Although many Moby fans have mixed feelings about his album 'Animal Rights', in my opinion it is his best work. Although he diverged from his common theme of techno/dance music to produce this more alternative/rock album, the final product is brilliant. Rather than mixing other pieces of music, Moby focuses more on his other talents, actually playing instruments and singing. The album contains both heavy and slow songs. Moby releases his rage with songs like, 'Say It's All Mine', and 'That's When I Reach For My Revolver', both very powerful songs featuring roaring guitars and Moby's screaming voice above all. On the other hand, the album features some very relaxing instrumental mixes. Half of the album is consumed with beautiful instrumental mixes incuding, 'Now I Let It Go' featuring a violin and piano duet, also 'Anima' and 'Living' which are both songs that take over all of your emotions. This album causes the listener to go through a mix of emotions which is why I think it is so unique. I love this album, it is much better than most of Moby's recent songs which have somehow found themselves on top 40 radio play. 'Animal Rights' deserves the rights to be known as Moby's greatest work.

beck displays a wide range of talent, putting out albums of straight country/folk, funk, hip-hop, and he's considered a genius (and rightly so). david bowie has long been known as the "musical chameleon" because of his work in psychedelia, ambient, philly funk, and new wave dance pop. why should it be any different with moby? why do people constantly slam him for putting out an album of straight up guitar rock? if anything he should be praised all the more for not allowing himself to be tied down by the limits of the genre he is lumped into. even if i hated this album, i would still give him credit for trying something new, and doing it well.

I love that moby does different things and realizes that music is not set in boundaries. This album will surprise anyone who has the misconception that moby is just a techno or rave artist. The music on this album is strong, loud, angry, and then you hear "Living" and you relax. This album is emotional just like any of mobys albums. To realize why moby is amazing listen to this album and just feel it.

This review was actually 3 and a half stars. This was the album that followed Everything Is Wrong and preceded his movie album, I Like To Score. Those people who know Moby know this album as an infamous album. This was the album in which Moby shocked everyone including a lot of his fans by doing an album that was predominantly punk rock. Now, Moby is a great musician and I liked some of his other hard rock tracks like New Dawn Fades from I Like To Score and What Love from Everything Is Wrong, and there are definitely some highlights like Come On Baby, Soft, and That's When I Reach For My Revolver plus there are some ambient tracks like the first track and the last one. However, my big problem with this album is 2 things:

1) There are too many tracks that go on and on whether they be ambient or hard rock--examples of this include Say It's All Mine and Alone, both are over 10 minutes long. I know God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters was long but these 2 tracks are no GMOTFOTW.

2) I really like Moby when he does techno/dance/trance. Everything Is Wrong, I Like To Score, and of course, Play are great examples where he performs some classic tracks in this genre (Feeling So Real, Everytime You Touch Me, James Bond Theme, Oil 1, Honey, Southside, Run On, and Porcelain just to name a few).

I think Moby did this album to prove to his critics that he was more than some DJ that can mix songs, that he was actually a musician, and a talented one at that. However, he did not play to his strengths on this album. I would recommend this album to die-hard fans of his like me or those who like punk/hard rock. Don't be expecting Play or you will be severely disappointed.

OK, even though the other reviews (so far) praise this album, I'm sure you know someone who hates it. I have to admit, when I first bought it, I thought "ACK! What's this crap?!" BUT! Most detractors reactions will be skewed, as mine was, because we were all expecting something COMPLETELY different. Moby has said he wants us to judge this album on it's own merits, not in comparason to his previous releases. Well, on it's own, it is a good album, I guess, for the type of music it is. The problem is this... say you are a huge "Jaws" fan. Now, you hear that "Jaws 5" is coming out. But, when you see it, the movie is not about a giant killer shark, but about a nomadic desert tribe. Now, it may be a really great nomadic tribe movie, but you wanted a shark, you expected a shark, you love the shark, and the movie was called "Jaws". Get the picture?