Play

Didn’t finish, sounded bleh, mushy Johnny cash cover good Bye now

Wallpaper magpie music

Really cool. Listened to it for most of the day.

Play by Moby is without a doubt a very unique and well-structured album. Each song is a sonic experience and very very catchy. The blues and gospel vibes are different yet a welcome and fitting piece to the puzzles of this album. Emotion is really felt throughout the music and lyrics. The album has tons of songs and sonically they’re all connected. Whether that is a good thing is up to the listener. I found it quite repetitive after 2.5 hours but there were a lot of songs that are different enough. The lyrics are short and sweet when Moby branches out to more lyrical songs like in South Side it actually falls short in my head. Songs like honey, porcelain, and natural blues are all really well done. I did get bored halfway through. Too many songs sound so similar it feels like they’ve been put on repeat. It seems like he also gave up as many of the songs at the end have no lyrics at all. The whole album plays like a main character’s B Roll footage soundtrack which is cool.

I'd never really listened to Moby before and had no expectations. (Though of course I'd heard the name and knew he existed.) Each song felt a bit like listening to a single sentence on repeat... Loved the sound, loved the sentence the first two, three - heck, maybe even the fifth time, but that's it. To me it would've been five stars if there'd been a hint of variation.

From punk rock to electro king. Unique guy.

Soundtrack for the early 00s

I just can't get behind the vocals being repeated over and over and over for 4 minutes. You're just taking two of the components of music (lyrics and vocals) and completely writing them out. Sure, there are some catchy beats, but without two of the three components of music all I have to judge it by are the instrumentals, which didn't hold hold up as anything inspiring.

This album fucks Eminem planted a seed in me to hate this guy in the early 00s, but I, now a more evolved human, really dig Moby. Apple gave me the 2.5 hour version of this album and I listened to all of it without looking for the earliest exit to be able to call it "listened to." Easy 5* The back half was more atmospheric but still very enjoyable. Highlights: porcelain, natural blues, bodyrock, honey, why does my heart feel so bad, south side, everloving

Decent listen. Not my thing.

This was absolutely everywhere as I was finishing university. You couldn’t escape his shiny head. The music is ok, not my kind of thing but reminds me of a good time in my life

Chill

It really was a great pleasure to listen to this album, I enjoyed it alot. Peak 90s

Excelente fusión de electrónica. Un disco que marcó una época.

3.5, I liked it

I remember this album well. Haven't listened to it in about 20 years. I heard 'Why Does My Heart' at a house party when I was 15 years old (21 years ago) and it really moved me and changed the trajectory of my listening experiences going forward. Track 9 - Machette, what a track! Smashing album.

I am a bit of a sucker for this kind of thing. Is it really this good? Maybe not but I like it.

Decent, I was able to finish this one. I'd much rather listen to the original recordings the samples were from though.

a dad impressing his children but actually doing good

Moby seems to never have progressed from the writing lesson: repetition, repetition, repetition. I did enjoy the use of the old Lomax recordings if I was a stoner, and I am not or a meditator and I am not I would listen to this album.

J - 4/5 Best Track - "Honey"

I'm not a Moby stan but you can't avoid the groove.

Moby was "beached" early. Not my cuppa at all!

This has aged very, very badly.

See guys, this list isn't just 90s British electronica! We've got 90s American electronica too! Here we have Moby's 1999 album Play. It's definitely one of the more iconic electronic albums on this list if I do say so myself. I'd definitely keep it on my 1001 albums list. You want to know a big part of that? It's got the quality to back it up. This album is quite good. Of course, I'm still not huge on electronic music myself, but I can tell that this is a solid work of the genre. Let's start by addressing one of my common complaints with the genre, that being repetition. This album's a little repetitive, but not too much. It's more so in the songs themselves rather than the album at large. The album's songs have variety and I like that. Compare the opener "Honey" to the closer "My Weakness" and you get two different sides of this album. I like that. Good job. The songs themselves are good. The samples are neat. "Porcelain" is a classic for a reason. There's some good energy and some good vibes. You like to see it. The album's a bit long, but not to an egregious level unlike some other albums I know. This isn't my favorite thing, I'll admit it. If I liked electronic music more than I do, I could see myself giving this a much higher score. As is, I respect this album quite a bit and could see myself revisiting a bit more in the future, but I'm also not in love with it or anything. Still, a classic of the genre that I'm glad I listened to. High 3/5.

unfortunately a slay

I feel conflicted about this album. On one hand, I’ll admit Moby is talented. He has a curious mind, he clearly knows his way around music history, and he’s tried his hand at many different styles (including tech-house and slow contemplative ambient music). On the other hand – and this was my biggest gripe with Moby back when he was all the rage – I’m kind of annoyed that so many people (including music critics) seem to think that he’s some kind of pioneering genius. Electro, trip-hop and abstract hip-hop DJs had been doing the shit he’s doing for years before Play was even released, some of them with more talent and inventivity (like DJ Shadow). Moby didn’t really invent anything ; he captured ideas that were already present in the wild and repackaged them (beautifully) for a larger audience. His biggest accomplishment in my opinion is getting the art of sampling out of the basement, helping it become acceptable for radio stations. "Play" is a beautifully crafted album, I won’t deny that. It’s full of haunting melodies, with a few loops that can really get stuck in your head. But it is ultimately not as original as it seems. To no fault of its own, it has also been so overused that it’s hard to hear it in a neutral way... Overall, it hasn’t aged very well in my opinion. It feels a bit flat and superficial now.

Background music of the highest order. I don’t remember if this was cool in 2000, but today it sounds like “cool music” from the 2000s. There are definitely some good songs but overall it’s pretty banal and I’m not sure if I even listened to the whole thing.

It's easy for me to write a review for this album by Moby. I listen to the album over and over again anyway. Even though I sometimes find Moby a bit difficult as a person, I still like most of his music. And I particularly like this album. Here, as with some other albums I've already noticed, I don't need to listen to it again to be able to rate it. But hey, there's always time for good music. 5/5

Good

Expertly used digital tech to produce well crafted blandness

One of my favourite albums of all time 😀

Utterly pointless and embarrassingly shallow. Am I supposed to feel something when I hear samples of old bluesmen repeated ad nauseum over generic dance tracks? Be awed by a mumbled poem about the nature of life and love? Maybe I'm just not hip enough to get it.

Pretty decent but again just kinda not hitting the spot

I HATE YOU MOBY STOP SAMPLING SONGS THAT ARE GOOD AND MAKING THEM BAD!!!!!

Some interesting production techniques, but felt a bit tiring by the end

Album y artista que no conocía, al contrario que dos de las canciones del disco que son clásicos atemporales. Encantado de conocer mas canciones de Moby, una sorpresa.

Man I’m so tired of getting electronic stuff. This is an hour long and super repetitive and not interesting at all. I was not in the mood for this today.

2.5

Easy to listen to

Tää on yksi soitetuimpia levyjä mun kokoelmassa. Tasapainoinen downbeatlevy vailla vertaa. Jokainen biisi omanlaisensa hitti. En tiedä ihan mitä kaipaisin että tää olisi parempi. Hitto annetaan sit febonen ku en keksi. 5/5

Jotain hyviä afro-amerikkasampleihin perustuvia buugibiisejä seassa, mutta kokonaisuutena liian pitkä. 3/5

A weird atmospheric jazzy psychedelic clusterfuck but km into it 4/5

Another one of my bed time albums I used to fall asleep to as a kid. An amazing meld of modern music, samples mixed in a way that brings new life to older blues genre songs, and melancholic electronica. I listened to the base album and immediately went back and listened to the deluxe version that doubles the amount of tracks on the album. This easily makes its way in to my top 10 albums of all time. 10/10

good fun new music to have on while working

Nice throwback. Great Album

I’m only three songs in and I hate this. I hate repetitive stuff so much. We’ll see how the next seventy million song go. I’m back now that I’ve finished this. It didn’t get any better. Man this might be the worst one I’ve heard so far.

Listen to this embarrassingly often. 4.5 stars. It's the sound of a load of TV ads from my youth.

my dad listened to moby a bunch after he was on holes so he put me on. moby is like the holy dj for white people. I think this guy dod about the same type of thing as beck but better.

I was lowkey chillin with all the songs UNTIL i got to “The Sky is Broken”. What a freaky ass song. I don’t need a guy whispering in my ear while I drive! But the lyrics are a bit repetitive, however the beats make up for it. I do like this album. Okay as I have continued, it’s only gone downhill. It’s just too boring lowkey. Not enough variation in the beats. Only 4/4, most songs are around 120ish bpm with some exceptions. But I guess that’s what you get with electronica music?

I don’t know what I thought this album was gonna sound like but I don’t think it was this It’s got some jams on it but also some duds I need to listen to the full bsides to really get what he doing Honey was fire tho

This album was not for me. Took me two tries to get through, and I kinda just tuned it out.

I would’ve given it a four if it was properly edited.

4.5 stars. I am slightly biased as I have been a Moby fan for quite some time. I enjoyed many of the songs on this album. I deducted 0.5 stars as there is ambient songs here and there that feel like filler.

Great album with some of the chillest music you'll hear. A classic electronic album, but it has two or three too simplistic tracks that are too ambiental and clearly filler. Overall, a 4/5 album for me

I really enjoyed this and this isn’t usually my genre of choice. Well done Moby.

3/5

Pretty good. 4/5. Lush.

Pa ima tu par dosta legendarnih stvari, ne mogu reći da mi je među najboljim albumima vremena ali za solidnu tricu je svakako. 3/5/ 6.5/10

88 albums in, and this is the 34th one star piece of crap that I did NOT need to listen to ever. 1. And that is generous.

One of the first electronic albums I ever listened to, a really formative album for me. The first half of the album start incredibly strongly but there are a few too many filler tracks that bring the energy down for me to give this a 5. I think if it was less nostalgic it would probably score lower but when the album wraps around and I hear the chopped up piano stabs on Honey I change my mind.

Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? is so great, Porcelaine as well

I liked it, but some songs were a bit repetitive. The whole vibe reminded me of C2C

Love this Album pure vibe.

Formulaic as hell. 80% of this album is a classic sounding R&B/soul/gospel vocal chop looped with some keys and mid ass dance music in the background: the term "whitewashing" comes to mind. Porcelain and the closer are decent, everything else is just average. No thank you.

This DJ accomplished so much with his sampling and mixing. He nails every track and the tracks are so varied. A real achievement. Can it be that this is a 5? No, not quite. It’s really good, but a bit directionless aside from the hooks. It’s a 4.

Good listen but nothing fantastic. Reminds me of High School and The Borne movies. Like the faster songs better than the slow ones

Already love this one Still do!

Soundtrack of early adulthood

No me gustó en general, muy repetitivo. Algunas canciones concretas no están mal

I've been getting more into electronic music recently so I figured it was about time I listen to this, it being the best selling album of the genre and all, but I found it pretty underwhelming compared to the other stuff I've listened to. I'm glad I checked it out though. Favorite track: Machete

A masterpiece made in a bedroom with end of a century tech. Superb!

Timeless. I'd believe it if you told me this came out in the last five years. What really shines about this album is Moby's ability to find unlikely combinations of samples, musical textures and melodies to consistently capture a vivid feeling that almost defies description - a sort of ethereal, hypermodern nostalgia or something. And to be able to continually evoke this feeling throughout the album without repeating himself, while using totally distinct vocal samples, is quite impressive. If I had a criticism, it's the other edge to that sword: relying so many samples as the primary vocals, memorable as they may be, can make it seem a little impersonal. That's probably why this has been so heavily stripmined by the advertising industry over the years - that isnt Moby's fault, but it is a part of my reaction to this. But that's nitpicky - this is a satisfyingly evocative record.

One hour of the most amazing amateur bmx montage video music you’ll ever hear in your life. Perhaps unfair. There are a few absolute bangers that I haven’t heard in forever. Even as a kid I remember this album being everywhere. Always on sale too. There’s just this indescribable turn of the century commercial sheen to the entire thing that makes me question the quality of these songs. Again, maybe unfair. Maybe Moby is just a victim of his own success - however fleeting it was.

Велик албум!

Absolute banger!

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would

Classic electronic album

Pretty decent with a couple of great tracks

I remember back when Eminems Without Me came out, Moby did an interview with MTV for his own music and someone asked him about the line Em wrote about him that ends with "you dont know me you're too old, let go, its over, nobody listens to techno" and he replied with something like "I dont even make techno so I dont know what he means" in his loser Moby voice. Also the Natalie Portman stuff cements him as a dipshit creep. This album isnt great, it makes me appreciate Fatboy Slim way more. If you like electronica maybe this is your jam, but as it stands he manages to make it low energy and it feels way longer than it is.

Remember when Moby said he dated Natalie Portman when she was 18 and her response was basically… “Moby was some creepy guy who hung around me when I was a teenager”. Also remember when Moby put out a documentary all about what a hardcore party animal he was and how much he got frickin LAID and my response to it was “You’re still a huge dork Moby”. Of course you don’t remember that because it was a personal memory of mine. Anyway Moby can still get stomped by Obie and this album is fine. Except Southside… that song is terrible. And the beat for Run On doesn’t quite line up with the vocals and that is irritating

Bangers cover to cover

I love this album.

I thought it a couple of songs started out ok but they all seemed to quickly devolve into repetitive synth and drum machine crap.

not what i would usually listen to but kind of cool actually. very Bourne Identity of course which is the only Moby thing i've ever heard before this

Timeless

This was certainly more pleasant to listen than some other electronic-focused albums with focus on some Choir sounds and instrumental pieces. Highlights of the album were Porcelain, Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Natural Blue, Guitar & Flute String and My Weakness. Overall, going to give this a 3/5 as it had a lot of songs on it and quite the listening time for a genre which isn't a typical fit but had some gems that I would certainly listen to again but in isolation.

Decent album although I don't think it aged particularly well. An easy intro intro electro music and the heavy use of looped vocal samples in the first half of the album feels a bit repetitive and takes away from its overall substance. 2.5/5 Highlight - Porcelain

The first four songs on this album are bangers. Where did Moby go? Easy 4/5.

Dawg am I a Moby fan now

Liked the music, but track after track became a bit monotonous.

An easy 5. Masterful sampling and producing, an album with no skips for me and one that outside of this I return to regularly and listen to in full. Deeply nostalgic as well, the ideal listening experience for this is in my parents Commodore driving to Prahran to go to the market and Borders.

Whale noises for agile coaches and lean experts… or for IKEA showrooms.

No, it seems more like an album.

Canciones super repetitivas, muy cansino

Está bien. Me parece álbum de banda sonora de juego de carreras urbanas rollo need for speed o de película como las antiguas de fast. Machete y My Weakness mis fav

i bobbed my head at points, but this album never escapes the feeling of "music made to be used in an advert"

Somewhat a slow start but gaining fast. Mix of really good songs and some less interesting

Álbum de electrónica con distintas variedad en los samples, aunque algunas canciones me parecen muy interesantes siendo que se tienden a repetir ciertas tendencias a lo largo del album, a pesar de todo muy disfrutable.

Fav: Inside Least Fav: The Sky Is Broken It’s very rare to have an album where everything song is perfect

The hits are the obvious highlights. Some other good stuff and overall it's a pleasant listen, but feels more like something to have on whilst you're doing something else, rather than something you'd actively sit and listen to.

Didn't have time

This isn't really my thing so I went in to it not expecting to like it. What surprised me is just how much I hated it. Every second of it.

Worth 5 stars for pulling this off. Groundbreaking

3.25

It was fine, it seemed revolutionary at the time but maybe it was so succesful that now it seems a bit meh. Enjoyed it for the nostalgia trip mainly

An album full of earworms. Impressively every song is really playlist-able.

Ambient

This is an old album at this point. Plenty of hits and still good music, but the electroic genre has moved so far since 1999. An enjoyable trip down memory lane, but not something I would come back to again.

I like it.

sounds like something my dad would play in the car those last tracks were kind of atmospheric tho

Horrendous voice samples, but liked it. Kinda triphop or something. I would never revisit but there was some good stuff. 3

Never hearf the full album but it was better than expected.

+love the samples and their cultural significance +catchy -too repetitive for me

I'm hard pressed to think of a more "mainstream" electronica album than this one. Partly because this album was sprayed all over pop culture when it came out, from the X-Files to TV commercials, it went everywhere. The album itself is solid, with the outstanding tracks for me being the ones where he uses blues singers and backing tracks as a foundation from which to build on.

Interesting how many of these songs are from movies. It was ok. Idk if this is what I'm in the mood for

Ei ehkä nii groundbreaking 2025 ku at the time. Erikoista, en ehk kuuntele uudestaa

I put this album on during a family Yahtzee game and everyone had a nice time

I listened to the two hour version and by the time it was over, I was also over it. Some I really liked, others I had to skip before the song could finish up.

I am absolutely stumped, some songs were great some were not my jam. It was really good to study to because there’s not really lyrics you have to listen but also I wouldn’t want to listen to this in my free time. This is an enigma of an album for me so I think I have to go 3 but it could go either way depending on what I’m doing while listening.

I hyper focused sooo hard at work listening to this. Music like this helps me clear my mind and allow me to get stuff done.

Only saw a two hour version and immediately said fuck that noise but that ended up being an extended version. This is unique enough for me to not find it average and was great background music for cooking and dinner.

Not for me

Moby never really tickles my fancy. Porcelain and South Side are the highlights for me. But the samples over the production is a cheap trick overused as an album. Just my two cents.

This one was a hard rate for me. I'm honestly usually more of a lyrics guy. The music is important but what connects in my brain are the lyrics. I don't do a lot of instrumental stuff because it just doesn't hit the same for me. That said, this album would have been infinitely better overall if it was just instrumental. I loved the beats, the music, but the single phrases repeated over and over were just grating. This one ultimately isn't for me. If it was just the music I'd rate it much higher, but as-is I can't give it a very good score personally. Others more into this genre will likely disagree and that's fine.

Une époque plus simple où on fabriquait des bangers en récupérant 15 boucles dans le même morceau de blues avec des drums façon Prodigy mais jouées plus lentement

Très variés, se laisse écouter facilement

Quand t'écoutes pas vraiment l'artiste mais que tu connais la moitié des chansons de l'album

This one's a bit of a nostalgia trip, which may cloud my judgement. There was a period not long after this was released it would get played a lot in my parent's car. But a lot of the tracks hold up really well.

0/10

Sorti en 1999, "Play" le cinquième album studio de Richard Melville Hall, alias Moby, est est un monument, une pierre angulaire de la musique électronique qui a réussi le tour de force de s'infiltrer dans chaque recoin de la culture populaire. De la publicité au cinéma, en passant par les cafés et les salles d'attente, les mélodies de "Play" ont formé la bande-son officieuse de la fin des années 90 et du début des années 2000. Et vingt-cinq ans plus tard, l'album conserve une aura quasi mystique, un équilibre parfait entre l'expérimentation sonore et l'accessibilité universelle. La première et la plus évidente des réussites de "Play" réside dans son concept sonore révolutionnaire. Moby ne se contente pas de créer des rythmes électroniques ; il agit en véritable archéologue musical. Le cœur de l'album bat au rythme de samples déterrés des enregistrements de terrain de l'ethnomusicologue Alan Lomax. Ces fragments de voix, capturés des décennies plus tôt, sont des chants de travail, des gospels profonds, des blues bruts et chargés d'une âme palpable. Moby prend ces reliques d'un passé américain rural et les confronte à la modernité froide et synthétique de ses propres compositions. Et le résultat est stupéfiant. L'ouverture de l'album, "Honey", est une déclaration d'intention. Le sample vocal de Bessie Jones, répétitif et hypnotique, s'enroule autour d'un breakbeat puissant et d'un riff de piano entêtant. La fusion est immédiate, organique. On n'écoute pas une simple juxtaposition, mais la naissance d'un son nouveau, un dialogue entre les époques. Ce procédé atteint son apogée sur des morceaux devenus iconiques. "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?", avec sa mélancolie poignante portée par la voix samplée de The Banks Brothers, est d'une beauté désarmante. La simplicité de l'arrangement, quelques accords de synthétiseur et une boîte à rythmes discrète, suffit à créer une atmosphère de tristesse universelle et de questionnement existentiel. Puis vient "Natural Blues". Ici, la voix de Vera Hall, pleine de douleur et de résignation, est le centre de gravité d'un morceau qui vous saisit dès les premières secondes. Moby ne se contente pas de la poser sur une boucle ; il la sculpte, la découpe et la marie à une nappe de synthétiseur spectrale et à un rythme downtempo qui amplifie son pouvoir émotionnel. C'est peut-être le sommet de l'album, l'instant où la fusion entre le passé acoustique et le présent électronique atteint une symbiose parfaite, créant une oeuvre intemporelle. Au-delà de ces chefs-d'œuvre de sampling, la grande force de Play est sa cohérence narrative et émotionnelle. L'album n'est pas une simple compilation de singles potentiels, mais un véritable voyage. Moby alterne avec une maestria déconcertante les moments d'euphorie et les plages de contemplation. Aux côtés des hymnes blues-techno, on trouve des instrumentaux d'une beauté cinématographique. "Porcelain" est sans doute le plus célèbre. Sa mélodie de piano délicate, ses cordes synthétiques aériennes et sa rythmique douce créent un sentiment de nostalgie douce-amère. C'est le son d'un souvenir, d'un matin calme, d'une introspection paisible. Le succès planétaire de ce titre, utilisé dans d'innombrables contextes, témoigne de sa capacité à évoquer une émotion pure, sans le filtre des mots. Dans la même veine, "Everloving" ou "Guitar Flute & String" fonctionnent comme des respirations, des moments de pureté instrumentale qui lient les morceaux plus intenses entre eux. Cette structure confère à l'album une fluidité remarquable. On passe de l'énergie brute de "Bodyrock", un titre explosif construit autour d'un sample de rap old-school, à la quiétude de "Porcelain" sans jamais sentir de rupture. Chaque piste semble être à sa place, contribuant à un tout plus grand qu'elle. C'est cette science du séquençage qui élève Play au-dessus de la mêlée des albums de musique électronique de son temps. Avec ses 18 titres et ses 63 minutes, Play est un album dense, riche, mais finalement épuisant. Si on l'écoute d'une seule traite, une certaine lassitude s'installe inévitablement dans son dernier tiers. Un "Play" ramené à 12 ou 13 pistes, centré sur ses moments les plus forts, aurait été un disque encore plus percutant. Cette longueur excessive donne l'impression que Moby, foisonnant d'idées, a voulu tout inclure, au risque de diluer légèrement la puissance de son propos. En conclusion, "Play" reste une œuvre majeure, un album dont l'influence se fait encore sentir aujourd'hui. Son approche visionnaire du sampling, sa profondeur émotionnelle et sa capacité à créer des mélodies universelles en font un classique incontestable du XXe siècle. Les morceaux de bravoure qui le parsèment ("Natural Blues", "Porcelain", "Honey", "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?") sont des éclairs de génie pur qui justifient à eux seuls son statut culte. Il est la preuve qu'une musique perçue comme "froide" ou "synthétique" peut véhiculer une âme et une chaleur immenses. Le 4 sur 5 que je lui attribue, n'est pas la marque d'un défaut majeur, mais la reconnaissance d'une seule faiblesse : son endurance. Il demande un investissement de la part de l'auditeur, une patience qui n'est pas toujours récompensée dans sa dernière partie. "Play" demeure une écoute essentielle, un témoignage brillant du talent d'un artiste qui, à l'aube du nouveau millénaire, a su faire dialoguer le passé et le futur pour créer la bande-son intemporelle du présent.

A promising first eight or so tracks. The best known songs are front loaded and carry the album as they are very good to excellent. The album ultimately runs out of steam. The last seven tracks are quite dull and lack the impact of the preceding tracks. Three stars. Would I listen again to this album again? No, not as an album. Yes, for selected tracks. Would I buy this album? I did, at the time. I still have it. I don't play it often. 1 "Honey" - The main vocal loop and its repetitive nature loop detracts. The song doesn't go anywhere. It's catchy though. Very good. - 3 Stars. 2 "Find My Baby" - The bass comes in well, and then the keyboards. The repetitive vocal loop is a little more interesting that the first track. - 4 Stars. 3 "Porcelain" - This is dreamy. - 4 Stars. 4 "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" - The male, bluesy, vocal line gets your attention. - 4 Stars. 5 "South Side" - I'm finding the percussion loops and beats a little to similar across these tracks. I actually like Moby's voice on this track, similar to Neil Tennant. - 3 Stars. 6 "Rushing" - 3 Stars. 7 "Bodyrock" - The opening hits like a good rock song but the song then drifts a little and loses its initial impact. - 4 Stars. 8 "Natural Blues" - Again the initial impact is high at the start of the song but the remainder of the song has some variety to it. Excellent. 5 Stars. 9 "Machete" - 3 Stars. 10 "7" - 3 Stars. 11 "Run On" - 3 Stars. 12 "Down Slow" - 2 Stars. 13 "If Things Were Perfect" - This is quite drab. - 2 Stars. 14 "Everloving" - Pretty. - 3 Stars. 15 "Inside" - An ambient loop that takes 2 minutes to do something, when the piano comes in, and then drifts off into nothing. 2 Stars. 16 "Guitar Flute & String" - 2 Stars. 17 "The Sky Is Broken" - 2 Stars. 18 "My Weakness" - 2 Stars. Total - 54 Average - 3.00

Álbum razoável. Moondrop May.

better than I expected

Cracking!

Dated and dull - didn’t grab me at all - then and now!

3 good songs

Aparte de que no ha sido nada mi estilo, no siento ninguna coherencia entre las canciones del álbum y la voz del cantante no me ha gustado mucho

This album was on non-stop air play at the time. And then it seemed it disappeared. It has definitely aged, but it is still an enjoyable listen that brings back memories.

OK, I hear the hate, "it's just easy listening samples". Well first I d'like to acknowlledge the novelty of this sound at the time, the influence it had . I remember the first I heard of Moby's sound were soundtrack interludes on the BBC. I thought they had nice sounds and realized later it was part of this CD. Well later on we all knew it and we've probably heard it way too much.

Let's play this album again and again. This album is a beautiful melody made of many styles that are mixed with talent and grace, in short modern poetry made of electro, hip hop, blues, soul, house... This album has undeniably had a lot of influences for a lot of other artists

Massive electro-blues album that took the world by storm back then. I still remember every single track, and it still holds up beautifully, but that old sense of fatigue from the radio and movie overexposure creeps back in quickly, though. Funny thing: I saw Moby live just before this album dropped, fronting a punk band opening for Soundgarden. Says a lot about the guy’s range and open-mindedness.

Play is Moby's fifth album, and the work that catapulted him to international stardom. The album initially sold poorly, but through extensive licensing in film, television and advertisements, became a world-wide success. It is the most successful electronica album of all time. Moby creates downtempo soundscapes, and used extensive samples from roots and blues music. His songs are elegant and emotive; their compelling sound makes for ideal soundtrack material, and every song on the album appear in a few memorable licensing arrangements. Moby's work sounds like the late nighties and early aughts - because at the time, the songs were everywhere.

Just always loved this album. Still do

It's hard to explain this album in 2025 terms. This was inescapable in the early 2000s - every song seemed to be in every commercial. Looking back some of these are great (Porcelain, Honey, Natural Blues) but others (South Side, Bodyrock) feel remarkably dated. And then the second half of the album takes a right turn away from the blues samples into some moody electronica. Very strange experience overall.

Moby is like jam band Fatboy Slim. He meanders a lot more. This album is great, but the second half of the album really fell off (after Natural Blues). Favorite songs: Bodyrock, Natural Blues, South Side, Run On, Honey, Porcelain Least favorite songs: Find My Baby, If Things Were Perfect 3/5

This album was huge and all pervasive when it came out. Hasn’t aged well for me though. Some great tracks but tends to be a lot more repetitive than I remember. The big tracks have been overplayed too!

Electronic music. Somewhat nostalgic sound. Sound can feel redundant as samples and drum machine are heavily repeated. Nothing stands out and doesn’t scratch that creative itch.

A classic!

Excellent. Cool album. I know more Moby songs than I thought. Easily a 5

Some absolute bangers on this one. It suffers from being way too long. But it is certainly important in its genre.

Some bangers. Made for sync. Perfect background stuff. But in a wallpaper way

Surprisingly good, I was expecting something dull and boring, and also too long but it's actually very pleasant.

I listened to this album before, and I can definitely appreciate the music more this time around. Even though I loved it before, it has gone from a 4 to a 5/5 for me now. The album starts off super strong with Honey and Find My Baby. Porcelain, which follows, is one of my favourite songs ever. The first half is filled with triphop/dance bangers like these. The second half is much more ambient and a bit slower, and I like it much more than the first time I listened. Also, great album cover.

A blend of eclectic sounds and unmistakable Moby sampling—this album feels like an audio journey of 1999…. Even when the lyrics veer toward repetition, there’s something unexpected and captivating layered in. “Porcelain” remains beautiful, even if it was overplayed at the time—it’s a pleasure to revisit now and then. And “Southside”? That track was practically very group anthem - definite moment in time. I think the instrumental tracks still hold up like,“The Sky Is Broken” is a standout—achingly beautiful.

I started with Go and Everything Is Wrong, so when Play came out, Moby became a certified commercial success—literally—and I'd already kinda moved on. I didn't get into this too much then because so many songs could be heard practically EVERYWHERE anyhow. Every track was prostituted out to sell beer, shoes, candy, cars, jeans, and was in dozens of movies and TV shows. So you might say I avoided the album because it felt more like a compilation of songs I just heard in commercials. (As an artist you gotta make a decent living to live and work in Manhattan, I get it). Later on, when I finally listened to the Alan Lomax WPA recordings that provide the backbone of pretty much this entire record, I was struck at how much a sense of authenticity and, I dunno, "classic-ness" can be injected into a newer work simply by sampling an older one. Kinda in the same vein of the piano figure from 1967 is looped and used in "C.R.E.A.M" by Wu-Tang. Using these old sounds gives a new piece a sort of soul, gravity, and sense of place: like it's been around longer than it really has. That sense of a venerable soul created by this has been borrowed, however; it ain't the genuine article. That said, and notwithstanding, Play is kinda comfort record now. It reminds me of that specific sense of optimism and anticipation preceding the turn of the millennium, and the halcyon days that seemed to follow it. It might have sounded like a soulful classic when it came out because of the aforementioned use of samples, but 26 years on, its classic quality now also resides in how Moby put those samples to work within his own sweeping synth-orchestral pop-electronica compositions. This record is a musical palimpsest in that way. And it's still pretty listenable. I gotta say, though, "The Sky Is Broken" sounds like something off of that ridiculous cheese-fest Fabio After Dark album from 1993. Ultimately, the heart of this exercise does lives within the samples Moby used. They are cultural artifacts of profound significance. So, if you haven't delved into the Alan Lomax material that this record owes its entire existence (and inclusion in this list) to, you simply must listen to it. Like, today. If it's not on the 1001 list it damn well should be: Sounds of the South. Go. Do it. Right now.

The singles were amazing the rest is not up to that level

ТОП!!! Абсолютно всё

Lo escuché solo conociendo Porcelain y agradeciendo encontrar algo conocido en este album con 18 canciones. Agradable de escuchar mientras hacia otras cosas. Nada llamó mi atención.

Boppy, instrumental

4/5

It wasn’t as awful as I feared it would be

Good - very meditative

A lot of cool stuff here I just didn't connect with it. Probably more like a 3.5

Music made to sell cars and soundtrack exhibits at the Science Museum.

I recognise so many of these songs from movies and TV that it felt like I'd already listened to the album. Doesn't really make me want to check out Moby any further but I enjoyed this for what it was.

Standouts Honey Find My Baby Porcelain Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad South Side Rushing Bodyrock Natural Blues Run On Everloving Guitar Flute & String

The first thing I always think of when it comes to Moby is that time he said he dated Natalie Portman, and her response was basically, “wtf is he on about? No, we didn’t date.” I can’t even remember the details, but that’s where my mind goes to. Anyway, this album absolutely has a handful of really good songs with absolutely depressing lyrics. The rest of the album is quite skippable though, which is a bit of a shame. I found myself getting bored in the second half of the album, which didn’t feel possible after the first few songs. This is decent, but I’m not sure I’ll be seeking it out again.

Allen did actually listen and we both agree it’s three stars.

Made me want to buy an Audi

Végig jó, kicsit chill lemez, dolgozni fun

It's pretty dull. And does seem exploitative, serving up pre-digested old blues recordings.

vibing while filling the Lidl shelves at work

Enjoyed it, and owned it when it was new. 4/5

Well, this album sure put me on to some solid blues classics. When you take the small imperfections and uniqueness out of a sample, you gotta add something truly spectacular back in otherwise it just becomes a car commercial. oh wait...

It's chill. It's inoffensive. Nothing good or bad to really say about it.

Too long but good throughout

People who don’t like Moby just aren’t comfortable with sincerity

So I am really conflicted about sampling blues singers. I know its legal. It's just not right, unless you're paying the descendants all the royalties. That being said, I enjoyed listening to it, because the most joy I have ever felt at Levine was creating this kind of music with garage band for a class.

Boring Sad Boy Electro.

No-talent hack. Layer a few samples and collect a paycheck. Fuck this guy.

Never gave Moby a second thought before today. I get it now. This album fucks.

Good. Very listenable. Pseudo-ambient

"Play" is the fifth studio album by American electronic musician Moby (Richard Melville Hall). Moby's goal was to return (from his previous album's ("Animal Rights") dark and guitar-fueled style) to electronica blending with blues and roots music. The album was a commercial success ignited by the brilliant decision to license all his songs to films, TV commercials and TV shows. It reached #1 in the UK and #38 in the US. It also received wide-spread critical acclaim and was noted as a "high watermark for populist electronica" and a "millennial roots and blues masterwork." The album begins right away with a vocal sample of Bessie Smith's "Sometimes" in "Honey." Moby got this and several other samples from listening to "Sounds of the South," a 1993 box set of folk music records complied by field collector Alan Lomax. The vocal sample is repeated. A beat and piano appear. The beats pick up and in comes a wah-wah guitar. The song eventually becomes funky. "Find My Baby" starts the same way with a vocal sample of Boy Blues' "Joe Lee's Rock" in "Find My Baby." This time the song blends into a trip-hop beat song. Acoustic and electric guitars, scratching, bass and heavy synth notes. Moby extends the notes of Ernest Gold's "Fight for Survival" in "Porcelain." It's a slower beat that picks up. His first vocals appear with "In my dreams I'm dying all the time." The song then turns ambient and dreamy. Just fantastic. He continues the beautiful combination of samples and music in "Why Does My Heart Feels So Bad." A vocal sample of a Bank Brothers' song. Layered beats, guitar and piano. "Southside" was inspired by the house music of Chicago. The wavering synth sample of the Counts' "What's Up Front That Counts." Bass and a tinny drum sample. It's a song about visiting clubs with loud music and a desensitization of the violence in the surrounding urban area. Moby brings a harder edge to "Bodyrock" combining a vocal sample by Spoonie Gee and Treacherous Three with the hard guitar sample of Gang of Four's "What We All Want." This is overlayed with synth notes. "Natural Blues" uses another notable "Sounds off the South" sample in Vera Hall's "Trouble So Hard" which gets repeated throughout the song. You could say most these songs are formulaic with a vocal sample, a beat and piano/synth notes, kicks in layering multiple beats, the samples, synths and other instruments and eventually ends up in a downtempo, ambient or other electronic style. But, damn, he does this so well in so many good songs. There's a great job of emotionally building up the songs. I agree with the critique that it's hard to classify a lot of these songs; he's blending or fusing blues, roots, industrial and rock with downtempo, ambient and electronic music. Yes, this album is overly long (over 60 minutes) with the second mostly his ambient and downtempo instrumentals that probably demands a second album. But, the sheer number of high-quality songs makes this a great record that's held up very nicely.

This album is pretty solid man. I feel like it hasn't aged the best; sampling is just so far ahead these days so that's not entirely this album's fault. The bigger songs like Natural Blues, South Side, Porcelain, and Bodyrock are all great iconic songs. Probably not something I'd go back to personally besides Natural Blues but there is fun to be had on this album. 3/5

Really like the more downtempo tracks on here but the whole blues/beats thing just feels like a gimmick.

When this album started, I was sure I was going to hate it. But, each track just got stronger and stronger, and the second half is just incredible. Also the perfect soundtrack to storm watching as a tornado warning went into effect 15 minutes into this album

Spawned some great B sides, including South Side—the version with Gwen Stefani being the best.

🐐

Not a fan of the repeating samples from old time songs just with reverb attached. Repetitive. There are some good beats and piano work on the more original work. I recall fondly Southside and Bodyrock when they came out. This could have been an LP instead and they could have cut a lot of this low effort stuff on here.

Some amazing singles here and very enjoyable. Album is a little long and the strictly Moby parts without any strong samples are pretty weak. If it was tighter it would probably get 5 stars

Okay. Etwas zu lang. Ich denke, man muss es mehrmals hören um es wirklich beurteilen zu können.

I don't know if you can make music this earnestly without sometimes stepping over the line into second hand embarrassment. I thank Moby for his service.

Not usually my kind of music but so many tracks and samples that have been the background of TV and movies for these last 20+ years. Good chill out album

You can definitely listen to the album. It also has good songs...especially when it grooves. However, for me the songs just ripple along without much variety. I also think that the album hasn't aged well. In my opinion, this is due to the drum beats.

Pretty good. Moby’s always good listening.

Electronica that was perfectly suited for the moment of release, with one foot I the future and one foot in the past. I felt like too many tracks relied on repetitive loops for my liking, and the last few songs just closed the album on a whimper. Still, a very impactful album on pop culture, and I had several “oh that song” moments while listening.

little too much techno for me

It sounds like an album full of music to be used as samples or remixes Best Song: Flowers Rating: 6/10 Stars: 3/5

Moby once told me that if your hands smell like garlic, wash them with dishsoap and a spoon. It works. This is a mostly good album. At least 2-5 songs too long. But I guess if you are making an electronic album, something about it has to be too long This review is too long

really blown away by this one.

Enjoyed but kinda faded into background music for me

Used to listen to this album a lot, but somehow completely forgotten about. Still holds up though.

Was already torn by a white hipster sampling so much black music, especially a slave song... but it did introduce lot of people to those tunes and it works very well. However, it really only works for a few songs. After a while, no matter how meticulous the production or how nice the builds, the constant looping becomes tiring and an hour long album feels worn out and a little heartless. Not terrible at all, but won't be rushing back.

new album for me and a big surprise - I really like it! 4/5 #musicsky #albumsky #musicchallenge

It's fine. Not timeless, not essential listening. Maybe interesting as an example of sampling/cutting techniques in a listen that follows up on listenting to the source material or other old blues/gospel music. Total meh. Not awful or unlistenable, but also not remarkable. I'm neutral on it. I'm happy I finally listened to this but haven't been missing anything. I love the fusion of genres generally but the whole isn't better than the sum of the parts here. There are better blues, gospel and electronic albums, and personally I'd remove this from the 1,001 albums list and replace it with one of them.

Un deuxième album que je connaissais et que j’ai aimé à l’époque mais délaissé depuis (il n’est même plus dans mon iTunes !?). Je vais le réécouter aujourd’hui, mais c’est plus mon genre que les trois albums précédents, disons.

Three songs in and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It does sound good but most of the music sampled makes me wanna go and listen to the original recordings of great African-American traditional blues music. Moby does add an interesting twist to it and I'm glad he brought some of these recordings to my attention. The second half of the record feels like a different record. It's packed with very atmospheric electronic landscapes with a lot of spoken word by Moby. I'm definitely intrigued and I might give it a few more spins.

dance, lounge, 1999 -> 2-3

Didn't do anything for me. 3/5

Adtroducing

This is not my preferred way of listening to cool old blues and soul songs. It’s a 1.5, but hearing Porcelain kind of brought me back to when I was a kid hearing it on a compilation CD. I remember it being pretty hypnotic to me. Glad I heard better music after that though.

Unique and eclectic. Some tracks on here were definitely ahead of their time, “Porcelain” and “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad” come to mind. Was probably pretty groundbreaking when it came out but listening to it know it’s hard to differentiate amongst your run of the mill electronic album. Also, it’s too long, towards the end it felt like an acid trip that I was just riding out. Not unlistenable because there are some legitimately good electronic tracks on here, but I wouldn’t choose to listen to the whole thing again.

Intensely forgettable. “The Complete Recordings” version of this album has an unreal amount of bloat that sound more like test or incomplete tracks. There are some obviously catchy tracks on here, but having heard them 10,000 times in life, the novelty was a bit busted.

Front-loaded with a bunch of great songs thrown together on an album that's simply way too long and unfocused to be great itself. High points: "Porcelain", "Why does my heart feel so bad", "Natural Blues" Low points: "Body rock", "South side", entire back half, terrible poetry

Fair enough, Moby and Fatboy Slim. You never have to work again because you found out that people in the 90s apparently loved hearing the same 5 second sample over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again

Boring

Forgettable. Repeatable. Dull.

Like or dislike the man or the music, some poignant tracks on there. Feels a little samey and “dramatic naughtys film sad moment” back half of the album skippable but the first half you forget how many of those tracks were on one album

368/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

I already knew some of the songs, but the whole thing is overwhelming

I thought this was supposed to be about whales?!? Call me Ishmael. Anyway, I liked this WAY better than the book. 4

For the first half I wanted different mixes of most of the songs. The second half picked up and was an enjoyable ambient group of songs.

Like a dish that's got loads of great ingredients cooked at the wrong temperature, disappointingly slow, smug and thin-sounding in places, I should like Moby, but I don't. During the first half, I wanted to listen to better ambient music, actively bored. Some great samples of better music. Warmed to the album as it came became an ambient album proper in the second half.

always good to listen

I know Moby a little bit, but mostly from his social persona. Nice to put a sound to the name. And I like the sound, kind of a viby, hiphop-y soft rock? Unfortunately, most of the songs were very repetitive, and that threw me off. Stand out songs: Honey Natural Blues

I've never listened to much Moby but this is really good. Like the meditative ones that seem to be in the second half of this album mostly. Long!

I tried this twice, but didn’t care for it. It’s so repetitive, I’d love a song that just doesn’t repeat the same lyric over and over.

Kind of annoying. Not bad but just…

I actually enjoyed this quite a lot. I knew a few songs what made me feel nostalgic, and then the rest was a good listen. It is one I’d revisit again, which is a good sign.

Really relaxing, good stuff.

Album is too long. The songs are too long. I could see this being a 4 but I was ready for it to end.

респект челу за "mobygratis.com", полезная штука. альбом норм, приятный, но каждый день бы не слушал.

One of my favorite all time albums

Ja, Moby heeft wat cheesy-achtigs. Maar goed, dit is wel prima big beat voor dat tijdperk. Was vergeten hoeveel hitsingles hierop staan, best krankzinnig eigenlijk. "Run On" eigenlijk nog het leukst om eens weer te horen. De niet-singles zijn een beetje een rommelig allegaartje van verschillende stijlen die toen populair waren.

Love me some Moby

Fantastic.

This was fun. Had heard some of his material before.

i just did not vibe with this one and also it did just go on and on

Honey - hell of an opener!!!!!!!! Never hear of them! Really cool style! Bodyrock YES First 5/5 ??? Very easy listening 4.5 rounded down to 4 SORRY

Play was a final throw of the dice. Mobys label Elektra had abandoned him after his previous album Animal Rights sold abysmally (an ill advised politics based thrash metal album). Initially self recorded Play was supposed to be a swansong, a small indie album he was writing for himself. Instead it was one of the most successful albums of the 1990s. The songs were used in a LOT of adverts - over 100 in the US alone. Play Netted Moby $1 Million before a single album had even been sold. As a result the album received criticism in some quarters for commodifying black slave music (about half the tracks use this in sample). But given the background to this record I personally think it would be harsh not to give Moby a pass on this (I would doubt that was the intention). Moby has clear talent, and uses samples well alongside his compositions. There are a couple of songs that could have a bit more grit - but where he excels is in the universality of his sound. Half the album is not samples based - and whilst this does not always hit the heights of those other tracks (save Porcelain) the mix of ambiant electronic and dance friendly electro still holds up well. The final tracks are pretty reflective and interesting. You can hear his sadness in The Sky is Broken & My Weakness. Honey, Porcelain, Why Does my Heart Feel so Bad?, Natural Blues, The Sky is Broken 4/5

think ppl are Playing tricks with my mind when they say this is the greatest electronic album of all time. 3.5/5

😏

There were a few good songs on here. But as an album? An hour straight of elevator ass music? Don’t piss me off.

As broadly loathsome as I find Moby as a person (#TeamNatalie), I must admit, this is very good. I do not want to consider the moral and ethical quandaries raised by his use of Lomax field recordings at this time, thank you.

I listened to this when I was a teenager, didn't like it, and never revisited. Now I really like it? Am I getting old enough to appreciate downtempo?? *gulp*

This album slaps. Was nice to have another listen.

2 hours of Moby is too much for me. I remember liking this when it came out, but I hate it now.

A rare electronic album I actually enjoyed. The songs were varied and interesting and there were some spacey sounding ones near the end that I really enjoyed. Going back and forth between 4 and a 5 but I did feel like it was a tad overlong for my tastes.

I don’t like electronic music too much

I like the vocals and samples he uses. I like the chilled vibe and a lot of the beats and I think some of the songs create a really good atmosphere. It just gets a bit boring for me on the tracks where it is one or two lines repeating over and over. And the album is so long. I definitely lost interest in it towards the end. Tough because I think if it was cut down to a more standard album length I would rate it higher, but by the end I just wanted it to be done. Fav song: Porcelain – but this might be because it’s the one I’m already most familiar with. Least fav: If Things Were Perfect (I think. Idk I tuned out a few times)

Its unusual for an album to have 8 singles, it's even more unusual for them all to be known, and even more unusual for all of them to be great. I would find it hard to pick a favourite single, maybe I'd go Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad. Of the instrumental non singles, Everloving is beautiful. Rushing is another great instrumental, lovely piano riff beautiful. These little parts stitch the whole thing together

3.9 - I thought this was gonna be higher, but I feel like as it went on, the more repetitive it felt honestly. Great moments, but yeah...

First half is so good, barely a miss. So many familiar tracks that I never realised were Moby. Then the last few tracks where it gets slower and more ambient I'm not that in to. It feels like an anti-climax to the album, they should be on a completely different project in my view. 4/5

Moby is notable in that the main reason anyone remembers him is because of his arguments with Eminem. Otherwise he seems like a nice enough human, maybe he just needs to calm down a bit telling everyone that he's a vegan. Looping other people's music over a drum track might have been interesting in 2000, but it's boring and derivative in 2025. Literally sellout music used for commercials. I'm not going listen to 2 hours of it. I lived through it in my younger days, and didn't enjoy it.

Did not listen, I know this album front to back, its never left regular rotation. Great album!!

Side A is 5 stars all the way. Side B really lets off and becomes overly repetitive. But I can't deny the catchiness of so much of this album.

Amongst my favourite albums from the 90s. Obviously sampling had been done for a long time, but this felt new. The mix between these early songs and electronica works seamlessly. If you get the chance check out the Reprise album he did recently with modern day singers performing with him. 5/5

Phew. This was definitely groundbreaking when it came out. On relistening after 17 years (according to my last.fm account) the looped sample on Find My Baby gets really annoying really quickly. Still, it's amazing how quickly it feels really familiar again, and for the most part, the production still holds up today. It's almost a pity how every single track off of this 18 track album has become an acoustic wallpaper for at least the Western world, thanks to Moby's very liberal approach to licensing his songs for ads, movies, TV, games, and anything else you could conceivably stick a soundtrack on.

Caught this album in a good mood. Walking around Watford listening to this was a positive experience. I can imagine finding this album repetitive and annoying on another day.

So, Moby found a way to play the system by licensing tracks to movies, ads and tv shows, an approach that made the general audience more aware of who he was. I have heard the singles, some of them are good, the ones with repetitive vocal samples that arent masked by additional instrumentation are annoying. So for me this is a 9 new track experience, lets see if it pays off... No it doesn't, just like the Natalie Portman did not work out for Moby I'd keep Bodyrock and South Side(if it's the one with Gwen Stefani). 3/10

I used to have a friend that was really into Moby and then at some point they announced they were sick of people in a certain industry even though we both worked in that industry and then basically broke ties and would never hang out again. They still do that same job but act like they’re above it. Does this say something about moby? Anyway the tracks that I’ve heard are worn out and the tracks that I haven’t are just OK.

5/10 I have insanely weird feelings about Play by Moby. It’s an album I’ve known all the my whole life passively from all of the songs used in advertisements and soundtracks. If you managed to somehow miss hearing a Moby song in your life, you absolutely didn’t miss the influence this record had on the world of sample-based Electronic music, as it is possibly the most influential Downtempo album in modern history, not in terms of influencing the world of the genre, but influencing mainstream commercial music as a whole. You can vividly imagine these tracks soundtracking $80k trucks driving through mud, a baseball promo, the newest designer perfume, this album paved the way for the overblown soundtrack, with atmospheric beats and sticky samples, it was guaranteed to do so. This record seems to confuse Moby however, as it’s his most successful record by miles, and he remains to be a pretty condescending person because of it. It was a record he succeeded from after a discography’s worth of commercial and critical failures, and Play was a boatload worth of soundtrack music to influence the masses, and he failed to understand that fact from then on. The reality is that when tasked to make a record to save his career, he resorted to the most simple and effective uses of Hip Hop, Ambient, and Dance production. It wasn’t that revolutionary, it wasn’t so untouchable, it was just easy, and the lack of real strength to this record is only made more unappealing by a bald guy who thinks people are stupid for not enjoying his other music. Oh, and also his other music just fucking sucks. Sorry, nobody listens to Techno

This creates very similar vibes to David Gary's White Ladder. It's a tad long, but the songs are varied enough for it not to get too stale. I probably wouldn't listen to any of these tracks on their own but it's really good ambient music to have on in the background while working

Good album but too long and quite formulaic.

A bit copy+paste style but honestly if it works it works and it makes the non-formula songs sound even better

Pwetty good

Some monster tracks you know plus great sounding slow burners. Before from listening on a good hifi.

Tracks 1-4: The songs at the start of this album are kind of great and kind of terrible - they make me feel like my brain is broken. It’s as if Moby has 75% of the ingredients needed to be an amazing artist but just has something missing. Something is slightly off. Tracks 5-7: There's suddenly a nauseating variety of genres introduced. Like you're eating ice cream and gravy. The closest artist I can think of is The Flight of the Conchords. He's trying out loads of different styles. But with no jokes. And the songs are suddenly just bad, but like, in a skillful way. Track 8: Back on more even ground here. You’re starting to understand the formula of Moby’s better songs. He finds an amazing, niche sample, then puts some pretty impressive production over the top of it that almost matches, but doesn’t actually match. Track 9: Moby as an Acid House hellscape New Order. He wants to show us how talented he is and how many genres he can master. He is a musical genius. A musical tyrant. Tracks 10-13: We’ve reached the filler tracks baby! And you know what? It’s respite from all that damn flavour. Moby sedated and running out of ideas is my favourite kind of Moby. Quick - catch him while he's tired. Don’t let him loose! Track 14: Who gave Moby an acoustic guitar?! Now I’m having to contemplate the sentence “epic downtempo folk rock music.” This is unnatural and wrong. Tracks 15-16: Woah. Ambient Moby is really lovely. I feel like I’m in the hypnotist’s chair. “Your eyes feel heavy. You are feeling sleeeepy. The last hour of music has been the flawless product of a musical mastermind.” Track 17: Okay. We’ve reached the tipping point and I’m finally prepared to say it: these songs are pretentious. Moby needs to stay as far away from that mic as possible. He is talking quietly and has the mic’s gain turned up to max. It’s an ASMR nightmare. I can hear the saliva in his mouth. Horrible wet mouth sounds. Why would he want me to hear that? He has intentionally chosen for me to hear that. Track 18: Nothingness. Empty nothingness. There was life before Moby. There is life after Moby.

The only good thing about this are the field recordings. Moby’s “additions” sound like AI has been asked to harmonise them. This is embarrassing.

As a beat afficionado I always thought Moby was ok and nothing more. That verdict still stands. He plucked some low hanging fruits mixing old blues over simple beats. Genious move as it turned out. It’s moody, I like that, but it’s just too easy listening, nothing really exitcites.

Staple

Didn't expect so many hits were made by Moby, and on a single album. This album is a fusion of blues, gospel and other genres with electronica. The music isn't complex or profound, but the is guy good at creating catchy melodies and grooves. Basic chord progressions, harmony, rhythms and scales are his bread and butter, but he just does it so well at times. He's also pretty good at arranging songs, creating dynamics and switching a lot of different instruments around. The vocal parts are also interesting on pretty much every song. Having said that, the songs are still basic most of the time and don't provide anything special to the listener except the same good old ideas. Would give it 3.5 if I could.

I got the CD version of this at home, just like everyone else on the planet. It's never really one I put on though. There's a number of hits I remember and I like, such as Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad and Honey. Honestly, pretty much every track here is pleasant to listen to. The overall album just has a bit too much of a soda commercial vibe though. The songs are all varied but they get a bit stale by virtue of repeating the same looking sample the entire time. It's nice what Moby created here in terms of soundscapes and catchy songs with just a single sample, but I don't like it quite enough.

I liked the versions of the “found” records the best. Appropriation though, or appreciation?

Pretty boring but chill downtempo album. i like the touches of old blues and folk samples but apart from that nothing that interesting here. 5/10 Favourite: Porcelain Least Favourite: Guitar Flute & String

This is fun! It definitely isn't my every day kind of music, but this is definitely one of my favorite albums so far in this project. I do enjoy the repetitive nature of the music. Okay, but now about half way through, I'm ready to move on. Me on the last note of the album: thank goodness!

Kinda an odd mix of mostly passive listening with a few awkwardly placed active listening tracks like Southside (which was, itself, oddly different than the single version I'm familiar with). Furthermore, even the passive listening is a bit odd in its energy variances - like I'm unsure what mood Moby wanted to put me in here. Odd. It really is the best word for it. I think I'd like the individual tracks more on their own than I did the album in its entirety. So, with that in mind, I'll try to walk away feeling neutral.

Yikes. Very repetitive, and so boring. Might be good to use as a white noise machine, but I’m not seeing any other use for this.

This is the hundred tenth album I’m rating. I only know him because of How I Met Your Mother. Adding to my Playlist - Honey, Find my Baby, Porcelain, and Run On. Not Adding to my Playlist - Why Does my Heart Feel so Bad?, South Side, Rushing, Bodyrock, Natural Blues, Machete, 7, Down Slow, If Things Were Perfect, Everloving, Inside, Guitar Flute & String, The Sky is Broken, and My Weakness. If Things Were Perfect - Sound a lot like Maxinquaye but bad. All in all I liked 4/18 songs. Sorry Moby like a month ago you would've gotten three stars but not today.

the soulful beats give this music its life. Play is almost like a storybook, and feels like an explorative journey of the human spirit through its beauty and pain. It feels meaningful and nourishing,

i came into this album with very low expectations. i have a big problem with judging books by their covers, and this cover is pretty stupid, so i wasnt expecting much. i was quite surprised with how much i enjoyed this album. the final track is currently soothing the hell out of my ears its pretty nice.

Gets old quick

A classic album stacked with great songs. It has an energy unlike any other album I know. It has electronica beats, blues and soul samples, and big pop hooks. The production is immaculate too. I also think this is the sort of album anyone could love. I could see it being an entry point into electronica for a lot of people. It’s great, accessible music. Great album cover too.

Moby has a strong "that was a time and place" effect for me; where some of his albums and songs are strongly connected to years of my life and it's hard for me to separate them. This album for me was when I was entering my teenage years and starting to grow into a little dude with a personality and interests and a taste in music. It came out when I was 9, so I'm sure I heard some of these on MTV and randomly on the radio, but I remember listening to this album a few years later and thinking the music was very fun and different than what my friends were listening to. I guess it was an early guilty pleasure? Last year I had a revival of "Porcelain" and listened to it a lot; it even made it's way into the elite club of songs in a spotify playlist that I made for that year of my life. It's a beautiful song that has some kind of magic that immediately makes me feel nostalgia, and wonder. You could place it at the end of so many movies and it would elevate the conclusion- the high school romance where the boy finally gets the girl, or over the top of a cinematic shot of a sprawling landscape that shows that the town is safe from the evil-doer. That's atleast what I can picture in my head. "Find My Baby" could be an evolution of "Woke Up This Morning", the great theme song from The Sopranos. I've heard "Flower" played a lot at a local venue, it's like one of their tech setup songs that they play while they are setting up the gear for the band to play. Because of that, it gives me a lot of nervous excitement, like I'm a bit conditioned to expect a show after hearing this one. Great album all around. 4.3

Electronic music is just not for me. This isn't too bad but I still wouldn't want to listen to it.

it lowkey isnt that good but it is interesting and ill take that over any mediocre easy listening album

Moby gets a lot of shit and honestly he mostly deserves it, but this album is wall to wall bangers. He was never this good again.

I never liked Moby as a person. Couldn't tell you why, but after listening to this album, I know why. Half of it is pretentious crap. The other half is some brilliant sound, but he just repeats it for the entire song, ruining anything interesting. Do better, Moby. Or don't. You suck.

The album so far that I know best, still hadn't listened to it for a while though. I'd forgotten how good this album was, just consistently great, with a similar tone that still differentiates songs. So good that no one really pays attention to Moby's work besides this.

Universally cool

Love it

This album starts on such an energetic high note and slowly fades to blissful ambiance. Loved it.

Dude’s weird. There are a lot of gripes with him and with this album that are all valid. But damn….it just sounds so good. Maybe it’s because this came out when I was still pretty young, but the emotional component of the samples repeated against the (now very charmingly retro-sounding) synths and drum pads still hits. It’s pretty tastefully put together almost all the way through. This is a must-listen with a one star ding for kinda dragging out, and for Moby’s lameness 132

I remember getting a Moby album with a duck on the cover from the library when I was a teenager. I don't know if I ever listened too much to it, but I am eager to start this daily album journey with some vibes. This is the album where it's the blue cover with a man in a white shirt mid jump. It's a bald man, but I don't just want to assume that's Moby. I listened to the album about 2.5 times around writing this. I really like Honey and South Side. They are familiar in a way that I know I've heard the songs before, but to be quite honest I don't know if they're from here or were sampled in here. Either way nice tracks. It's likely something I'll listen to again over the next couple days. 7, while a short song, was very nice, too. I like the ambiance it creates and while it does leave me wanting more I find its segue into Run On very cool. I love songs that blend together seamlessly. A good listen while I work on credentialing notes today. I got an HPV and pneumonia shot yesterday, among about 9 different blood panels, so my right shoulder is mad at me. During my 15 minute break in the morning I laid down on the floor of the bedroom where I am currently working in (at a foldable desk with my SIL's chair) and let some of the more ambient songs in the middle lull me. I could see myself falling asleep to this song. I am immensely hungry and want a snack, but will likely get through one more work note before I get anything to eat. If Lina left that fettuccine alfredo in the fridge I'm claiming it. Some cold, chemical, carbonated caffeine would also go down nice tomorrow. Maybe what I'll do is keep a list of the songs and give a little note. Not a score or anything, but something that'll help me internalize the music. Honey - upbeat. My favorite song of the album so far. Samples Bessie Jones “Sometimes.” Find my Baby - Samples “Joe Lee’s Rock” by Boy Blue. Bluesy. Time to digitalize the harmonica unless that’s just someone singing yeah. Porcelain - boogy beat strings while my son tosses his bath toys around and the piano dances in. In my dreams I am also dying all the time, but that’s only when I stop smoking. South Side - I know I skipped a song but I was getting my son dressed and I didn’t have many strong feelings about it. But I really like South Side. Once again it’s a song I feel I’ve heard before, but am… surprised isn’t the right word. More intrigued that it was maybe a Moby song all along.

Some great songs, but also a lot of filler.

Was not expecting to like this at all, let alone this much. I don't like chill, repetitive electronic music, but the atmosphere here is fantastic. The beats and melodies are so groovy and fun that the repetitions actually helped. And there was enough variety to keep me engaged for the entire hour of runtime. There isn't any songs that blew my mind, but their average quality is very high, and overall this album offers a pretty coherent experience. It also gets a bit too ambient for my taste towards the end, but otherwise, it's great.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Play. This album clearly made its rounds in commercials, movies, and just about anywhere music can live in the background. Sitting down and listening to the whole thing for the first time made me wish I’d done it sooner. The first 8 tracks are creative, soulful, and full of energy. Unfortunately, the second half doesn’t quite hold the same magic. If about five of those later tracks were trimmed, this could easily be a 5-star album. Still, it’s a solid and impressive listen overall.

Don’t know why this guy had such a chokehold on the 2000s. Like why did both himym and community have him mentioned in multiple episodes . Why. Anyway this album is very meh. Not quite as bad as David Byrne but did not enjoy. Specific rating- 1.5 Fav song - body rock Least fav- the sky is broken

Not a huge fan of songs where one line is just put on a non stop repeat- even the songs I initially liked ended up getting a bit repetitive or going on a little too long. Favourite: South Side or Run on Least: Machete