After the continent-straddling colossus that was "Play" it's no surprise that the Chinese whispers prefacing the release of "18" were so widespread - and often wide of the mark in suggesting that MOBY had done another stylistic volte-face.
If that had been the case, then we shouldn't have been so shocked anyway. After all, MOBY opened his account with the hi-energy dance cred of "Everything Is Wrong" and then (almost arbitrarily) took great glee in trashing his reputation with 1996's bizarre, metal-influenced and gruelling "Animal Rights", though it's hard not to love him for covering MISSION OF BURMA'S "That's When I Reach For My Revolver."
"18," though, performs no such U-turns or traffic violations. Indeed, it purely consolidates on "Play"s advances and - in many ways - operates pretty much as a sister album, especially as it features a quota of sample-led blues/ gospel dance crossovers, luscious orchestral works and a couple of MOBY'S always striking instrumentals. It's also similar in that MOBY himself played all the instruments himself, albeit with a goodly supply of guest vocalists on hand.
Your reviewer must relate that though he enjoyed "Play" on its' release, he's since become pretty sick of it due to the advertising campaigns that have swallowed up a number of its' key tracks. "18" doesn't entirely restore the balance, but it does feature a brace of worthy tunes.
The recent, stomptastic single "We Are All Made Of Stars" is a decent enough opener, culling a surprisingly reasonable vocal from MOBY himself, while several of the tracks that push through in its' slipstream are notable, not least the mournful cello and vocal performance from ORENDA FINK and MARIA TAYLOR on "Great Escape" and the two sample-heavy opuses "In This World" and the stealthy skank of "Another World", which samples BARBARA LYNN'S classic "I'm A Good Woman", fact fans.
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Nonetheless, "18"s very best tracks are surely the slow caress of "Harbour" - featuring one of SINEAD O'CONNOR'S best vocal performances for some time - and the almost impossibly poignant "Sunday, The Day Before My Birthday," which samples Sugarhill Records founder SYLVIA ROBINSON'S "Sunday." The Sunday in question, incidentally, refers to the weekend prior to the Twin Towers tragedy and when you hear ROBINSON'S vocal pick out the lines: "Sunday was a bright day yesterday…dark cloud has come into your way," it's difficult not to turn your face away.
However, like "Play", "18" has a tendency to outstay its' welcome and the judicious pruning of certainly half a dozen tracks would have been welcome here, not least the stripping away of stodgy, tepid funkers such as "Extreme Way" or "Jam For The Ladies" (this album's "Bodyrock"?) or the irritating cod wisdom of "Sleep Alone". Also, by the time you get to "18"s closing tracks, "The Rafters" and "I'm Not Worried At All" you tend to feel he's treading murky water indeed with the reliance on soul/ house pumped up by the blues 'n' gospel sampling. Frankly, at this stage you just wish he'd stop it.
To offer MOBY a little mercy, it's unfair to expect him to veer away at ridiculous sonic tangents purely to prove a point after the "Play" overkill, and - in the cold light of day - "18" is by no means disastrous. However, in terms of familiarity and generosity of length, MOBY is sailing dangerously close to both self-parody and a tendency to shoot himself in the foot.
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