Emily: Starting out, I was impressed by this album. Moby
has a reputation for making ambient electronic music that would probably be
played on an elevator, so I had fairly low expectations. The first few songs
blew those expectations away. He made his signature sound cool and interesting
by incorporating folk and soul samples with electronic production, modernizing
the samples and giving roots to a newer sound. However, this unique blend only
lasted through the first half of Play. At an hour runtime, I guess Moby just
got bored with sampling and went back to his old, ambient ways. The second half
of the album was essentially just dull background music, and I lost all of the
excitement I had about the beginning tracks. Play would be great if Moby simply
chopped off the second half; instead, it ambles into disappointment.
Favorite Tracks: South
Side; Honey; Natural Blues
Zack: It was the best of times. It was the worst of
times. I start this way because this is a tale of two albums. The first half
was exciting. Cool. Enjoyable even. And then we got to the second half, where
things went downhill quickly. Basically, after Natural Blues, Play turned into
exactly what I expected from a Moby album. Now I’m not sure if that is because
the shtick just wore thin, but I don’t think so. To make sure my ears were not
deceiving me, I went back and re-listened to that first half. It was still
good. There’s just something about that second half that had my finger hovering
by the stop button. So my advice for any would-be listeners out there, treat
Play less like an hour long LP and more like a really long (30 minute) EP.
It’ll save 30 minutes of your life.
Favorite Tracks: Natural Blues; Porcelain; South Side
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