1001 Albums Summary

A solid 80s rock album. The songs flow really well and for its fairly short runtime it has a lot of variety to it. Van Halen brothers at their absolute best, and David Lee Roth is a powerhouse on vocals.

Impressive production for what is essentially a live album. Not really my cup of tea - it's dragging on for a bit too long, and probably is a better thing to witness live than to listen back to. Some good moments though, like "You Don't Love Me" that made this album worth checking.

Absolute perfection of an album - not a single skippable track with pristine production.

Listening to this album I was surprised to find out how many songs I have heard already, and after reading the story behind "Play" it all makes sense - all these tracks have been licensed for films, TV shows and commercials for quite some time before the album was released. I really liked the way Moby combines downtempo and electronica with gospel, folk and blues vocal samples on some tracks - it feels like Moby aimed for something more nuanced and emotive, with minimalist approach to instrumentation letting the vocals carry the tracks. There is no shortage of more big beat stuff though, like "Bodyrock" tapping into the Fatboy Slim/Chemical Brothers style, or "Machete" which wouldn't feel out of place in a setlist of tracks by Crystal Method or Fluke. Overall, a pretty enjoyable album, with quite a few tracks to include in my daily rotation.

I like the vibe of this album, lots of callbacks to the 1950s and 1960s with the bombastic production chock-full of string arrangements and reverb. All in all a pleasant listen, did not feel like skipping anything.

Soul powerhouse, what else can I say? Aretha Franklin's voice paired with a selection of great soul cuts, from an equally great lineup of writers.