V2. / Bmg
2002
18
About This Album
In one of the two essays in the liner notes for 18, Moby alludes to his past as a "rigid" idealist about life and music, expressing that he's tried to open himself and hoping that he's succeeded. In a way, he already succeeded with his previous album, Play, a remarkable record that cannily used field recordings and blues as the basis for an expert set of modern electronica -- through repeated exposure (every song was licensed for a commercial or a movie) and sheer hard work, it became a massive hit, unlike most albums in its genre, establishing Moby as one of the few electronica superstars. It also gave him the freedom to make a record as meditative and assured as 18, a quietly seductive set that capitalizes on his status as a star in the sense that he takes complete freedom to make music that isn't necessarily hip. Essentially, this is a lateral move away from Play, abandoning its attention-grabbing musical thesis of turning the past into the present -- there are still hints of roots music, yet they're usually telegraphed through soulful vocals that have always been a staple of house and dance music -- and returning to his bedrock of dance and electronic music, yet presented with the skill he illustrated on Play, a new open-heartedness and, yes, a maturity previously unheard in his music.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,11,12,13 and 15)

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18.