitettu.. tyhmistelyä ollaan kuitenkin.. ei kuitenkaan halvenna kuuntelijana olevaa.. Arttisti tyhmä... ei kuuntelija... kiitos..... Albumi ei ole ensimmäisestä biisistä lähtien mukaansa tempaava.. Itseasiassa ensimmäinen biisi ei ole MITENKÄÄN erikoisen hyvä.. Ensimmäistä biisiä seuraa parempi biisi, jota seuraa eräs albumin parhaimmista biiseistä, "Porcelain" Albumin aikana voi päästä nauttimaan instrumenttien kauneudesta ja musiikin tuottamisesta ja ilmaisusta konseptina, kuten edellä mainitussa porcelain biisissä, kuitenkaan yksikään kappale ei ole mainitsemisen arvoinen, sillä albumi toimii kokonaisuutena, eikä yksinään hyvin soivien biisien avulla. Yksittäinen kappale on albumissa varsin heikko. "Tykkään tosta pianosta" Ei ole mitenkään instrumentteja välttelevä albumi siis. Ei käy myöskään mielessä onko kappaleissa käytetty oikeita instrumentteja - musiikia kuuluu se on hyvä, turha näyttää syyttelevää sormea jos vaikka olisi rummut elektronisesti luotu..Siinä ero nykypäivän tuottajiin.. Käyttää laiskuudesta.. "Fiilan tätä" Albumi on rakennettu niin että aina seuraava kappale kuullostaa kaikista kiinnostavimmalta. Vaikutelma on taitavasti luotu.

When this album came up I fully expected to hate it - as I do with most electronica. But it is.... not bad? It was pretty catchy, and there were a couple of songs that I knew very well (Porcelain & Natural Blues) without knowing that they were actually Moby songs. For all its fun hooks, still repetitive though. The first 10 seconds usually start out well, but then Moby puts that single segment on loop for the rest of the 3-4 minute track. I get it Moby, it's catchy. But not THAT catchy. At some point the music hits a point of diminishing returns but before that happens, it's frankly pretty enjoyable!

Helt chiiill

Mellow tunes. I feel too many of them can be boiled down to 60s sample + dance beat + additional piano and/or guitar

Some of the tracks sound a bit dated, but others still hold up. The blending of blues and gospel with his own lyrics on top of breakbeat and other electronica made a pretty fresh sound in 1999. It's still a good listen and the singles are still catchy. One of those albums that I would have rated higher back when it came out.

Downtempo electronica with blues and gospel samples. It was a pretty novel idea in the 90s - especially to mainstream American audience who didn't listen to any of these genres much. The way Moby as producer puts his own vocals on tracks between the gospel ones keeps the collection interesting throughout the hour-plus runtime. I thought the Mission of Burma cover was going to be on this one.

In the end I had to go for 3. Whilst some of the songs are very nostalgic, I don't really find it that interesting overall and certainly wouldn't want to listen to it again.

Idk why but it sounds pretty goof

I felt this

didn’t age well, there’s no life inside it

I really enjoy discovering new songs but i don’t know if is actually the type that i like

I listened to a few songs of this album, it’s not really my type. So I didn’t finish it

Long album. Over 2 hours of mainly Lo-Fi sounding background music. Good vibe, helped me focus on work, but no songs on there I would save to listen to in the car or ad to a playlist.

This hasn't really lasted, has it? Porcelain and Natural Blues have recovered slightly from over-saturation, it's true, but there's far too much filler on this.

I find Moby to be at his best when it does that atmospheric synth thing over some gospel samples or whatever, but some of these songs are not aging so well, I think. Th emore upbeat stuff sounds out of place for me, and the album is kind of messy because of it.

It's okay. It did not age very well, but I understand why it got popular at the time.

Better than I thought. I wouldnt listen to this often, but great background music when you do something else

Better than expected. I'm not a huge fan of 90s downtempo, but this album has a little something. Moby uses the piano very well and the strings texture are beautiful. A great album to get lost in it. The last few atmospheric tracks were superb. I would have like it a little shorter, with only the best material on it.

deja écouté

osea bien pero bueno qsy no me copó mucho,,, igual slay eh! 7 /10

Better than expected! Fair few songs added to library. Need to get over my negative Moby bias - caught myself out half way through the album when I realised that if I hadn’t heard of the artist, I’d like it a lot more

I found this enjoyable, though I'm not too in love with it or anything

Solid. Maybe not his best work though?

No pos muy sazón.

Balls

Meh

23 Aug 2022

mid, monodrone far better

I had never heard of this artist but ended up enjoying him quite a bit. I recognized one of his songs was sampled on a ASAP Rocky song that I like which was pretty cool. I liked listening to it, but don't see it becoming one of my favorite albums I'll listen to repeatedly. Mainly just a background noise type of experience for me.

I can see why this album was a hit at the time, but also not all of it aged well. The album got pretty repetitive. This isn't my preferred genre so probably wouldn't give it another listen, but wouldn't skip a song if it was in a random playlist.

Trip hop, 1999. A well executed record and quite enjoyable song but not so brilliant or innovative. It is a pretty normal album for me, so it could be an interesting listen for the lovers of the genre, but there are better projects.

I'm very conflicted about this album for many reasons. before this Moby was just another producer who dropped some great tunes like Go, I knew his tunes but had less of a concept as him as an artist. this was true of most electronic artists, they were enigmas even the most recognisable like orbital and chemical brothers were obscured behind light shows and computer graphics. Moby to an extent did what the Gallaghers brothers did, he took a genre of experimental alternative music and made it Pop. With the impact of both bringing something beautiful to the world's attention whilst killing a part of it. Sure there had been electonica in the charts for years and Moby wasn't the first and only to do this. There should be a law for this phomenna in music the 'chilli pepper' law which dictates that the ratio of success to music impedes creativity. too much and your making advert fodder too little and you have to get a job. All that aside Moby combines elements of so many things that were going on the beats from trip hop, loops from hip hop. it's all interesting and accomplished and compelling. I loved this at the time but listening now I just think I'm being sold a Tesla!

Was it a great album? We'll come to that. Was it overplayed? Yes. That summer, that winter, all the Bourne films, and a lot of tedious wankers really loved this album. What did it do well? Great samples, interesting lyrical bits, a range of styles, nice to here some old stuff in a modern style that want just a cover version with a heavy beat. What did it do wrong? Too many instrumental mood pieces. Was it a great album? Yes, for its time. It was brave and innovative. It doesn't age that well though.

Moby is an artist that it seems I've heard about a lot, but couldn't name a single song of his that I've heard. I'm sure I have heard songs by him, just not sure which ones. Having said that, I enjoyed the opportunity to listen to one of his albums. I liked this much more than most electronic music I've heard - I think because for the most part this actually sounds like music. Especially interesting how he was able to weave in so much blues music - I would not have expected blues and electronica to blend together so well. A bit repetitive, but good stuff overall. 3 stars.

Hatte ich von damals nicht als so langweilig in Erinnerung. Einige Klassiker dabei, die sich tief eingebrannt haben. Schlechte drei. Weil die Platte exakt darauf angelegt ist. Intentionaler Soundtrack.

Some nostalgic songs I didn't even know were by Moby. Too long overall and dragged at times.

Some bangers but the album does drag on a bit too much

Heroin den tones

The very definition of "wallpaper music", in ways that even Brian Eno couldn't have envisioned when he coined that term 25 years earlier. Too bad that... a) The beats and synth licks behind those blues samples have aged so poorly. b) Those tracks have been so ubiquitous in ads and You Tube videos that nobody in their right mind should want to play them in their living rooms now. A more positive assessment would say that Moby's talent is undeniable when it came to the way he selected those blues samples so as to create so many earworms. Side A is very impressive in that regard. Each and every track has imprinted its mark on the audience's consciousness, thanks to all those ads and videos using them. And all things considered, side B's less known tracks are still cohesively conceived and edited compared to A. My mood is generous today, so I'm gonna give a neutral grade. Because that wallpaper is well-crafted. Even if it's still wallpaper, at the end of the day. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 860 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 77 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 35 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 29

Really simple productions based off of today's standards, but it was made in 1999, which is cool. It can get really beautiful at parts, with some epic chord progressions out of nowhere. Simple and constant use of samples (usually from blues singers) with a bouncy beat to support it, usually with a bass playing simple roots, a bouncy rythm, fat drums and sometimes guitars, pianos, synths. Nice experimental productions. At the end, the album gets really introspective and conceptual, and Moby really went off harmonically and with his sound design. Col

Oh yeah that Moby song

I haven't listened to this for years! It was nice to listen again. I thought it was fine.

Some notable songs on this album; Flower (my favorite), Porcelain, and others. Interesting album but way too long. 7/10.

This was...fine overall. I was a fan of the samples used, but not so much of the production Moby put over it. That being said, I was enjoying the strictly instrumental stuff? Some kinds of blending of genres isn't my thing, I guess.

My very uncool and old fashioned question about this kind of thing is, does it lean more heavily on the strength of its samples than its own contributions? I’m pretty sure I owned this at some point, listened to it a lot. Returned my to it after many years I feel like, astute sample choices aside, the compositions are pretty pedestrian.

I used to like this album a lot when I was a teenager, but I haven't listened to it in about 20 years. I don't really care to listen to it now, so I perused the big hits from the album to remind myself of what it sounded like. There are some catchy pieces on here, some clever uses of samples, but the production is kinda flat and the beats are pretty dated. This feels very locked into an era of the late 90s that doesn't do it any favors. I listened to this alongside Fatboy Slim and Aphex Twin and The Crystal Method and Basement Jaxx and Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy, but this album is closer to Enigma. It somehow slipped into popular culture, but it's essentially new age music with samples. The problem with this is that it's groundbreaking, but it's groundbreaking in an area that proved to have no real depth for innovation. In only a couple years this trend of 80-year-old samples would go from cool and fresh to novelty when entirely too chipper people would market electro-swing to people with no social skills. Hey, remember when that vaguely grunge band Primitive Radio Gods became one hit wonders by sampling BB King on a song that sounds like nothing else in their catalog? Want to hear an entire album of that? Boy, have I got the album for you. Here is That One CD In Your Collection You and Your Mom Can Agree On So You Don't Have to Argue the Entire Car Ride to the Mall! I wonder which version is the version on the list, the original, or the re-released one with Gwen Stefani's vocals plastered onto Southside. I don't care enough to look up the entry in the book.

That dude looks like moby!

Pleasant enough

Overall a pleasant album to listen to but not super engaging like I’d go back and listen to it

This got some flak back in the day as Mr Moby had whored out most of tracks to adverts. Hes a good egg being all vegan and that but its a bit formulaic. Take an old blues vocal/lick sample is over a beat with a Fairlight. A disparate collection of tracks that don't really stand as a great album. I didn't like it then and and I'm not won over now. This sounds like a 2 review. Maybe I'm being too harsh. 3

Still like the hits on the album but thats about it.

Good background noise.

I knew the good songs. "Natural Blues", "Porcelain", "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" - all great. Not a fan of the whispering in songs like "The Sky Is Broken" near the end. Speaking of the end, Jesus Christ this album never ends. Moby looks like the villain from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.

This was everywhere for a few years! He's taken a bit of a back seat since, but I suppose he made so much money that he'll never have to work again. Hard to pick a stand out track because so many are so well known, and because they are all pretty similar.

While not a fan of electronic music, this is not awful. How is that for an endorsement! I was relieved when I discovered it is actually only a little over an hour and the Apple Music album included the "B Sides". Was also surprised to discover the song "South Side" was on the album, which was written by Moby. Didn't expect to actually recognize a song I like. 3

Fine and fun, not much else to say.

3* kinda boring

Overheard!

Yo, is that Moby?! If I had to describe this album with one it would be "sample" cause it feels like it was made as a sample album for a 1999 music program for windows 98. Pretty ok The later songs are pretty emotional. Didn't expect that, but I like it. 3

Ok, I still don't like electronic music at all, but this is list is trying hard to convince me of the contrary. This is a very nice release. Could be shorter, ending at the tack 5m but still nice.

Það var rosa móðins að gera mikið grín að Moby í langan tíma, en nú virðist hann mikið til vera gleymdur. Þegar maður heyrir þessi plötu man maður samt hvað hann var út um allt um tíma. Og smellirnir eldast ekkert illa, en annað er svoddan filler.

Jawel

Tja wat moet ik hier dan mee. Heel aardig, en veel bekende nummers. Maar inmiddels ook wel een beetje gedateerd.

Porcelain sampled in A$AP Forever by A$AP Rocky, great beat wow South side a banger too

It's good music, so much is memorable. I imagine Moby has spent the rest of his career trying to create something nearly as good. Reckon this is dead boring live though.

I grew out of my Moby phase.

Cool mais trop long.

j'ai bien aimé les morceaux instrumentaux malgré quelques flashbacks des années 2000

3.5/5. Listen, it’s decent, but also annoying ass commercial gen-x/millennial workout music

It's fine.

Fine, I'm not super into the electronica ones, but the other ones are fine background noise.

Lots of good beats, chill vibe music. Not sure if I'll ho back to most of these songs, but a handful of them were really great. 3.5/5

Still a tough listen with how overplayed this was in the day

This album was incredibly long at over 2 hours. There are some pretty nice chill songs on the album. You trim the album in half and it’s probably one of the best electronic albums. However it’s not like that and it feels like a chore to get through. 5.7/10

Like 10 different genres in one...but was still somehow repetitive. Kept thinking it was leading somewhere that it didn't go. Some really nice moments like the choir and synth sounds. Didn't know Moby, seems like a cool dood!

I've probably seen this album cover 100 times in my life, but I never had the urge to check this out. It wasn't really what I was expecting, but there were a couple of songs I enjoyed. It is definitely a product of it's time.

The album sort of died on the vine for me halfway through. The earlier songs that I hadn't heard before were good jams.

It was interesting enough. It's the kind of stuff my dad likes to listen to. A bit boring after a while but I can see why it's important. It would've been much better if it was a shorter record.

Moby is a strange bird, but you have to hand it to him on his ability to take this style of music into the mainstream. This thing was huge. Songs played on the radio, in movies, and albums sold. There's a vibe to this album that on one side is meditative, but on the other it feels very dated. These songs take me right back to the mid 90s, and not necessarily in a good way. There's beauty here, cool beats, stylistic vocals, and imaginative concepts, but overall, I'm left with a sense of Brian Eno, again, not in a good way.

Another electronic dance album from the late 90s- this time with its feet planted firmly in blues and roots music. Most of the samples here come from blues tracks, often focusing on singular moments- a distinct hook, a drum pattern, a titular phrase- and building a collage of electronic textures around them. In putting this album together, Moby frontloaded all the accessible tracks (selected for singles) and put a lot of his personal favourites (the more soundscapey, experimental material) in the second half. He did this assuming very few people would ever hear "Play", and even fewer would make it to the end. Embarrassing for him. It made it to the "1001 Albums" list, meaning so many completists are now forced to sit through it, and the whole world can see that he didn't even bother to give a track like "Guitar String and Flute" a more exciting name. He must be furious. Because it's more accessible, the first half definitely contains more material (and excellent live guitar work) that immediately caught my attention. Aside from the ear-grabbing 1-2 hit of "Honey" and "Find My Baby" (they both ring in the ear for the remaining 55 minutes of the rest of the album) "Porcelain" and "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" are two back-to-back wonderful exercises in melancholy. I saw a review had likened "Porcelain" to a Magnetic Fields song, which made me like it that much more. Both these tracks are so richly textured, brilliantly evocative, and deserve their places in the soundtracks of any film that can match them. On the other end of the scale, there's the occasional breakthrough into something more upbeat, with mixed results. "South Side" surprised me in how instant it was: how linear, memorable, "song-like". There's an actual verse-chorus structure to it, and a distinctive hook: it was also apparently Moby's breakthrough in the US, which makes a lot of sense if it had to be any of these. On the other hand, "Bodyrock" and "Machete", the two heaviest electronic pieces, don't quite work. They feel more intrusive, further out of place from the much mellower mood of the rest of the album. A downfall of "Play" is that it can start to feel repetitive: I was sometimes wishing that the samples would go a bit beyond one lyric or loop. In some cases, the tracks reach a threshold of being irritating: some of them are then able to cross that threshold and transcend into becoming hypnotic. "Honey" and "Find My Baby" are two examples of this: in both, the one phrase becomes intoxicating, allowing all the instrumental developments and changes to stand out much more as they're woven in. However, elsewhere it doesn't quite land for me: "Natural Blues", "Run On" being two examples. "Play" is also overlong ("Inside", "Guitar Flute and String", and "Everloving" are pretty but all variations on the same mood- I felt on first listen that not all of them were necessary.) Despite this, I enjoyed the haze the album dissolved into at the end and thought overall, it was structured well. It's certainly rich enough to invite further listens, and will lend itself well to an immersive listen as much as a background "wallpaper" listen.

Honestly, this album is not as good as I remember it being. The first half is amazing, which is the half of this album that I remember. The second half is great sleepy-time music, but I kept checking to see if YouTube had switched to a different album, since nothing interesting was happening. It's not that I don't like Moby's ambient stuff. It's good. It just doesn't fit with what he was doing in the first half of the album 3/5

Sounds like the late 90s electronic, but pretty great use of old blues samples.

Great singles if a bit dated, some shite. I'm hindsight it sounds exactly what it was. A marketing album for adverts. 3

Conflicted. A pleasant listen to, but probably won’t repeat.

Liked this album a lot more than I thought I would. Would listen again

Good headphone music. I felt motivated and was productive during a work day. Likely won’t revisit.