Made of Stars

I never know what to expect from Moby anymore.

The first album I got from him was Animal Rights, which was half beautiful piano and half loud, screaming rock. It’s one of my favorite albums, but I quickly learned that it was not traditional Moby. I soon found out that he usually did dance and techno type music. Once his last album Play got big, especially from Southside, I figured Moby would continue leaning toward more radio hit formats for his next album.

Wrong again. His latest release, 18, is once again all over the place. There’s dance, rap, and even some gospel, as we’ve heard from him before. Moby steered clear of too much poppiness and instead kept on doing his thing. That’s not to say his radio hits are bad – the popular stuff he’s done has been really good. However, too much might not have worked, and his integrity might have dropped a bit.

The album opens with the first single, We Are All Made of Stars. Since there doesn’t seem to be too many tracks on 18 that could be big hits, I’m glad there’s at least one. I really enjoy this song. It starts off with a catchy beat and some low vocals from Moby himself. Then the sound picks up and the addictive chorus kicks in: “People they come together/ People they fall apart/ No one can stop us now/ Cuz we are all made of stars.” Watch for this one to start picking up momentum soon.

Then Jennifer Price lends her powerful voice to In This World, an almost gospelish song very similar to Troubles With God (I think that’s the title). More gospel follows along with some slow but very good music. The sound of most of the songs is very ambient, and the various vocal contributions are beautiful. Some of the background music reminds me of the instrumentals from Animal Rights, but most of it is new. A lot of the album blends together after a while, but maybe that's the effect Moby was going for. It works pretty well anyway.

MC Lyte changes things up quite a bit by rapping on Jam For the Ladies while Angie Stone provides some very nice vocals on the chorus. Most of the rapping involves saying the same line repeatedly, but the bass is good and the tempo is upbeat, so clever lyrics are not a top priority in this destined-for-clubs song. It’s not a great track, but it provides a nice break from the slow pace of most of the album.

At Least We Tried is one of my favorites on the album, but I’m almost ashamed to admit it. I’ll put it this way: it would have been a huge hit had Lionel Richie put it out in the 㣴s. Instead, it’s 2002, and Moby is doing the music while Freedom Bremner sings. It’s slow and sad, and has that old synthesizer sound to it. But I love it. I can’t get the chorus out of my head: “Oh my baby, don’t cry/ Oh my babe, just say goodbye/ Oh my baby, don’t cry/ Oh my babe, at least we tried.” Yeah, I know. It’s sappy. But I don’t care – I’m a sap.

The vocal contributions are wonderful. They come from ten different artists including the Shining Light Gospel Choir (In My Heart and I’m Not Worried At All) and Sinead O’Connor (Harbour). However, I would have liked to have heard a little more of Moby’s voice because I think it is a very cool, laid back one. The four songs he sings on are great, especially Extreme Ways, but I wanted more. Oh well, I guess I wouldn’t want to sacrifice the other talented vocalists and the beautiful instrumentals, such as the title track.

Also, don’t forget to read Moby’s essay inside the liner notes – it’s about the making of this album and tolerance for others’ ideas and beliefs.

Overall, 18 is a very good album. I don’t imagine it turning out to be as huge a hit as Play was, but the people that do pick this one up will be satisfied. Most of the songs are mellow, and this album makes great background music for a low-key occasion. So sit back, relax, and enjoy 18’s 18.


More on Moby:
Animal Rights
That’s When I Reach For My Revolver (single)