Moby "Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt" (2018)

Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt
release date: Mar. 2, 2018
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: Moby
label: Little Idiot - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Mere Anarchy" - 3. "Like a Motherless Child" - 4. "The Last of Goodbyes" - 5. "The Ceremony of Innocence" - 7. "Welcome to Hard Times" - 9. "Falling Rain and Light"

15th studio album by Moby [aka Richard Melville Hall] released on his own label and via Mute Records following the second release credited Moby & The Void Pacific Choir, More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse from 2017.
Stylistically, this is a return to his 'electronic' releases - as contrary to the 'dance punk' and 'synth punk' of releases with The Void Pacific Choir - and Moby has been around the 'electronic' scene for more than three decades exploring and incorporating genres and styles to satisfy himself more than his fans. That's always a good staring point, but as with someone like Neil Young it takes the artist off on many excursions - sometimes losing, sometimes gaining popularity, but I really like the attitude. With Moby I have felt a certain disappointment at times but this is no such instance. He reworks some familiar bits but mainly maintains a distinct sound, and it's really a nice journey. I like his touch on 'trip hop' combined with what sounds almost 'industrial' with an underlying bittersweet tone like one will find on his masterpiece Play from 1999, although, there's no real revisit to that, as it's more like a big combo of his many influences.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, The Daily Telegraph 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Moby "Innocents" (2013)

Innocents
release date: Oct. 1, 2013
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,24]
producer: Moby, Mark 'Spike' Stent
label: Mute Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Everything That Rises" - 2. "A Case for Shame (feat. Cold Specks)" - 3. "Almost Home (feat. Damien Jurado)" - 6. "The Last Day (feat. Skylar Grey)" - 9. "Saints" - 10. "Tell Me (feat. Cold Specks)" (Live session) - 12. "The Dogs"

11th studio album release by electronic artist Moby.
It's not really Play standard nor one of his big misses.
Already (as of Dec. 2013), I find this one of his better releases. Moby has made a few truly great albums, a few downright boring ones, and then some mediocre albums, but he has always investigated new material and occasionally he comes out with a very good album, and I think, without being great this is one of his more successful albums.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Mojo, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Moby "18" (2002)

18
release date: May 13, 2002
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Moby
label: Mute Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "We Are All Made of Stars" - 2. "In This World" - 11. "Sunday (The Day Before My Birthday)" - 15. "Harbour" (feat. Sinéad O'Connor) - 17. "The Rafters"

6th studio album by Moby follows closely in the footsteps of his international break-through album Play from 1999 incorporating many samples. It contains 18 tracks and has a total running time above 71 mins. and it turns out a bit more experimental compared to his great '99 album, as it isn't composed in the same danceable house-style but reflects a bolder ambient and downtempo electronic release.
Possibly, aided by the success of the predecessor, 18 became an immediate world-wide top-selling album reaching number #4 on the Billboard 200 in the US - topping the Dance / Electronic list there, and also topping albums chart lists in several countries including Australia, France, Germany and the UK making it his so far best-selling album.
For a long time, I found it a bit of a disappointing and mediocre affair, possibly handing it 2,5 / 5, but over the years I have come to regard it as much better than that. It doesn't contain strong singles like "Porcelain" from the '99 album, but it's nicely held together and has an underlying melancholic tone, which makes it quite gripping once you get to the core of the album. In fact, it's a much more coherent collection of songs than the big mish-mash of styles and almost two-sided affair from start to finish that you find on the acclaimed Play.
A grower of an album, mind you.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Moby "Play" (1999)

Play
release date: May 17, 1999
format: cd (CDStumm172)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Moby
label: Mute Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Honey" - 2. "Find My Baby" - 3. "Porcelain" - 5. "South Side" - 6. "Rushing" - 7. "Bodyrock" - 8. "Natural Blues" - 9. "Machete" - 11. "Run On" - 15. "Inside"

5th studio album by Moby [aka Richard Melville Hall] sees him return to the electronic genre after his 'detour' into hardcore punk rock on the album Animal Rights (1996), which almost had him stop making music. With Play he investigates the genre of downtempo house with a combo of progressive ambient and a strong use of sampling.
The album is regarded as a corner-stone of modern electronica and it's his perhaps most lauded album, although, it didn't sell all too well - at first. Its prominent status has been achieved over a span of several years. Stylistically, it's an electronic dance pop and electronic house album where Moby blends all sorts of styles and cleverly makes use of sampling to produce one of the most positive feel-good dance pop albums of the decade. The album also feature several guest artists, including Bessie Jones (track #1) and Gwen Stefani (track #5).
To me, Moby is America's answer to Fatboy Slim. Sometimes his music is exactly like that of Slim's, sometimes it's more like The Chemical Brothers, at other times it's more like The Orb, and then at other times it's just so unique.
The first three tracks are simply stunningly great, and despite some minor fillers among the total of 18 tracks, the album is deservedly enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Overall I would have rated it higher if the second half was half as good as the first half.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Moby "Animal Rights" (1996)

Animal Rights
release date: Sep. 23, 1996
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,98]
producer: Moby, Alan Moulder
label: Mute Records - nationality: USA

4th studio album by Moby following a year and a half after Everything Is Wrong.
Stylistically, this is something completely different, to say it mildly. On this, Moby has turned away from the electronic genre that he has released music in up until now. Apparently, he was unsatisfied with the reception his music was given and returned to play the hardcore punk rock and alt. rock that he listened to as a teenager.
Animal Rights was generally met by negative reviews and didn't attract record buyers making it an even bolder failure than his previous attempts.
Yes, it's guitar-based, aggressive hardcore punk and as far away from what he previously had been (as well as later on would become) associated with as he possibly could, but musically it isn't all bad. It's well-composed and loyal to the genre and showcases some originality. I just don't find it all that enjoyable.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian 2 / 5, Rolling Stone, Mojo 3 / 5, NME 4 / 5 stars ]

Moby "Everything Is Wrong" (1995)

Everything Is Wrong
release date: Mar. 13, 1995
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Moby
label: Elektra / Mute - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Hymn" - 2. "Feeling So Real" - 3. "All That I Need Is to Be Loved" - 5. "Everytime You Touch Me" - 6. "Bring Back My Happiness" - 13. "When It's Cold I'd Like to Die"

3rd studio album release by Moby - or actually, it's only his second intended album release, as his former label Instinct Records in the aftermath of his successful debut album decided to release the album Ambient in August '93 when Moby was in the process of signing a record deal with British independent label, Mute Records - an album of quite different material, as indicated by the title and completely without Moby's knowledge.
Everything Is Wrong is both the natural follow-up to his poignant debut but also something quite different. The album starts off with his techno, downtempo trademark, but with the two tracks "All That I Need Is to Be Loved" and "What Love?" he introduces a fascination for punk rock mixed with a hardcore rave and alt. metal electronic style, which takes the album in a completely different direction; however, other tracks are almost exact opposites with ambient bits and as natural contrasts but also merry soul and funk-styled compositions (e.g. the M People-like "Everytime You Touch Me") scattered across the album serve as counterparts to the fierce angry punk rock attitude.
Overall one could imagine the whole album as way too complex with tracks pointing in all sorts of directions, but with Moby you already here understand that "Everything isn't just wrong" - quite contrary in fact it's here a proven mission accomplished.
Frankly, I missed out this at the time of the release, and today I find it difficult to choose between his first two albums as they both seem essential.
I like it, it's gooood.
[ allmusic.com, Spin 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Moby "Moby" (1992)

Moby [debut]
release date: Jul. 1992
format: cd (1993)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: Moby
label: Rough Trade - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Everything" - 3. "Electricity" - 6. "Go" - 7. "Help Me to Believe" - 8. "Have You Seen My Baby?" - 9. "Ah Ah" - 10. "Slight Return"

Studio album debut by Moby [birth name Richard Melville Hall] aka Barracuda, aka Brainstorm, aka The Brotherhood, Lopez, Voodoo Child [etc.] originally released on Instinct Records and released by Rough Trade in Europe in 1993 with a slightly alternate tracklisting where the first track "Drop a Beat" had been exchanged for "Thousand" (track #12, not on the original '92 release) meaning that the original second track "Everything" was put as first track followed by the remainders, so that the European version also consisted of twelve tracks.
Stylistically, this was referred to as rave-techno - today it would probably be seen as a combo of more traditional American techno with inspiration from EBM [Electronic Body Music] and newer European hardcore with elements of downtempo and breakbeat making it a bit of a melting pot of electronic styles.
I didn't know of the album or the genres involved at the time of its release. In fact, I didn't listen to Moby until after his great Play (1999) album and after having discovered the British artists of the electronic scene. To my knowledge, it was British artists like Underworld, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim who were the most poignant electronic acts of the early-mid 1990s electronic scene; however, in retrospect I have come to understand the development of the scene as a result of artists on both sides of the Atlantic, and Moby as the perhaps most important American source.
Moby is a difficult listen, as you have to digest it in retrospect - putting aside your conceptions of styles and genres around as you try to absorb it as a fresh 'new'. Initially, I found it tedious and a bit boring, but it has grown on me over time, and I understand its significance, although, it still sounds dated. Fact is, there's not a huge stylistic difference from this and the (better) debut album by The Prodigy, Experience, released another two months later that year.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Q 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]