Moby

My recent interest in Moby was rekindled after watching the unmissable The Bourne Ultimatum where the familiar strings of Extreme Ways poignantly herald the end of the movie. Extreme Ways is taken from the 2002 (is it really 5 years ago?) album 18, which the more I listen to, the more I realise how critics of the time misjudged it, only ever comparing it to forerunner Play, while refusing to accept it as a piece of work in its own right:

• You finish listening to 18 feeling as if you've heard a decaffeinated version of Play. (Modjo)

• The follow-up to Play is, essentially, 'Re-Play', a cynical rehash of the melancholic-yet-strangely-uplifting schtick which sold ten million albums and sound tracked every single advert of the last three years. (Dot Music)

• Moby is no auteur, a fact made painfully clear by his terrible new album, 18, which revisits the already derivative territory of Play. (New York Magazine)

• The lead single, the excellent Bowie-ish wibbler We Are All Made Of Stars is a total red herring. The other 67 minutes and 17 tracks are Play Redux; familiar-sounding "oh-lord-my-dog's-just-died" samples over shopworn pianos and strings, straining to be epic but lacking the crucial element of surprise that made Play sound so innovative. (NME)
  

• Most of 18 is pleasant but unchallenging and unremarkable. (Pop Matters)

If you do own 18, now the baggage of being a 'follow up album' has been cast aside, do yourself a favour and give it a listen; similar in style to it predecessor, yes - but honestly, so much more besides.

MP3: Moby - In My Heart DOWNLOAD/Zshare
MP3: Moby - We Are All Made Of Stars DOWNLOAD/Zshare
MP3: Moby - Extreme Ways DOWNLOAD/Zshare
BONUS: MP3: DJ Isaac - Nobody Listen To Techno DOWNLOAD/Zshare