Natural Blues - sounds like a good name for a crayon
Written: Jun 14 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Remixes by Paul Oakenfold and Peace Division, 2 splendid b-sides
Cons: Mike D remix, some mixes only available on imports
The Bottom Line: Moby shows he still knows what's up by pulling in remixes by Paul Oakenfold, Peace Division, and Olmec Heads. The Mike D. remix is a refreshing change, but lacks something.
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| sadida's Full Review: Natural Blues [Maxi Single] by Moby |
Moby, most likely you've heard of him by now, even if you don't listen to music. You'll here his music in movies, tv commercials, even on Muzak in the elevator. Natural Blues is Moby's 5th single off of the essential release, "Play".
I describe Natural Blues as gospel over a catchy drum loop and an aching synth. I really don't know how you make a synth sound so sad, but Moby sure can make it cry. Now, if you are buying the singles to here more stuff like Natural Blues, whoops, sorry. The remix treatment goes on thick with these tracks and I likkkkkkkkkke it! Only problem is, you need to buy a handful of CDs to get all of the mixes of this track. I'll be reviewing what is on my trio of Natural Blues singles:
Natural Blues - 6 track single - V2 records [63881-27639-2]
Natural Blues - 3 track single - Mute records [CDMUTE251]
Natural Blues Remix - 3 track single - Mute records [LCDMUTE251]
If you only want to get 1 single, here's the breakdown.
V2 release will give you the greatest variety of remixes.
The Mute release will give you two yummy b-sides. One really slow track that is nice to listen to during thunderstorms, and a quicker paced track named "Sick in the System which reminds me of some of Moby's early 90's stuff.
Perfecto Remix - A surprisingly banging mix from Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne. I hated this mix when I first heard it. I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. Over time it's really grown on me though. It's steady intro/outro beats make it good for mixing. It's breakdowns and element variety make it good for just plain listening. Add those up and you have a good track.
Mike D. Remix - Yup, the Mike D. from Beastie Boys. He and Moby traded remixes. Moby remixed a Beastie Boys track (you can find it on the recently release Beastie Boys DVD), and Mike D returned the favor on Natural Blues. I wish I could say I love this track, but I can't. I don't hate it like many hardcore Moby fans (you should have seen the fallout on the Mobility mailing list), I just find it average. It's actually quite different from the original. At times it drags a bit.
Now, this is the real kicker. The best remixes are really hard to find. Some are only available on import vinyl. Why V2 didn't ditch the radio edit for one of the following, I'll never know.
Peace Division Edit - Curses! Why do the only include the edit on the import single? Darn time limit restrictions. Get it groovin with this prog gem. You might also notice this appearing on recent DJ compilations. I think that's fantastic actually. Moby took a lot of heat when he drifted away from the hard dance music of his early days. Nice to here his music, even if it is in remix form, back out on the floor.
Katcha Remix - An ok trance number that, along with the Olmec Heads remix, can only be found on L12Mute251, a hard to find Mute 12". You may have some luck finding these tracks in .mp3 form, but if you do happen to see this record in the bins, pick it up. If anything, you can sell it to some crazy Moby collector (ahem) on eBay.
Olmec Heads Remix - A dark, floating, trance track. Very good stuff. It manages to use the original vocal, though in a heavily filtered state, and even keeps some of the tone of the original song. This is a very danceable track.
If you liked these tracks, you might also like:
Peace Division - "Junkyard Funk"
Moby - "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad"
Moby - "Play B-sides"
Now, if you made it this far down, you might actually care to read another review of mine. It's a guide to Moby's music based off of the album "Play". I put it together for all of those folks who have recently discovered Moby. Check it out at
http://sadida.epinions.com/musc-review-48E1-31E9B107-3A58F0C7-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.78
Finally, if you haven't already, check out the fantastic Moby Discography at moby.org.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Reading or Studying
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Epinions.com ID:
sadida
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Member: Ryan
Location: USA
Reviews written: 41
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
Simplicity is complexity well explained
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