First things first: DO NOT expect the type of sampled electronica you've heard on Moby's more recent albums. This is pure, raw techno, baby. I knew of this album when it was pretty much new. My sister had it years ago and would listen to Help Me To Believe on full blast for an hour at a time. Upon hearing the rest of the album, I grew to love Moby and the whole techno thing.

Unlike most other techno albums these days, including Moby's newer work, which are mostly mixing and remixing of samples into completely new songs, this entire album (aside from a few vocal samples) is done on synthesizers. Repetivive? Kinda. Different? Definately. Bad? Depends on what you're looking for, but this album is definately an excellent history lesson in what techno started as.

Particular favorites on this album are Drop A Beat, Yeah, and Stream. The latter being very relaxing with its jungle beat and slow tempo. For anyone looking for a fresh Moby experience, this album may disappoint, but for pure techno connoisseurs, it's a nostalgic trip to the days when techno was for dance and synthesizers were the hottest thing. A very good album indeed.

Although he had been putting stuff out since 1989, this album can really be considered his first album. Unlike Play and even I Like to Score and Everything Is Wrong, this album is 100% pure techno. So, don't be expecting another Play with this one; however, this is IMHO, classic techno. It has great slammin' tracks like Drop a Beat, Electricity, Next Is the E, Have You Seen my Baby, Ah Ah, and of course, Go, which is easily Moby's most famous early song. The rest of tracks are good as well as Moby does a great job in making this album flow from one track to the next. If you love techno and/or Moby, then this album is a mandatory selection for your collection.

I couldn't care less about the majority of techno I hear in clubs, on the radio, wherever... It all sounds fairly much the same, and originality is generally not associated with it. With Moby, however, there is a drive to be different, to put in more effort, and the result is worth it.

My Moby-listening began with the CD "Animal Rights", which is metal-influenced, but when I found out he did primarily dance music, I didn't mind. Now I want it all! Note: the versions of "Go" and "Ah-Ah" differ between this CD and those on "I Like to Score", so if you're heading backwards, like me, you won't be paying for the exact same tunes.

Before I start, you need to be better familiar with Moby's rather complex discography. From 1989 thru 1992, he did lots of experimental work under lots of different names, but they were all small experimental albums and singles released in small numbers. In 1992, his 'then' record label started a series of compilations using the best songs songs from his early work, the 1st of those compilations being this album. The other 2 were 'Early Underground' and 'Ambient'. Although technically compilations, these albums are usually considered his first 3 official albums, because they were rereleased in wide release, unlike his earlier records, and they were more organized and all released under the name 'Moby'. As for this record, it's amaizing, it's wonderful, it's explosive, it's powerful, it's fun, it's rave! Buy it.

Interesting how Moby's two finest albums are his first (this one) and his last ("Play"). Seems like he got started off on the right foot and then he lost his way for a while...

Anyway, this is a great collection of early techno. It's very lush and energetic, and this really helps a lot. In fact, a lot of these tracks don't sound very dated at all. "Go" is the big highlight here, probably Moby's finest hour, but there's plenty of other good stuff here too, such as "Ah Ah", "Drop A Beat", "Next Is The E", and "Help Me To Believe".

Be warend, though: this is techno in a much purer sense than "Play" was. It's not nearly as organic, so this may not be your thing if you're skeptical of techno. But if you like it, this is an excellent disc of early techno from an artist who's great at his best.