Play is a 1999 techno music album by the musician Moby. While some of Moby's earlier work (notably the album Everything is Wrong from 1995) garnered some critical success, Play was Moby's first true critical and commercial success. It was also the first album to ever have all of its tracks licensed for use in movies, television shows, or commercials. One of the more notable commercials featured golfer Tiger Woods playing a round of golf around New York City to the tune of Moby's "Find My Baby".

Unique style

One of the more unique aspects of this album is the ways in which it combines old folk music rhythms with modern techno sensibilities. For the album, Moby sampled heavily from the collected works of Alan Lomax in songs such as "Honey", "Find My Baby", "Run On", and "Natural Blues". This created a sound that was very unique among the music that was being released at the time. While the album also has some more standard electronic tracks and ambient pieces, it is this fusion of gospel and techno that this album is usually most remembered for.

Inside the booklet included with the album, there are five short essays written by Moby, on topics such as veganism, fundamentalism, and humanitarianism. After the essays is a disclaimer written by Moby: "These essays are not really related to the music, so if you hate the essays you might still like the music, and if you like the essays you might hate the music. Who knows, maybe by some bizarre twist of fate you'll like them both."

Critical and commercial success

As stated above, all of Play's 18 tracks were licensed for use in films, television shows, or commercials. In many ways, this album helped to establish Moby as a mainstream musician. The album has sold over 2 million copies since it was released in 1999. The album was also lauded by many critics as one of 1999's best albums. It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.

In 2000, Play was re-released as a special edition album with several B-side tracks. One of these tracks was a remix of the song "South Side", which featured a duet with No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani. Thanks to a creative video and heavy airplay, the song helped to push the success of the album even further. The remix album was later released separately in 2004.

Track listing

1. Honey (3:28)
2. Find My Baby (3:59)
3. Porcelain (4:01)
4. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? (4:24)
5. South Side (3:49)
6. Rushing (3:00)
7. Bodyrock (3:36)
8. Natural Blues (4:13)
9. Machete (3:37)
10. 7 (1:02)
11. Run On (3:45)
12. Down Slow (1:34)
13. If Things Were Perfect (4:18)
14. Everloving (3:25)
15. Inside (4:48)
16. Guitar Flute & String (2:09)
17. The Sky Is Broken (4:18)
18. My Weakness (3:37)

Singles

Over five singles were released from Play. Here are the UK releases...

Honey

• Released: August 3rd, 1998 (US)
  • August 31st, 1998 (UK)
• Highest UK Chart Position: 33

Run On

• Released: March 29th, 1999 (US)
  • April 26th, 1999 (UK)
• Highest UK Chart Position: 33

Bodyrock

• Released: July 12th, 1999 (US)
  • July 26th, 1999 (UK)
• Highest UK Chart Position: 38

Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?

• Released: October 11th, 1999 (Both UK and US)
• Highest UK Chart Position: 16

Natural Blues

• Released: March 6th, 2000 (Both UK and US)
• Highest UK Chart Position: 11

Porcelain

• Released: June 12th, 2000 (Both UK and US)
• Highest UK Chart Position: 5