With '18' Moby has taken a two-fold approach: a good half of the album picks up where 'Play' and its B-Sides left and the other half brings a handful of new elements. Lots of gospel vocals and spiritual lyrics can be found in songs such as "In This World," "In My Heart" and "One Of These Mornings," all of which could easily have been produced back in 1999. "Another Woman," though not as gospel in tone, does have that R&B flavor to it, and "I'm Not Worried At All" reminds a lot of "Natural Blues" both due to the lead vocals and to the overall spirit of the song and the lyrics. The New Wave-y opening track, "We Are All Made of Stars" and "Extreme Ways" both have that super-hit flavor for '18' that "Porcelain" and "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" brought to 'Play' but it mixes some elements which are somewhat alien to Moby's music (except for the "element" of eclecticism). On the other hand, "Great Escape," "Sunday (The Day Before My Birthday)" (consider his b-day is 9/11) and "Harbour" all have one thing in common: beautiful female vocals (surprise tip: "Harbour" has Sinead O'Connor on vocals).

Finally, tracks such as "Signs of Love," "Fireworks," "18," "Sleep Alone" and "Look Back" bring into the mix that exquisite ambient sound that tunes such as "Down Slow," "Everloving" and "The Sky Is Broken" were so special for. The tracks I could easily live without: "Jam For The Ladies," "At Least We Tried," "The Rafters," so, as far as I'm concerned, the album could be called '15.' Overall, obviously the album doesn't break much new ground, as 'Play' did, but it stands out as a very good work by NY's finest DJ.

29 of 34 found the following review helpful:


Worth the 18 dollars  May 30, 2002 By Distant Voyageur "Nicholas Computer"
After the dynamite Play, Moby continues the sound of Play in some areas except that this follow-up is a bit lighter and has more Gospel samples giving the album somewhat a bit of a 60s or 70s feel to it. Play was great, 18 is just as great.

1)We're All Made Of Stars_Excellent lead off single. Very similar to South Side. Excellent nighttime travel music.
2) In This World- This song is a mix of jazz/pop with ol school hip hop beats and a Gospel vocal in the background. Kind of a bit 60s sounding.
3)In My Heart- Anyone remember Rushing off Play? This song has a similar piano crescendo loop only this song is not quite as eerie and more upbeat.
4)Great Escape- A very simple song with a cello and a female vocal. Not too bad but not that memorable
5)Signs Of Love- A very beautiful song. Reminiscent of Porcelain.
6)One OF These Mornings- This song also uses a Gospel sample voice. A very nice song.
7)Another Woman- One of my favorites. AW has a kind of an early 90s old school R&B sound and a strange organ playing. Sort of like linking the sounds on 1990 and 2002 together.
8)Fireworks- Music with atmosphere. This song is captivatingly beautiful. Makes me think of standing out on a field on a cloudy afternoon.
9)Extreme Ways-An upbeat R&Bish song with a weird orchestra sound in the background. Kind of 70s sounding.
10)Jam For The Ladies-Moby dives into the old school hip-hop realm. This song is absolutely great. Satisfies my desire for hip-hop is fun.
11)Sunday- Another atmospheric track with a wierd vocal sample.
12)18- An ambient slow track with echoing pianos. This song can be kind of depressing sometimes.
13)Sleep Alone- One of the highlight songs on 18. It starts off as a mellow jazzy song and then builds up into an ambient almost New Agey song.
14)At Least We Tried- A dreamy track that samples a drum loop from Marvin Gayes 1982 hit Sexual Healing. While nowhere near as great this song is kind of like a slowed down version but much simpler.

15)Harbour-WOW! Most of the other songs are enjoyable but Harbour beats the rest of 18 and is one of the best songs I,ve ever heard from Moby. It's a mellow, dreamy song with a guest vocal appearance from Sinead O'Connor.
16)Look Back In-This song has a weird echoing beat to it. While this song isn't bad it doesnt strike achord with me.
17)Rafters- Well I'll be damned. I kind of feel like being taken back to the 70s. The vocals alone give this song a 70s feel. Definately one of the oddest tracks on this CD.
18)I,m Not Worried At All-A nice closer to this CD. This song has a darker more atmospheric sound like the sun setting for the day.

On an overall scale I would say 18 is an excellent CD for the music lover. While not as groundbreaking as Play 18 is a worthy album of checking out.

Definately one of the best CDs of 2002!

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:


Sad but Beautiful  Mar 05, 2006 By Jim Reed "Jim Reed"
With the exception of the uplifting 9/11 inspired opening We Are All Made of Stars and the bouncy Jam for the Ladies tossed into the middle this has to be one of the saddest albums ever made.From Track 2 In this World(Lordy don't you leave me all by myself)to One of These Mornings(One of these mornings won't be very long I'll be gone)to At Least We Tried this cd is filled with anguish and loneliness.Having said that nobody handles melancholy material better than Moby.Using different vocalists from Jennifer Price to Sinead O'Connor and beautiful atmospheric music to back the songs 18 has plenty of variety and breaks your heart more than once along the way.Moby took a big chance and probably lost some fans he gained with the more upbeat Play.Fortunately though his gamble pays off with some of the bleakest but most gorgously haunting music you'll ever hear.

12 of 13 found the following review helpful:


GRADE:B+  Jun 17, 2002 By J. Johnson "capricornrising1"
I was a convert of Moby's music after the ubiquitous "Play".
A stunner whose purity and true emotion complexities touched me so that buying "Play"'s followup,"18",wasn't even a question for me.

Fortunately,"18"-while not as stunning as "Play"-is a very impressive album.Like "Play","18" is very emotional and pure sounding.Like "Play",it also features emotive vocals-from Angie Stone to Sylvia Robinson to Sinead O'Connor-over contemporary
beats.Yet it works.

Among the standouts is the first single "We Are All Made of Stars",a smart New Wave-influenced track which is greatly arrangened,"In This World" which features a hauntingly beautiful
vocal from Jennifer Page,"One Of These Mornings",which like "World" features a hauntingly beautiful soulful Gospel-esque vocal(this time courtsey of Dianne McCaulley) over a convincing beat equipped with a moving sythnizied string setting.

"Sunday(A Day Before My Birthday)"-a symbolic nod to September
11th(Moby's birthday is September 11th)-and "At Least We Tried"
(featuring a beautiful vocal from Freedom Bremner) will get the tear ducts open."Harbour" featuring Sinead O'Connor is yet another moving passage.

But I can't speak of standouts without mentioning "Jam For The Ladies".A superb cut featuring the smooth,silky vocals of
Angie Stone and a infectious rap from the now legendary MC Lyte
(I haven't heard from her in so long,it's geat to hear from her!) with a old-school hip hop beat and funky slap beat.
This is easily the most likeable track on "18".This has a slightly similiar vibe to Moby's hit "Bodyrock".I predict that this'll be a big hit for Moby if released as a single.

"18" does have a couple setbacks though(just a couple).
It's kind of redundant after a while and instrumental tracks
like "Fireworks" and the title track don't work as well.Also,"18" is very melancholy and it might drop your mood a bit.But the pensive vibe makes the music even more beautiful and moving.

Moby does it again.Another top-knotch release.Even though it doesn't surpass "Play" this is a very above-average album.
Some may not understand it but nevertheless,"18" proves that Moby makes emotive music with purpose.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:


Moby Does It Again  Jul 02, 2004 By Aguagon "aguagon"
The follow-up CD to the 1999 smash-hit Play well lived up to its expectations. While not quite as good as its predecessor, I don't think anybody will be disappointed.

Moby continues to re-define techo in this new album, reminding us all of how far he's come since his raw, electronic beat days. Like Play before it, 18 is full of spiritual, emotional songs--although often he uses this emotional power to create somewhat depressing (but still very beautiful) music, as can be seen is such tracks as "Sleep Alone", "18" and "At Least We Tried".

In contrast to Play, there are more slow and melodic songs and less hip-hip and R&B songs. Strangely, although I ordinarily don't care for hip-hop or R&B, I was sad to see both go.

Overall, though, this album is a must-buy, and I stand fully behind my 5-star rating. As with Play, all of the songs are unique and special on their own, but come together to create a spiritual journey into a wide spectrum of emotions when the album is played in its entirety.

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