Play

Je ne connaissais Moby que pour le célèbre épisode l'ayant opposé à Eminem. Comem vous le savez tous, début des années 2000, Moby était tranquillement attablé en terrasse d'un restaurant de Detroit, profitant d'une belle journée avec ses amis. Soundain, Eminem passait dans la zone, et sans que personne ne comprenne vraiment pourquoi, se mit à insulter copieusement Moby, qu'il ne connaissait pourtant ni d'Adam ni d'Eve. Moby, sous le choc, en perdit l'apétit, et pris congé de ses amis, laissant une somptueuse salade niçoise à moitié entamée sur la table. Si vous vous dites que cet épisode hubuesque est complétement injuste pour le pauvre Moby, vous vous trompez lourdement. En effet, cette "conversation" (terme discutable puisque Moby n'eut le temps de prononcer le moindre mot) fut relayée dans les médias, et Moby jouit après ça d'un succès fulgurant. L'opinion publique ayant été prise d'affection pour ce jeune chauve, il dû se resigner à démarrer la musique, ce qui nous ammène à cet excellent album.

I'd forgotten about this album. It's really rather good!

Alchemy is defined as ‘the medieval forerunner of chemistry, based upon the supposed transformation of matter… and concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold…’ Or is it? Alchemy may also be understood as a spiritual or mystical conversion with base metals and gold symbolic of, perhaps, one’s inner conversion. Moby, I believe, on several tracks of 'Play' seems to be attempting a musical form of alchemy, transmuting prior recordings primarily of mid-20th century African American gospel and folk singers like Bessie Jones, Vera Hall, and Bill Landord and the Landfordaires. And the result is quite enjoyable. The rest are his own techno creations, mostly downtempo, also very pleasurable. I particularly loved the downtempo offerings: ‘Inside,’ for example, with it’s scuba diving synthesized feel, or ‘Everloving,’ beginning with Moby on acoustic guitar (in the left ear of one’s headphones) then filling both with soothing downtempo gloriousness. Moby, incidentally, plays virtually all the instruments on 'Play,' and plays with talent. His guitar work, especially, on ‘South Side’ is really good. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out the players in this musical theatre: ‘Porcelain’ is Moby’s (who’s actual name is Richard Melville Hall) transmutation of the song, ‘Fight For Survival,’ by Klergy, Danny Burke’s altar ego… or, at least I think so. Frankly, I’m still not certain I’ve put all the pieces together correctly. After a while this began to take me down the rabbit hole with Alice, so to speak, so I simply surrendered to the sound and enjoyed the lovely trip. Not being completely unfamiliar with the hallucinogenic experience myself, I thought it would be a wonderful LP to have on hand as one was coming down from a trip, or definitely to the accompaniment of some of Denver’s legal, recreational weed. That said, the listener may enjoy it just fine while completely sober as well. Your freedom, your choice. I happen to love to dip my French fries in mayo, but I have a good friend who can hardly sit at the same table with me while I’m doing it. Either way, French fries are still mighty tasty. And so is 'Play.'

8,5

starting off with the holes song😛😛😋😋😋 some really nice songs

Interesting. He sampled some of Lomax's recordings, and also has South Side.

Fijn hoor, die Richard melville hall.

I listened to Play shortly after the album came out. Singles from the album were regularly on the radio, and there was a lot of buzz about the album in general. I haven't listened to this album in a long time, but I still like Moby. "Porcelain" is my favorite track, but "Honey" and "Run On" grabbed my attention on this listen. "Natural Blues and "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" are favorites that I remember from before. "Machete" is the hardest track for me to listen to, but I would come back for a second listen to the album.

Giving this a 4 even though I'm not a huge Moby fan. So many of these songs have such strong ties to the late 90's and they really brought me some nostalgia.

Nice variety of chill music.

Didn't expect to vibe with this album as much as I did... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bopping at work to this.

Oh Moby, you were so close to making a great record. The entire first half of the album is spectacular, with Honey a strong intro track and Why Does My Heart and Natural Blues being other highlights. But then it all falls apart, and I think that happens around track 13 - Down Slow feels like a natural place to close the album, but then it continues, inexplicably, with 6 tracks of forgettable trip-hop. A good listen therefore, but too bloated to be a great one.

Soundtrack of the noughties. I've never really been into EDM outside of a festival setting and therefore I went into this thinking I wasn't gonna enjoy this album. Buy boy oh boy was I wrong. I had this on all day and then some. Gonna have to stick with a 4 as the last 3rd of the album is just OK, but adding this to my regular rotation.

Rompedor y sorprendente en su momento, algunos cortes son ya himnos eternos. Con los años ha perdido algo de frescura y le sobran algunos temas que, si no estuvieran, sería este un trabajo redondo. Aún con todo sigue siendo bello y disfrutable.

No weak tracks on this album. To appreciate it fully im going to use more time. Good stuff.

A mystical experience. I remember when this came out and you could hear Moby everywhere. The first half of this record is solid. Love how Moby sample gospel vocals and a Piano track over tasty loops. I think that a good portion of the second half could be cut… My all time favs are Porcelain and Why Does My Heart Feels So Bad.

God I love this album.

I was surprised by the fact that I liked this album. The instrumental tracks were strong. Although there are some not so good songs on this album, its highlights are definitely worth a mention. Best track: Porcelain. 8/10

Muutama oikein hyvä biisi ja muuten ihan ok menevää konemusaa. Nelonen tuntuu turhan korkealle ja kolmonen ei taas oikein tee kunniaa.

Pari vaisua tsipaletta, mut muuten palautti kivasti mieleen 2000-luvun taitteen, kun tuli kuunneltua melko ahkerasti tätä levyä

This album put really really strongly, great beats, beautiful melodies and interesting arrangements. It loses some momentum towards the end and like many electronic music albums IT'S TOO EFFING LONG! 4 🌟

For a long while, this won my coveted personal recommendation for "best background music". Not much more than that, but still - being the perfect background for almost everything means a lot. It aged, since, and it has also been overused in too many soundtracks. But it's still good!

Always thought Moby was cheesy dad pop, didn’t realise he had this many bangers

Música electrónica-house. Dos megahits. Le iba a poner un 5, pero las últimas canciones son muy lentas... Un 4.

This album is pretty good. I like the use of samples. Got it on CD a while ago.

A fascinating use of samples in electronic music, with some ambient tracks. 'Play' manages to be loud and upbeat, retaining a good semblance of complexity that pairs well with its fundamental electronic elements. While certain tracks lean toward downtempo, Moby produces an overall satisfying listen with sufficient flair.

Interesting!

Gefühlt jeder 2. Track zu Beginn dieser Hit Maschine scheint als Single ausgekoppelt worden zu sein; vom Schema alles recht…schematisch & zweidimensional: ein Mörder-Sample, das dann in durch den Beat Schleudergang immer wieder und beim ersten Mal auch unsersättlich gerne wieder und wieder durch geballert wird. Die Auswahl der Versatz Stücke ist groß aber die Verwendung mittlerweile stark datiert. Klingt wie Musik für Leute, die sonst kein Interesse an Musik zeigen. Absolut WDR2-tauglich. Die ruhigen Perlen „Porcelain“, „Natural Blues“ &„Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?“ funktionieren dabei mit am besten und erschaffen das Genre Chill-Wave quasi im Vorbeigehen; eben Musik für Musik Desinteressierte. Was aber nach „If Things Were Perfect“ abgeht, hebt die Chose um mehrere Level. Sparsamer Vocal Einsatz und eine von Walfischen bevorzugte Tiefe und Melancholie setzen den Kontrast hoch und ein paar Pfunde mehr auf die Waage. Dicke 3.6

4 time machine

I knew fewer of these than I thought I would, given its marketing push on release. I found the instrumentals and ambient tracks most compelling.

I remember when this album came out - it was everywhere. Literally. Each song has been licenced to be used in adverts, movies etc. Fair play on Moby for the cash in. It's a mix of electronic synths and beats with old school blues tunes. Best Tracks: Honey; Porcelain; Run On

This is a belter. You can hear influences from trip-hop, it was clearly influenced by punk and part of the big-beat movement too - and most of the album slaps hard. I don't think we would have electro swing without this album? It drags a bit towards the end which is the only complaint, but I really enjoyed this

Wasn't expecting to like this, but was pleasantly surprised. Creative and fun.

Brilliant

What impresses me most about this album is how Moby mixes so many disparate styles: American gospel, blues, found music, hip hop and electronica in one record and it all still sounds so cohesive. Its over 20 yrs old but the songs still sound pretty fresh, testament to just how good this album is

A long-forgotten old favourite. Lovely to hear it again. I remembered it far better than I thought I would, having not heard it for 20 years.

Качественная и необычная электонная музыка. Большое количество узнаваемых треков. Некий электронный фьюжн. 7,5/10

Not something I ever would have listened to, but it was very well executed for the genre.

This album has its ups and downs for me. The album starts strong, but, by the time I got to Southside, I was plodding through it. The album then finishes strong.

Moby seems like an insufferable person and i've honestly never heard anything he's made before or after this album, I legit thought he stopped making music soon after this. but trying to stay as objective as I can this album is pretty good, he got a lot of great samples and did good things with them, he made a lot of forgettable loops catchy and memorable... Most of the album is still really easy to listen to today which in itself is a massive feat compared to a lot of music from that specific era.

Electro's repetitive samples are sometimes a bit much for me, but enjoyable if you get into the groove/are in the mood. Nostalgic for this time period (turn of the millennium)

Good background work music. Awesome beats ahead of it's time

Great stuff

Hit after hit. This album revolutionized techno, influencing music to this day. The first 4 tracks are favorites, but even the tracks that follow are beyond expectations. Their legacy is in no part due to their commercial use in media, cementing many songs in the minds of many. My issue was that the album slowed down after "Run On", and the B-sides added in weakened the appeal, making the album drag on longer than it should. The only real highlight I picked out was "Flower", but I'd still listen to the whole album if I needed ambience.

High production quality and some strong songs. Liked it so much more this time around then I did when it came out.

I dig

a classic

Pretty good, interesting influences coming through. Good musicianship.

Never listened to this in the 90s, because I heard everyone thought it was vapid. What a bummer. It's perfectly nice, probably even groundbreaking for its time. Not "fascinating" or "challenging" perhaps, but very good for repeated listens, study music, etc and holds up very, very well against what we would now call "ambient." I bet the hate is mostly backlash against saturation.

An album that passed me by when it was first released, apart from the oversaturation of the singles, but I really enjoyed it. the singles are very good and I also appreciate the blissed-out instrumentals towards the end, whilst my younger self would have certainly disregarded them.

Very, very good! I forgot just how good actually!

Natural Blues

Got it for free from a friend's ex girlfriend. I listened to it quite a bit.

Great start to this new listening experience! Which coincidentally pairs w/the book that I've been documenting my life adventures in. Thx for the opportunity to expand my listening entertainment.

Big surprise. Skitbra

Not what I expected, but enjoyed it nonetheless

Moby's most famous album, and it took a whole year after release to reach that acclaim. This downtempo electronica album was a joy to listen to and it helped me find more gems from Moby. A very unique album if you read into its details.

I do be vibin There be bops and mellow vibes too am enjoying Ooh Porcelain be chill tho Ngl I like this actually, good background-ish sound

Not something I would usually listen to, but enjoyed it thoroughly. I've definitely heard porcelain before, but hearing it context is nice.

Smoke City- similar to Portishead, cool band that played after the Moby album ended

good eclectic eletronic sound

electronic shit this 4 is worth more than the last one, far more. everloving is a beautiful song great album 4/5

Good album to turn on and let it play. Love me some Moby. Gwen Stefani....very enjoyable.

Relaxing and groovy. Some good dance tracks and some more mellow. All well known.

No me gusta nada este tipo de música... lo intenté pero no pude escuchar más de dos canciones...

Nice. Gute Laufmusik.

great stuff :)

Thought it was great - the upbeat tempo made it perfect for motivation/background music for working or working out.

It's over, nobody listens to techno

Ihan ok, omistan levyn :)

Excellent album, I’ve listened to it many times already so it was a pleasure to hear it again. Also great background work music!

Gran disco, tiene canciones para cualquier momento, pero me encanta escucharlo mientras viajo.

Bit over it now but a pretty original and seminal album of its era

Enjoyed listening to this after years of hearing it in full. Some really good tunes on it, although some definitely passed by without me really noticing them. But enough stand out tracks that still sound fresh today.

Kyllähän tää ihan töiden taustalla toimii. Piti oikein pari kertaa kuunnella.

I never loved the album at the time, but I loved most of the big tunes. Listening to it now and it's better than I remember. A lot of it holds up and there are def a good number of classics, although it would benefit from a few less tracks. I actually think the excessive film/tv/advert licensing adds to its impressiveness and legacy. Plus it influenced Adele, who knew? 8.5/10

This is an album that I will defend as actually being very good. I’ve enjoyed every listen, and I got this by accident a few years back as I forgot to cancel my VMP membership and it shipped. Listened then and liked it, so I will keep listening and liking it.

Yeh good that.

Nice morning vibes

This was fucking everywhere for a couple of years at the start of the millennium but don't think I've ever listened to it all the way through. Remember the singles and love the first 4 tracks. Porcelain being the undoubted highlight. After that its all new but its a great listen. Think my distrust of dance music must be the reason i ignored it at the time but this is very good. Maybe a few tracks too long but a solid 4/5.

So innovative and brilliant. A stroke of genius making of the electronic next big thing in pop world. 4,5

Un vell conegut que em va acompanyar al walkman durant molt de temps. Encara recordo la còpia pirata que tenia en CD, amb la portada impresa amb mala qualitat. Va ser un disc que a la seva època ho va petar bastant, gràcies als seus 8 o 9 singles que encara avui sonen potents i addictius. L'àlbum sencer, però, és una mica excessiu i recarregat, i acaba sent irregular. Malgrat tot, la nota mitjana és notable.

Fantastic album. Porcelain is an iconic track.

Buen disco. Hay que escucharlo más

The beach!!

I enjoyed. 4*

Wow, where to begin with this album....so outside of the radio tracks i've heard, this was an experience to listen to. A lot of these tracks were very repetitive, with minor changes, especially with the first few tracks. obviously it picks up a bit with tracks 5-8, which, surprise, were major hits. later in the album though, I found it to have a great flow, "Run On" was amazing, which i'm shocked I had never heard that version before, and "If Things Were Perfect" was beautiful in it's lyrics. "Everloving"....wow, was just simple, but gorgeous. Worst track of the album goes to "Machete" (man that one was hard on the ears). I would mention a best track....but man, that's tough to pick, though if i had to, it would definitely go to "Rushing" with "The Sky Is Broken" a close, close, second. I cant believe this music has been around for over twenty years before I finally got around to hearing it.....I guess you can say better late than never, but man, that was a long time I was missing out on some just amazing music.

Lol college

Like

Super unique, funky sound. Liked it a lot.

A really fun album, although Moby might've used samples from a CD stolen from his friend

Imádtam anno és most is teljes nosztalgiahullám

Sounds very 90s, not that that's a bad thing. Machete and Bodyrock used to be my jams. I wish it would pick a lane between pop/big beat and poppy ambient, though. It's uneven. Rerelease as two EPs.

Mobyyyyyu

Some good songs, some overplayed

Really liked this. Haven't heard it in YEARS.

Mange fede numre. Elektronisk med blues beats. Nogle svipsere men overordnet rigtigt fedt. Føles lidt "dated"

What starts off as this upbeat banger central album ends on a poignant note. It's a ride, for sure. Perhaps Play really is the best title for it, because its encompassing all the stages of play. The hype at the beginning, to the somberness at the end.

Overlong, but decent LP. The hits are still good. Why Does My Heart and Machete are overlooked. The back half of the album is a downbeat EP in itself - really good. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

false

Huge album back in the day but I never listened to it fully until now. Album doesn't really flow for me and I much rather listen to some songs individually. Songs I like: Why Does My Heart Feel Bad?, South Side & Weakness 3/5

My first thought: oh God an hour of Moby? My final thought: Man I knew a lot of those songs. Did I own this in high school?

I really really enjoy it. I think it’s very good but I am going to leave the jury out in this one and come back to review it. Combining blues songs with hip hop is fire.

Mijn verwachtingen waren iets te hoog. Je kent de meeste nummers natuurlijk wel ook vooral vanwege de reclames waar al zijn muziek voor werd gebruikt. Het is wel een klein beetje verjaard maar dat is logisch in begin van het digitale tijdperk. Het leunt wel zwaar op de samples van de gospel en blues die hij natuurlijk niet zelf heeft gecreëerd. Het is veel herhaling en vrij minimalistisch maar wel met zorg. Waar het album nu over gaat is lastig te benoemen omdat je van samples nummers maakt. Kan niet zo goed duidelijk krijgen wat nu de kern van het album is. Kan niet alleen leuke mix trucjes die goed klinken zijn lijkt mij. Het is in ieder geval een goede curator van vergeten muziek en er vervolgens een sferische mix van te maken. Had een nostalgische 4 verwacht maar heb een lichte verwarde teleurstelling hierbij. Het is toch iets te veel gladde achtergrond muziek geworden.

Some greatness in the samples. Less than the sum of its parts. Original vocal work by Moby feels uninspired. Too palatable to be truly interesting.

Makes me want to buy an early 00s Hyundai

Pretty good. Just the album cover alone has a lot of recognition. I’ve heard a few of the tracks before. I know it’s super popular and influential and I get why. Another one that I may or may not revisit, but have no complaints about the listen.

This is a lot of Moby. Over two hrs … nah. I’m good

поки нармальнс ну у е зновуж такт американське меке але на 3

i'm sympathetic enough to moby's melodramatic tastes to enjoy this overly long record p much the whole way through, i like a good emotional arpeggio and i often rly like the way he structures his songs...they always do feel like theyre Going Somewhere, or at least not staying in the same place, while maintaining a coherent song-length world. that all being said it was hard for me to not think about one of the nadirs of art and human expression, the fucking caravan palace cover of black betty. this was both a blessing and a curse. on one hand, it rly does make this whole thing sound tasteful by comparison LOL whatever objections u might have to moby as a producer he doesn't do fucking electro swing mixing, and there might even be Something to conceptually putting The Bluesman and The DJ in the same context, even if the DJ in question is a corny white guy. but there's undeniable Lineage that stretches from the style here to the black betty cover, and that's a little hard to get over. the samples here at least are focused on the Emotion of the material, even if its arguably removing it from the context of black survival in an antiblack world. but that layer of removal is imo preferable, or at least a million times more dignified, to early 20th century larping in the form of a hellishly produced Fun Banger. didnt bother to listen to all the b sides but u know i had to throw on memory gospel. pimps dont commit suicide.

Late 90's electronic/prog rock. Not spectacular, but not bad. Pitchfork: 2.2 initially, revised to 5.0 secondarily. Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs Porcelain South Side

Porcelain is my fav Inside feels very frutiger aero (however you spell it) 3/5

I knew of Moby back in the day, but what I heard didn't incite follow-up. I put the album on, there were mildly appealing bits, but stretched thin, bland. It's not unpleasant, I zoned out for a bit, I wondered why was this music made? I started reading around. If this is 'electronica', why are the drum patterns so conventional? Songs were supposedly ubiquitous, but I recognise the styles more than the songs - some of them (eg Porcelain) do sound like they were written with the objective of being an inoffensive soundtrack for an ad - maybe I didn't see those ads because I avoided commercial TV/movies? I gather there are divided opinions on a few aspects, including the extensive use of long vocal segments from folk recordings - which I'm not a fan of. On a different note, I was interested by a comment that there's an album within the album - after all the 'hit' songs, the last eight or so songs have a different feel - I certainly noticed (and appreciated) that shift while playing through. But overall, it might be skilfully done but is fairly tedious, so I'll call it Mix of Good and Bad, 5/10.

waaaay too long of an album

A lot of fantastic songs on here (shoutout Flower for all the workouts) but just way too long for my preference.

Some good grooves. Too long. Filler really adds up as the album is winding down.

Fine for background music. I was expecting something .. better.

I was working at a marketing company in 2001 and we had two shared CPU work stations and the CD player in one of the CPU towers was our sole source of office-wide music. One of the guys I worked with wore out this album, White Stripe's White Blood Cells, and Steely Dan's Greatest Hits. And some how I didn't get sick of this Moby album.

I always get happy when I hear the first few songs on this album but I never reach the end. It’s just to long.

I liked a few of the tracks, a lot of the rest of it dissolved into the background. Which is not always a bad thing, as I have loved some background fading albums, but I don't think this is one that I would revisit while working since it wasn't generally something I loved. I like the experimental DJ style electronic music, but the more I get exposed to it, the less unique and exciting it feels, and the more it just comes across as repetitive looping without a ton of payoff. Still, I generally enjoyed it. Lowish 3.

Very disappointed that this version of Southside did not have Gwen on it. (I decided to cheat and add that version to my playlist). Also put on Bodyrock. Never been a huge fan of Moby, but he has some decent stuff.

Oh... I dunno bout Moby. He's allright, I guess. This album ain't bad. A bit mundane, perhaps. It was interesting that this was a sleeper album for Moby, not charting until well after its release as a result of TV and movie licensing.

Even though the track isn’t actually on this album, every Moby song is associated with Jason Bourne in my head

I feel GCSE music flooding back through my veins…. You know what I really thought this was going to be pretty corny? But ended up really enjoying! It’s longer than it needed to be but all in all it’s aged pretty well! Thank you Vegan Man!

I don't want to sound like a broken record but the amount of albums on this list I'd absolutely love it they were about 30% shorter is getting a bit silly

3/5 Favorite Song: Run On

This album is, at once, pleasant, mind-blowing, eclectic, passive, electric, ephemeral, and beautiful. At least, that’s how it is for the first 5 tracks. And then it becomes kind of annoying for the rest of them. See, it’s really cool and fun up until it starts going through the same motions it’s been going through, and it’s all kind of whatever after a while. Also, it’s really fucking long. Like REALLY fucking long. Too long for something like this. And the sample choices can sometimes be awesome, but it gets to a point where you kinda get the sense that Moby REALLY thinks he’s the shit for sampling these lo-fi blues joints, and he kinda is for the first few times he does it, but the novelty fades, and he also starts to use worse and worse samples (see “Down Slow” and its use of a wack-ass barbershop quartet sample that ruins the song). That being said, the highs are real nice, and it would probably one of my higher ratings without the lows. Whatever. Sorry Mobes. 6.8/10

It's a quite beautiful sounding and relaxing album, though can get reptitive and boring at times since it is so long.

Was surprised by how much of this I know, enjoyed it a lot. So funny to imagine Moby as a poo culture force around the millennium.

There are some really good tracks on here, mostly the blues samples. There are also some really bad tracks. Overall, the good slightly outweighs the bad. 3.5

이런 장르의 노래는 처음 들어보는데 신선하고 좋았다. It was my first time hearing a song of this genre, and it felt fresh and good.

This might be one of the most bloated albums on the list. But honestly it’s fine for the most part.

Ja kommerz halt, aber als ganzes Album und nach all den Jahren ganz okayer Sound

He's such a dweeb and this album is woefully uneven and unfocused, but I have a special place in my heart for the record that opened my mind to electronica and ambient music 20 years ago.

Things trailed off into the ambient, which I enjoyed more than the first three quarters of the album.

After learning that this album became a smash hit after all of its songs were licensed for use in film/TV/commercials, suddenly the acclaim feels superficial. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant marketing strategy and I have to commend Moby and his team for using that angle to their advantage, but this actually DOES sound like music for commercials most of the time. Am I crazy? I like "Porcelain" a lot though.

Not my thing but plenty of familiar tracks. Pleasant enough album, though all sampling and looping - the originals (some c/o Alan Lomax) no doubt more interesting. Listen to the superior ‘He’ll Roll Your Burdens Away’ by The Banks Brothers for instance - sampled on the hit track ‘Why Does my Heart Feel so Bad?’ Much better than Moby’s music made for adverts.

This feels so 1999 optimistic and groovy

A solid 3. The jumping between music styles was a bit strange but kind of worked

maybe its because i just muscled through all 127 hours of tank battles by dagmar krause but this was a pleasant surprise! kind of gave sinners at times, which is not something I ever thought I'd write

Couldn’t find the “original” album, but the B-sides and complete collection are way too long, half the songs are whatever and the other half range from classic EDM to semi-boring elevator music. The few songs I know really well bump up the 2.5

Okay, this was a pleasant surprise. I only recognized the one song from the collab with Gwen Stefani, and it was lovely to hear this version. I enjoyed my nostalgic journey through Moby calling Eminem out for his racism and homophobia, just to be called a slur in Without You. Thrilled to be the same age Moby was when Eminem called him old.

Nice trip down memory lane, but nothing really amazing that stood ou.

okay enough

The formula hasn't aged too well, perhaps, but the sampled blues vocals over laid-back contemporary indie-dance backing gimmick still lands more often than not.

Dette er egentlig en veldig Kulturelle skolesekkencore plate. Det er litt sånn «no skal vi få høyre gamle melodiar og nye rytmar. Hold dykk fast!» Føler jeg har belegg fordi Ugress kom til bygda i den kulturelle skolesekken en gang. Uansett, toppene er ganske bra. Det funker jo ganske bra med låtene som er bygget rundt gamle samples. Hadde han plukka seg ut ti låter hadde plata vært en firer, men det blir for mye strekking av CD-formatet til å holde det interessant

5,3/10 South side

I didn't expect this album to be as dance or fast as it was. It's due to my misconception of what Moby is from that Porcelain track. Fun listen, but jumps around a bit too much for me.

it was decent but I felt like it wasn't really for me. It had a lot of "piano" songs or songs that are very slow and traunquil. It was decent overall but there wasn't even any songs that were very memorable.

Enjoyed exploring this album from start to finish and the various samples throughout. I was already familiar with/remember listening to South Side, Natural Blues and Honey.

둠칫둠칫

Cool electronica, uses samples really well and the arrangements sound great. Love the mix of piano with strings on some of these songs. I can see him getting some inspiration from Adore by Smashing Pumpkins Standout songs: Find My Baby, Why Does My Hear Feel So Bad, Machete, Everloving, Inside, Guitar & Flute String.

I recognised more of this than I expected. I suppose that's because of the number of tracks that were released as singles. It's okay but I wouldn't seek it out.

Always had a soft spot for this. 3

This was a solid album in the massive Attack/ Avalanches- adjacent space. When I heard the first song, I thought it was outdated in the production sounded amateurish, but the rest of the album quickly want me over. The sampling and live instrumentation blend together very well. I don't love the occasional spoken word vocals he puts on there, but it doesn't bother me that much.

Some very famous songs in this album but not all of the songs caught my attention.

Nice dance beats, otherwise ho-hum.

I can't really knock it. You either like this kind of music or you don't. Porcelain is great, the rest just kind of exists. It does get repetitive after a bit.

Honestly better than I expected. I think this was probably the right album for the time it came out, but I don’t necessarily love it.

A good album, I miss the South side version with Gwen Stefani though.

Nogle af numrene er virkelig fede, men andet er lidt for ambient til mig.

better than i expected

NOBODY LISTENS TO TECHNO It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be

Some of the tracks here are good, some just kinda go by. Same style throughout. Taking old black spirituals and adding the most polished and commercial production and keyboards on it is kinda much.

i liked south side, and body rock and natural blues all were cool machete sounds like a panic attack a little run on is fun fav track: natural blues least fav: find my baby 6.6/10

Do I like it?

umm it’s just kinda. boring. Giving it a 3 but just barely. The occasional vocals is nice

Definitely different from everything else I've listened to. Moby has a unique style of techno and samples. Some is really good ambience, but if you don't like techno, you won't like it. I didn't think it was bad, I just can't see myself going back to many of these songs.

This is what Frutiger Aero sounds like to me.

I like Moby but not sure I like him for more than like 5 songs in a row. I do feel like the tv show montage vibe of his music loses its novelty after a little bit. All things considered this is still a solid album

oh to be a woman pushing 30 in 1999 wearing a bandeau dress in a miami rooftop club…

I've heard a ton of these songs just being around, but pretty enjoyable - nothing really stood out as much better than the rest, but great to 'do stuff' to. favorite track: Porcelain

I like some of the songs here, especially Body Rock (because its rock and i like rock). Many songs sample other much older songs and remixes them with electro elements, some may say slop, but yeah, there is good stuff to be found here.

As someone who doesn’t care for techno music/electronica, I find this rather soothing to listen to. Contrary to my opinion of the genre, this seems more approachable and, even - dare I say it - interesting? It’s not enough for a careful scrutiny, but as a background, it’s great. 3 stars.

A huge album. Cleverly placed with samples and being available to college and schools. Very clever marketing. Some tracks I like and others not so much.

Not bad. “Nobody listens to techno!”

At the turn of the millennium, Play arrived like a slick cultural Trojan horse: an electronic record that smuggled the ghosts of American roots music into malls, movie trailers, and every third TV commercial. Moby’s central conceit—looping field recordings and weathered blues or gospel vocals over polished downtempo beats—was smart enough to feel novel and accessible enough to become inescapable. What made the album resonate beyond its marketing saturation, though, was its mood. Beneath the licensing frenzy lies a deeply melancholy record, full of empty spaces, soft-focus textures, and the kind of late-night introspection that defined post-rave electronica. When it works, Play feels expansive and strangely human. When it doesn’t, it slips into the genre’s familiar traps: overextended loops, prefab drum programming, and a tracklist that stretches a modest idea past its breaking point. Eighteen songs and just over an hour may not sound excessive, but the album often feels longer, especially in its less inspired stretches. Still, even its flaws are tied to its ambition. "Porcelain" remains the centerpiece, all piano shimmer and hushed vulnerability, while "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" turns a plaintive sample into something hauntingly universal. "Natural Blues" is the clearest realization of Moby’s old-meets-new thesis, and "Run On" injects some much-needed bounce into the proceedings. Elsewhere, "South Side" leans into alt-pop charm, and "The Sky Is Broken" proves that spoken-word sensuality is harder to pull off than it sounds. Overplayed, overlicensed, and occasionally overlong, Play still captures a moment when electronic music briefly convinced everyone it had a soul.

This is a difficult one to access, the style is definitely not my thing, however I found myself enjoying a few of the tracks, maybe it was a subliminal recognition of the advert music? Some of the tracks were dreadful. I've explored Moby before and not been impressed.

It’s way too extensive for what it is, but gotta respect the man and his craft.

Appreciate it but not an album I listen to often or much at all.

Honey - 2/5 Find my baby - 2/5 Porcelain - 3/5 Why does my heart feel so bad - 4/5 Southside - 4/5 Rushing - 3/5 Bodyrock - 4/5 Natural blues - 4/5 Machete - 4/5 Run on - 2/5 If things were perfect - 3/5 Everloving - 4/5 Inside - 2/5 Guitar flute & string - 3/5 The sky is broken - 2/5 My weakness - 3/5

I genuinely have never listened to a single one of mobys songs so this is exciting. Hm it’s very repetitive to say the least. Very 90s I feel like even though I haven’t heard many of OH PORCELAIN IVE HEARD THIS NVM. My parents were big partiers in the 90s so this is one of the essential tracks they would play in the kitchen when I was younger. I think I’ve heard rushing too. Bodyrock is cool I like it. I also know Natural Blues. Overall it’s a VERY long album and it’s alright there are quite a few bangers but I don’t think it’s something I would listen to regularly.

I was surprised how many songs I recognised from this considering I’ve never gone out of my way to listen to Moby before. There’s some really good tracks on here but a good few that I wasn’t really that arsed about. Shave 15-20 minutes from it and I probably would’ve gone to 4 stars. Top Track - Bodyrock, brought back memories of playing FIFA 2001 and Gran Turismo

was excited about this one but it wasn't that cool, really

bit long-winded

The album that launched a thousand adverts. Some wonderful arrangements and creative sampling. However for the 3 or 4 great songs the rest is filler.

A classic

(4/7) some fun stuff and some strange stuff

Do I understand this is good, the vibes are good, and did I feel super cool driving around listening to it? All yes. Did I connect with any song emotionally at all? Not really (Tim Robinson voice)

I thought it was good, but realistically I'm not listening to it ever again.

An incredible album, but maaaan, this guy is so unlikeable!!!

Mid.

5 - some hits but other songs are shit listens

Fatboy slim for vegans?

Honey Bodyrock Natural Blues

Honey Find My Baby Natural Blues Machete My Weakness

Enjoyed it. Good background music, nothing extremely mind blowing but production quality was definitely there.

liked a lot on it, but still not mind blowing

Don't care about Moby the way I once did, but I remember this being a huge deal when it came out. Almost the entire first half of this hour-plus album is songs that were absolutely unavoidable for several years. Adventurous and creative and so evocative of a formative time in my life and of the period when electronica got more song-oriented. But also overlong and gets much less remarkable in its back half.

An album that defines the phrase "I swear I heard this one in an advert somewhere..." And honestly 25 years or so later, the singles have especially held up. Unfortunately, the deep cuts are not as strong.

es muy instrumental lo cual puede ser aburrido pero hay buenos temas

Nothing is bad but after a minutes each song drags on

I get it, but sounded like a lot of background music

Un álbum que me llamó la atención escuchar. Sonidos electrónicos, ambient y pop. Muchos samples. Porcelain es el tema más escuchado del álbum, lo conocía de escucharlo en la radio pero no sabia que era de Moby. Grata sorpresa. Otro tema conocido para mi es Natural Blues. Disfrute bastante de la escucha de estos dos temas. Es un álbum bastante ambient. Para ponerlo de fondo y no prestarle demasiada atención, cumple.

I remember Moby from random songs, so will be curious what an entire album sounds like. This is a vibe in a good way. Electronic dance pop music with soulful elements. Really interesting. Some of it has more of a positive sound and some of it is slower. Definitely like songs like Natural Blues. That’s really good. Some of it is also slower and ambient and doesn’t work as well for me. This is really interesting. A little long I’ll say it’s a 3. At times it feels transcendent and brilliant then it sometimes drags on and something comes on that doesn’t work as well. This deserves a spot on this list. Not sure it’s all for me, but some of it is really good and it’s certainly original.

Interesting

liked the vibe would dig similar albums

it's actually better than I thought it would be, but that's not saying much... It's passable background music, but doubtful I'll relisten. Nothing to really say, just not for me.

I'm usually not a big fan of this genre of music, but I actually found this one okay. There were a few that kind of just slipped to the back of my mind and I lost concentration, but I actually think that is a good thing with some music, it shows you can just sit with it and not have to pay attention to anything. Some of these would be really good background music to listen to. Saying this, I did actually have two or three tracks that I found really enjoyable. I love the versatility of the tracks, and the vocals used in some of the songs were perfect. It's just one of those genres I won't really catch myself wanting to listen to. I also have to admit, 'My Weakness' as the album closer is the perfect choice; it is beautifully written and works well to close everything off. It shows such a high contrast from the way the album begins. Favourites: Honey Natural Blues Find My Baby My Weakness

It's alright I guess

There's a good amount of variety in here. Ultimately I don't think any song is all that impressive but I would say I enjoyed more songs than I got bored by. I recognised some songs here and there but they must have been massively stripped back to the best bits or something when I heard them initially because they feel so unremarkable here. Low 3

I used to like it, but now it feels like an idea that’s dragged past its acceptance.

Een paar innovatieve stukjes, maar voor de rest gewoon 5 seconden die telkens op loop zitten. Vergeetachtig

A little long and repetitive, but good

The tracks are well composed but it’s hard not to cringe at another white dude making a fortune of unheralded Black musicians.

Me dio poco, no me disgustó. Buenos hits

This is about where I became aware of Moby. I had heard the name before but this was about when Moby broke in the US for those not plugged into new dance\EDM circles. Still a fun listen for the first half of the album. If Things Were Perfect set off my alarms, I had issues listening to it all the way through. Inside is overly repetitive and sleep inducing, which might be just what someone else is looking for.

it got me moving i can say that much. a mixture of electronica, dj and indie. not very thoughtful lyricism but it was well composed, didnt feel awkward at all. can round it to 3

Com a descrição do álbum fiquei muito interessada mas ouvindo me decepcionei um pouco, não é ruim mas tbm não é extraordinário.

some incredible highpoints and no real low points but outside of the standout tracks I wouldn't be coming back to it. Would give 3.5 if I could

I didn't know Moby was that much EDM. Good album.

I mean it’s good but I can’t do two and a half hours of this shit, this gets one to two songs on a playlist

Mobis

Eclectic and and easy listen, lots of good hooks

Just kinda alright I wanted to love this album but it kinda went in one ear and out the other Some cool songs though

Lidt udmattende at komme igennem de fleste af sangene, da det er meget gentagende. "Porcelain" - kæmpe bangerz! Det klæder albummet at få en faktisk vokal på (der ikke bare er den samme sætning/ord, der gentages). God energi på "Machete"! "Everloving" - nærmest serenadisk instrumental!

Very Mid

this is so okay. this is the most neutral music of all time

Some excellent tunes others average. Mixed

Overall enjoyable listen, super unique sonically, reminds me a lot of The Avalanches on some songs. Definitely want to revisit and dive deeper into this album.

Vet ikke helt, forventet kanskje litt mer. Ikke noe som skilte seg veldig ut. Porcelain er en fin låt da. Svak 3.

姫神を聞いてるみたいだった

Less good than I remembered it being. A few highlight tracks but probably not an all-timer for me at this point.

The only songs I’d want to listen to again were the songs I already knew.

Moby Dick isch scho en wegwiisende künstler. Einigi Lieder grandios, im durchschnitt aber denn doch einigi tracks woni nöd wird vermisse ih mim lebe

Scho es krasses album. Aber bin leider oft nöd in stimmig für das, darum nur 3 puntitos

3.0 - Ok

At its best, very moody and textured. At its worst, completely inoffensive. Blues-inspired electronica that refuses to be ambient, though wouldn't be out of place in the background. Of anywhere. Especially car ads.

Probably would've ate this stuff up closer to when it came out but feels a bit dated to me now

edm scares me but this was surprisingly pleasant

love Everloving!! interesting variety of songs

It's fine. Memory Gospel, a B-side, clears everything that did make it on the album by a country mile, except for maybe My Weakness.

muy buena electronica

Favourite Songs: South Side Bodyrock

Not every song was great but there’s nothing wrong with a little bald boy techno. There is something wrong with the only version available being the 2 hour version with b-sides. Streaming has really killed albums.

I wanted to slag this off but then I realised I might need to give the Pet Shop Boys a decent review at some point so I relented.

A lot of this was kinda boring, but moby is weird and I dig weird. Also, porcelain is a banger.

*68 Velproduceret og vellydende dog til tider repetitivt, kedeligt, Zzzzz og lidt for letfordøjeligt. Højdepunkter: Bodyrock, Machete.

My biggest criticism of this album is that the a lot of the tracks are extremely repetitive as he uses a lot of loops in his music. Some of them are better than others, but it gets boring and repetitive. I have always liked the track South Side, though, and it still holds up for me today.

A fun ride surfing the tidal energy's ebb and flow from track to track

Одно из мест силы ранних миллениалов. Убрать несколько основных хитов и получится действенное снотворное.

Так и вижу, как треки из этого альбома записывают на диск под названием «Relax mix” в тачку. Возможно, сформировали вкус целого поколения, так как появлялись не только и не столько в музыкальных чартах, а на условных Зайцев.нет как «музыка из рекламы такой-то». Ну и даже Шамиль Малкандуев не прошел мимо и спер музыкальную линию

Ok, not good or bad. Fast moving music

Interesting discovery. It works well as background music or for sampling in other songs. On its own, though, I find it lacks a certain “something” to make it truly memorable.

Está bueno? Sí. Fue hit e importante para la época? Sí. Es muy largo y al final te termina embolando? También. 6/10

Pas mal de beat répétitifs simplistes, j’me suis senti dans un club des années 90. Ça s’écoute quand même bien en faisant la route, ça amène un beau vibe. J’ai pas écouté toutes les chansons au complet par contre, je me suis tannée. Mes prefs: natural blues, my weakness, porcelain

Mostly inoffensive. South Side save from being a 2

A lot of it just kinda sounds like impressions or almost soundscapes. Obviously the 10s tracks do, but even the longer ones. I don't feel like they really take me anywhere or change at all the way a normal song would. Generally boring and dated, but I do see the influence of it, and I guess it isn't bad. Obviously South Side is a banger.

Trip-hop/electronica for people who don't really listen to it. I enjoyed a lot of the songs, particularly in thefirst half of the album, but as it drags on you start to notice a lack of complexity with a lot of the songs - Moby will find one interesting riff of sample and then just play it out for the rest of the song, resulting in the album losing a lot of its dynamicism that songs like Honey and Porcelain gave. I'll still listen, but probably to individual tracks rather than a full project.

Not bad, really brought me in at the end

It's not bad, but it's just soulless and bland

Very nostalgic, chock full of hits. An enjoyable listen.

Album Review 081 Play by Moby (1999) Rating 2.5/5 Coffee table music. It is formulaic but the formula does work in it’s own sterile way: take a sample of an old vocal to give the feeling that the track will have some soul, lay it over some ProTools loops and repeat - eighteen times! - then licence the lot for use in adverts. Everyone had a copy of play when it came out but it’s an album that feels so artificial and doesn’t have any warmth or give anything that I feel the need to re-listen to.

Electronica isn't really my thing, but this was better than some other electronica stuff I've listened to.

it was good, i don't have anything else to say

Really enjoyed this Bowie album I’ve never heard! Time is great… an overall excellent vibe.

Some true classics of house on this album, mixed in with some really boring songs. Bit of a rollercoaster but it was mostly enjoyable.

i think i listened to half and while it was enjoyable i think i got the gist. it was fun.

Not bad just not my thing.

The album has a couple of well known bangers, but all in all it felt a bit subdued? Monotonous maybe. It didn’t live up to its reputation

Could have been a four but the first half was cool then it kind of went on for too long. 6/10

Really repetitive and kinda forgettable. Has a few good songs tho.

One of the better electronic/dance albums I've heard as of late but on the whole, still just a three for me.

kind of a classic for the era. Not my favorite but it's definitely something I don't mind having on in the background.

groovy

It was good. Not my taste but I did enjoy listening to it.

Very well produced but just not my jam

Blues meets electronic

I enjoyed it and know it is one of the best-selling electronic albums.

Loved this album before listening to it because of the hits. Went in with a mentality of 4/5 but felt the last half of the album really slowed down a bit. High 3!

This was better than I thought it would be. Perhaps just more tolerable? So while I still agree with Eminem, I see the draw of this album if you like the genre.

I guess ok. Some good ones then it somehow turned to one song. Like a DJ set. 3.3

Positives: What a unique album this was! Play contains an ambitious variety of real/electronic instruments that help to keep the genre-spanning list of songs interesting, despite the length of the album. There are a lot of enjoyable moments throughout, and overall this record was an impressive listening experience, with songs ranging from ambient electronic to dance to hip-hop beats. The percussion tracks are mixed very nicely, and lend themselves to nodding/dancing along. When listening with good headphones to appreciate the top-notch production quality and layered intricacies, it becomes clear that Moby wanted the audience to FEEL this album as more of an auditory experience, instead of simply being played through a cheap speaker. Negatives: I did feel that some samples were occasionally overused to the point of becoming either stale or annoying, and some tracks such as "The Sky is Broken" and "Whispering Wind" were cringeworthy for me to listen to. There were also a fair share of songs that were simply "mid" to me. Weird fact: This guy is clearly a talented musical mind, but apparently he also lied about dating Natalie Portman, even though there was a big age gap between them? He also lied about her age when they were supposedly dating. They had only ever hung out platonically, and she was 18, not 20 like he claimed, so that's weird. Overall: I definitely appreciate what this album had to offer, and it's inclusion in this list is certainly justified. However, I don't see myself ever listening to it again. 3.5/5

Definitely has some classics on here, but not an album I would revisit again in its entirety. Solid background music for sure. No disrespect. 3.5/5

I never really got in to Moby. I was more a Chemical Brothers / Leftfield fan, and while it's true they were all contemporaries of each other, Moby just didn't register on my radar at the time. So this album was something new for me. If I'm being entirely honest, it's not catching me all that much. It's very listenable, but more something I'd have on in the background while doing other stuff than something I'd stop and listen to. If you're out clubbing then it's definitely got the right feel for the late 90's club scene, but for me it's not all that special. Three and half stars is the best I can scrape up for this one.

Wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Pretty good, fairly listenable all the way through, just not my cup of tea tbh.

Reminds me of TV when my kids were babies. I am not crazy about it but if someone in the 23rd century wants to feel what it was like right before we started down the Trumphole after 9/11, this is a good place. The end of the 90's. Now I'm sad. And old.

There are tracks that aren’t super repetitive, and those are pretty good. The album itself is nicely varied, but a lot of it fades into the background.

I didn’t need this album in my life and I sure as hell didn’t need more than two hours of it

This was pleasant to listen to as I worked.

good, the original electro swing

Pretty groovy. Maybe a bit too much

3.5

I enjoyed it.

it’s okay

The Apple Music link took me to a version that was over two hours long (!) but I was relieved to see that it included B-sides. I'll decide when the album is over if I need to listen to those. I am very casually familiar with Moby and his music and it was never something I felt the need to investigate further. The late '90s/early 2000s were a time I felt pretty disconnected from popular music, and the ubiquitous electronic/DJ stuff was a big reason why. I have since come to appreciate some of it but it's still not something I would say I like. I was surprised it took five songs in before I recognized anything ("South Side.") I see on Wikipedia that Moby thanked Lomax and the other archivists in the liner notes, but hearing all these field recordings sampled makes me wonder if any compensation was paid to the families of the actual musicians. Holy shit, "My Weakness" was in one of my favorite episodes/scenes from The X-Files! I love that song! Bumped up one star because of that. The rest of this didn't do much for me. (I did not listen to the B-sides.)

Ah here's a CD I used to have blasting in my car for years after release. I haven't listened to it in awhile, and some of it still holds up, but not all. Good record overall with some bangers, but it kind of peters out towards the end. Apple Music only has the "complete recordings", but I stopped at the end of the original release since that's what I was bopping to in 1999.

Some cool ambiance music intertwined with songs with lyrics. Liked the vibes. Saved a few to listen in my liked song rotation

No. 355/1001 Honey 3/5 Find My Baby 3/5 Porcelain 4/5 Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? 4/5 South Side 3/5 Rushing 3/5 Bodyrock 3/5 Natural Blues 3/5 Machete 2/5 7 NR Run On 3/5 Down Slow 3/5 If Things Were Perfect 3/5 Everloving 3/5 Inside 3/5 Guitar Flute & String 3/5 The Sky Is Broken 3/5 My Weakness 3/5 Average: 3,06 Some really influential tracks. Overall for me a bit too long.

I like it but I listened to the originals and liked that better