Moby: I Like To Score

Just as electronica hype was at its peak early this year, Moby—who has long been one of the genre's most talented, versatile and recognizable practitioners—went and released Animal Rights, a self-indulgent, overblown scrapheap in which Moby inexplicably decided to ape Trent Reznor. That album possessed a tiny handful of excellent tracks, but they weren't enough, and his star has faded considerably since the album's release. In an apparent attempt to mend Moby's reputation a bit, here's I Like To Score, a collection of the New Yorker's film-score work. Entries are all over the map: There's Cool World's dancy "Ah-Ah," which you've probably heard before, as well as languid material like the Enya-esque "Novio," and "Go," an early Moby hit which extensively samples some of Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks score. "New Dawn Fades" is a Joy Division cover, while "James Bond Theme" turns the venerable, unmistakable song into an energized, rave-'til-dawn dance number. Disappointingly, though, I Like To Score is padded to album length with material already owned by any Moby fan who'd shell out the money to buy a compilation like this: "God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters" and "First Cool Hive" may be from Heat and Scream, respectively, but they can also be heard on his 1995 classic Everything Is Wrong. If you don't already have that album, buy it. In the meantime, you can probably pass on this.