18 Songs To Study By

Personally, I've been looking forward to this release ever since I bought Play. I was so intrigued by Moby's music, that I became an instant fan. I went to see him at the Area 1 tour, where he totally blew me away. So, I couldn't wait to buy this album. I popped the CD into my car stereo and drove home. Well, lucky for me I didn't cause any accidents along the way, because I felt myself drifting off into a deep sleep.

That is definetely lesson number one with Moby's new relase 18: DON'T LISTEN AND DRIVE. It could be as deadly as alcohol! This release never really caught my attention from the start of the album. I really like "We Are All Made of Stars", but it still does not provide the punch that "Bodyrock" did when Play was released. The next two songs are classic Moby, providing us with a simple line repeated throughout the song being integrated with a backround beat. I really enjoy these types of songs. I love how Moby takes the piano and strings and blends them so well with the beats in the backround.

The second lesson: Unless you want to be knocked unconscious, AVOID listening to Great Escape. This two minute "ballad" sent me into oblivion. Again, Play had one of these songs as well and personally, I hate them.

From here on out, the songs really had a common theme. Many of them provided the listener with a beat reliant heavily on the ride cymbal and bass drum, which I liked. Also, I heard a lot of string and piano used on this album. It may seem at times that all of his songs sound the same, but since I enjoy them, I don't really care. He throws in a few "techno-esque" beats to keep us interested as well.

Final lesson: Moby is for studying, not for getting pumped up before a big sporting event. The listener should definetely note this before buying it, or they will be disappointed. Overall, I enjoyed and will always yearn for his future releases.