Customer Reviews

Last Night

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It's easy to forget that before Moby's multi-million-shifting 1999 album "Play", he was a fading rave artist.Putting his patented electro-blues on hold, he now re-embraces clubbier material, glitter-spraying it with lush synthesized strings and sweeping melodies.
The bald vegan god-botherer Moby has fallen back in love with dance music and with this album he shows how his disco faith remains fervent from the big rave anthem of "Everyday It's Like 1989" to the quizzical slow groove of "Ooh Yeah".
"Last Night", stuffed as it is with old-skool house and hedonistic club bangers, has more than a certain whiff of nostalgia about it.
The track "Alice", a low-end rumble of electronica and hip hop, is the killer track, but the rest of the album covers quite a different spectrum of sound. At least half of it is day-glo rave in nature, from opener, "Ooh yeah", to "I'm In Love" and "I Love To Move In Here"..
The album , while tinted with hip-hop, primarily celebrates the nebulous utopianism of acid-house nightlife, explicitly so on "Everyday It's 1989".
Pumping beats and sensual grooves abound, including several knowing throwbacks to Italian rolling pianos and belting diva vocals of late 1980s house music, which ring out on a paean to good times gone. But there are also pulsing electronic torch songs, lustrous instrumentals and woozy ballads.
Big on melodies and upbeat moods, "Last Night" is Moby's most non-rock, disco-friendly, purely pleasurable album since "Play".
Collaborators include Grandmaster Caz, the man who provided most of the rhymes for the first hip-hop hot Rappers' Delight, but, though this is supposed to be Moby, erm, letting his hair down, there is an air of detachment about this concept album which fosters, rather than dispels the idea of Moby as some intellectual knob-twiddler.
"Last Night" is, loosely, a concept album that seeks to conjure up a night of multiple clubbing and walking home woozily through Manhattan at dawn - and, by that measure, it's a triumph. It charts an evening out, spanning hands-in-the-air rave to elegantly trashed comedown
It has its great moments, and they're usually when he reveals his sense of fun.
Fortunately on the CD there's enough Mobyesque quirk to save it from banality.

Moby is probably electronic music scenes' most famous vegetarian and he has put out album after album over the years. He is up to his typical tricks again with this release. He has a way with beats and is known for being extremely outspoken (he's had verbal fights with the rapper Eminem on television more than once).

With this album nothing has changed. He has a way of putting down excellent electronic beats with smooth pop vocals into each song. This album has a body moving vibe in a more traditional structure without being "mainstream". His songs make you want to bump and grind but not in the rap/dance sense. "Ooh Yeah" which features a rather sexy female voice has a delicate flow to it that you can't help but love and dance to because it has a rather nice delicate flow to it. Last Night is the perfect ambient mood CD to put on when your tryin' to get someone in "the mood".

Few Dance artists can compare to Moby in popularity and mainstream success, Moby is equally famous for the versatility in his music that uses elements from Rave, Techno, Rock, Pop and Lounge and for his lifestyle which includes strong religious believes and animal activism. Although his early beginnings with eponymous debut album Moby and Everything Is Wrong sound nothing like his worldwide breakthrough albums Play and 18 you can say that Moby is the most recognizable dance artist in the world cause he was able to blend so many diffrent styles into his album "Play" that even people that normally don't like dance music got their eyes on him and his music, Moby also manufacted his music well with good music videos and borrowing a handful of songs to tv commercials. Kind of like non-rap fans enjoying Kanye West cause his lyrics differ from the average rapper and he's able to sell himself better then anyone else. However, As important as "Play" was for dance music it was giant steps away from the more traditional Rave/Techno that Moby made in the early 90's with songs like "Go", "Drop A Beat", "Everytime You Touch Me" and "Feeling So Real". And for old time fans it was even harder to accept the more exprimental rock oriented flop album Hotel that simply became the last straw. But 3 years later Moby realized that singing ain't his thing and fans rather prefer him doing dance music then rock. "Last Night" goes way back in time and celebrates New Yorks openminded night life and it also pay tribute to a lenghty career full of rich influences, but it's the first studio album since his 1995 album "Everything Is Wrong" that is more dedicated to uptempo electronica/Techno and it couldn't be more suitable at this point of his career.

While a big number of songs here are dance oriented uptempos there's also plenty of songs that don't fit into that pattern that are taken from diffrent parts of Moby's career. First song "Oh Yeah" is a quite typical Moby song with a repetitibe voice saying oh yeah some sexy female backround voice and both guitar riffs and electro keyboard beats. A good start, I expect to hear this one in a commercial soon. One of the highlights is the secons song "I Love To Move In Here" with some sensual female vocals and a rap verse from Grandmaster Caz in a laidback midtempo sound. "257.Zero" is retro dance with a female voice briefly mentioning those number. It works incredibly smooth. "Everyday It's 1989" sound a little like "In This World" from "18" with distorted female vocals but soundwise it reminds me more of early 90's Moby with fast techno beats. It's works fine even if it's on fammilair territory. "Live for Tomorrow" is simular but more melancholy and is yet another good number. On the single "Alice" Moby sings a little and got this rapper with him aswell. it's much harder then most of the ofter things here and sounds like electro meets metal rap or something. Not my cup of tea. "Hyenas" is a guitar driven slow tempo with a lush female vocalist in almost lounge sound. "I'm In Love" is simular in slow sound featuring a female vocalist.

A strong uptempo in "Disco Lies" with a female vocalist singing it once more but this time she sings plenty. This one was a single. "The Stars" got trademark Moby sound with chants, techno beats and distorted female vocals but halfway it becomes darker with almost hardcore beats to shortly go back to how it started again. Very nice. "Degenerates" is instrumenal lounge and sound a little like film music. The same with "Sweet Apocalypse" which is more electro sounding and "Mothers Of The Night" a mesmerizing slow tempo that sound like Air at their best. The closer "Last Night" is the slowest cut here, with it's lush and elegant sound it couldn't be a better thing to play in the wee small hours at some after party.

Overall, No album has been able to sum up Moby 17 year old career any better then this one, it demontrates Moby's versatility in sound, richness in production and many influences among the years. Almost every song here is memorable enough to be good, wether it's back to back Disco or lush lounge music. But what strikes me most is that it's way more more entertaining then anything he did in a long time. It sounds like he's taking his experience and just offering the best of himself and his diffrent musical eras without exprimenting too much. This is the real Moby. And it offers something for anyone. It could hardly get better based on the few expectations that I had.

Last Night is Moby's first album released by Mute US. When I was hearing reports that this was supposed to be more of a "dance album" compared to his more recent albums, I was excited to hear this. Unfortunately, after hearing Last Night, I was rather disappointed. While it's not a bad album, it definitely wasn't what I thought it was going to be.

In the liner notes, Moby included an essay explaining what his intent with the album was; he said he wanted to make an album that sounded like a night out in New York. While I understand that this is the sound that Moby was trying to achieve, it ultimately didn't work for me.

On Last Night, it sounds like Moby is trying to re-tread the sounds of several eras in his back catalog. "Ooh Yeah" sounds like Moby is trying to return to the sound from his Instinct Records days. I could also hear that some songs sounded like they could have fit onto albums in Moby's back catalog: Everything is Wrong ("I Love to Move in Here," "Everyday It's 1989," and "The Stars"), Play ("Alice"), and 18 ("Live for Today"). The song "Degenerates" sounded like it could have appeared on one of the ambient CDs that was released as part of limited edition versions of some of Moby's albums. Ultimately, it didn't feel as if Moby really brought anything new musically to this album.

The last four tracks on the CD are all downtempo, which seems to go against the idea of Last Night being a "dance album." Also, it really makes it much harder to listen to the end of the album, especially with the last song on the disc ("Last Night") running for almost ten minutes. "Sweet Apocalypse" and "Mothers of the Night" sound like they really should have been relegated as B-sides. If they had been, it really would have helped to improve the flow of the overall album.

Again, while Last Night isn't a bad album, it really wasn't what I was expecting. I will probably only pull this album out to listen to it if I need some background music, because it's just not the type of album I can really listen to unless it's in the background.

alright, i picked this up impulsively, which i almost never do because it sucks when you get a cd and like only few or none of the songs. but the cover got me. liked it. and i liked "play." i liked it a lot. i tried to get into "18" but couldn't--even after several sincere listenings... i'll give it a few more listens before i make my final judgement... anyway, "last night" is good. (i've gone ahead and tossed the receipt)! i've listened to "last night" thoroughly now, again and again, and my final judgement is: it's good! it's fun! it's intelligent! bear with me on that last part, because like a lot of electronically-driven music, it can be monotonous. but don't focus on that single layer of sound. these tracks have many layers. these tracks are multi-colored. THIS MUSIC IS THE PRODUCT OF VERY THOUGHTFUL COMPOSITION. that's right! COMPOSITION! good cd. go ahead and spring the 15 or 20 bucks and buy it. put it in your cart. go ahead!

This Moby cd is the most amazing yet! You can really feel the music the way Moby wants it to be felt. There are very few words, but the words and phrases used are just right for each song. Moby features a couple different artists for this, with fantastic voices. I absolutely love it and play it every chance I get!

Moby is probably electronic music scenes' most famous vegetarian and he has put out album after album over the years. He is up to his typical tricks again with this release. He has a way with beats and is known for being extremely outspoken (he's had verbal fights with the rapper Eminem on television more than once).

With this album nothing has changed. He has a way of putting down excellent electronic beats with smooth pop vocals into each song. This album has a body moving vibe in a more traditional structure without being "mainstream". His songs make you want to bump and grind but not in the rap/dance sense. "Ooh Yeah" which features a rather sexy female voice has a delicate flow to it that you can't help but love and dance to because it has a rather nice delicate flow to it. Last Night is the perfect ambient mood CD to put on when your tryin' to get someone in "the mood".

First, you should know I was blown away by "Play," the first Moby CD I purchased that really hooked me on him as an artist. But subsequent albums left me curious but mostly cold--I enjoyed some of the cuts, but nothing grabbed me like "Play." The good news: This new CD, "Last Night," does engage me and transport me--the sign of a great album in my opinion. It's not perfect, which I thought "Play" was, but there is some terrific stuff here, and I've listened to the CD in its entirety many times since I bought it--and it continues on my iTunes playlist as well--with many of the songs rated 5 stars for heavy rotation.

OK, OK -- I have bought pretty much every Moby album in the past 10 years with mixed listening satisfaction which results in now having become used to NOT being disappointed when he releases something that doesn't resonate with me. But on this recording he has returned to some seriously listenable and danceable electronic music. On songs like "Everyday its 1989" and "Alice" and "Disco Lies" Moby's bringing back some of the coolest voices and sounds off of his top-selling 1999 release "Play". If you like the sounds of very well-crafted house sounds and some great ambient music to chill with -- this CD will grow on you with each time you put it on rotation on your player. << GO >>

Whenever most audiophiles refer to Moby's crowning career achievement, most will mention his 1999 breakout album, Play. The creativity and originality of Play was a shining moment in the electronica genre, but unfortunately, Moby's creative light has fizzled in his latest offering, Last Night.

With his last album (Hotel) being less than stellar, Moby fans were forced to wait three years to see if he could musically reconcile with his loyal following. However, much to the chagrin of this reviewer, Last Night was a deplorable effort from an artist who was once electronica royalty. When a musician feels inclined to explicitly describe the concept of an album instead of letting the music speak for itself, something is amiss. In the album's liner notes, Moby states, "It's me trying to take 25 years of going out in NYC and condensing it into a 65-minute record. It's also trying to condense an eight-hour night into just over an hour of music." Although many of Moby's listeners haven't experienced a true "clubber's night" out in New York City during it's heyday, Last Night takes you on a flashback through the DJ's hazed eyes.

This album showcases Moby's keen production prowess, though at most times it seems to be brutally uninspired. A "clubber's night" parallels the plot structure followed in a screenplay or a novel. As the exposition of the album unfolds, Moby paints a musical picture of the anticipated good night out in "Ooh Yeah." Starting with a chilled out track to signal the quiet before the storm is an accurate depiction of the beginning of a stereotypical clubgoer's night out. Nevertheless, if Last Night is a purported concept album of a condensed "eight-hour night," Moby must not have had a very thrilling 25 years out in the NYC scene.

Intermittently, there are flashes of classic Moby energy. Grandmaster Caz, responsible for co-writing one of rap's all-time anthems, Rapper's Delight, was recruited to deliver a few bars over a Latin vibe during "I Love to Move In Here," where he repeats that "old school's takin' you back." This is another instance where Moby feels inclined to unambiguously tell the listeners the direction which the album is headed, certainly not a positive quality in writing or music. During the rising action of Last Night, "Alice" is a rare flash of brilliance on an otherwise lackluster album. Grabbing a strong energy from 419 Squad's hip hop vocal delivery, the album catches a bit of groove until the pills kick in during the next track. "Hyenas" is sexy, dreamy track which creates an ecstasy-fueled alternate state of consciousness with French vocals.

As the album reaches the climax of it's "roll," Moby pumps out some tracks which are obvious nods to 90's rave culture. "I'm in Love" sounds as if it was pulled off of a Paul Oakenfold album. Ironically, both artists have strayed to a more apathetic mode of production as they have gotten older. "Disco Lies" comes off as a flamboyantly gay club anthem... Not that there's anything wrong with that. With the falling action taking place during "Degenerates," Last Night has a very abrupt change in pace. If by this time, the album hasn't degenerated enough to lull you to sleep, this song will do the trick.

During the album's denouement, Moby kicks into serious late night NYC chillout afterparty mode as the pills start to wear off and the night's energy comes to an end. It seems unusual that Moby dedicates such a large portion of the album to the final moments of the night, as nearly a quarter of the album slips into a musical coma. Closing out the album with the title track, the diva swoons, "If this be my last night on Earth, let me remember this for all that it's worth." If this is Moby's last album on Earth, hopefully he will not be remembered by it's disheartening worth, for Last Night is truly forgettable.