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Track Listings
| 1. Hotel Intro |
| 2. Raining Again |
| 3. Beautiful |
| 4. Lift Me Up |
| 5. Where You End |
| 6. Temptation |
| 7. Spiders |
| 8. Dream About Me |
| 9. Very |
| 10. I Like It |
| 11. Love Should |
| 12. Slipping Away |
| 13. Forever |
| 14. Homeward Angel |
| 15. 35 Minutes (Hidden Track) |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Once a roving maverick who skipped from euphoric rave to speed-metal to ambient soundscaping as if just to prove he could, recent years have seen Richard Melville Hall relax into a comfortable – and yes, lucrative – niche. On the surface, Hotel follows a similarly laid-back trajectory to his last two albums, Play and 18: a collection of melancholic torch-songs indebted to electro-pop, gospel, and David Bowie's "Heroes", it's typified by the rousing, keyboard-drenched likes of "Beautiful" and the twinkling, optimistic "Spiders". But that's not to say Moby is stagnating, exactly: for one, he's bravely jettisoned the vocal samples that powered the likes of "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?", relying instead on his own understated, faintly awestruck vocals – and, indeed, those of guest vocalist Laura Brown, whose sparse, synth-and-drum-machine cover of New Order's "Temptation" is a low-key highlight. But there's also a return to his raving roots on the pulsing, diva-led "Very", and a touch of politics on "Lift Me Up" – a song that hides its contempt for the Bush Administration amid a dark carnival of sweeping strings and disco-noir rhythms. --Louis Pattison
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you're expecting something like Play, or even 18, you'll be surprised -- and maybe disappointed -- at this. Here, I think, Moby has decided that his albums should have more of his own Voice. The trouble is, he doesn't have much of a voice -- something that he has recognised in the past and we have been treated to some of the most powerful and beautiful voices in the session-singing world, stirred in with Moby's originality and production genius. Here, in Hotel, is Moby's voice combined with one female singer, whose voice has been chosen presumably because it is as gentle as his (though much more versatile). I started off not liking Hotel, then liked it more, and now have gone full circle -- deciding ultimately that it's a bit easy-listeningish and ... well, I hate to say it, being a great Moby fan, but boring. It's OK: it's smooth, and far more 'even' than his other albums, which would move from genre to genre far more waywardly (sometimes unsuccessfully). It's just that it doesn't make the heart thump like the best of his work on previous albums ... and I now realise that what made most of those brilliant tracks work so brilliantly was the extraordinary power of the voices Moby employed and the way that he used them. Hotel is worth buying to see the way that Moby is going -- it's quite pleasant and inoffensive. But don't expect anything as good as 'Play'.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
So, 3 years after the multiplatinum 18 which was sort of a sequel to Play he's returning with something new and fresh and quite different than the 2 previous american blues/gospel/spiritual/soul sample dominated albums. This time there are no "Why does my heart feel so bad" or "Honey" or "In this world". It has a more european, synthy and atmospheric sound. It could be a mid 90's trip hop Bristol album. He shares the vocals with Laura Dawn who has a very warm and soft and heartbreaking voice. Her singing in very electronic and ambient-ish version of New Order's Temptation makes you imagine beautiful landascapes and imageries. This album is quite different than what he did with the last couple ones and it needs it's time to grow but if you give it a chance it proves itself to be maybe his finest work to date. Don't expect the Lift Me Up (first) single of the album to be representative of style and sound. Though it has it's "stadium" moments. Expect Spiders to be a huge live fav and hit if released as a single.
Very is a mixture of disco and rave sound. It could be from "Everything is Wrong" album if done today. "Raining again" is a drum/piano/guitar led stomper in "We are all made of Stars" and "Extreme Ways" tradition.Beautiful, the next single, is meant to be a radio hit."Where you End" is very electronic and dreamy and could be a Depeche Mode song. "Dream about Me" is electronic and cinematic too with exquisite vocals. Very sentimental and melancholic. I am telling you again. If you spend a few listens to it you will discover that probably it is his best work to date. Highly recomended.
Very is a mixture of disco and rave sound. It could be from "Everything is Wrong" album if done today. "Raining again" is a drum/piano/guitar led stomper in "We are all made of Stars" and "Extreme Ways" tradition.Beautiful, the next single, is meant to be a radio hit."Where you End" is very electronic and dreamy and could be a Depeche Mode song. "Dream about Me" is electronic and cinematic too with exquisite vocals. Very sentimental and melancholic. I am telling you again. If you spend a few listens to it you will discover that probably it is his best work to date. Highly recomended.
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Most people got to know Moby's music after he released the Play album, which spawned several singles while every track was used for adverts on tv. Thankfully, having gotten the difficult follow-up album out of the way (18, which probably could have been titled Play Vol.2) Moby has released a real classic with Hotel. Ditching the samples and instead opting to sing himself with a guitar-based, 80's synth-rock kind of sound, what we have here is an organic collection of great tunes. Some fans may miss the Play/18 kind of sound, but I much prefer this new approach. it just feels more natural and honest. After a few plays, I don't think there is a bum note or song on this. It's pretty much a perfect Moby album. And if you opt for the limited edtion, you get a second album of wonderful ambient soundscapes that is so good it could have been a genuine seperate release.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
wouldn't recommend it
Critical reviews of albums are rarely representative of the actual quality of an album so I had high expectations of Hotel even after reading mixed reviews of it. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rockstafarian
Moby Hotel on vinyl
I love Hotel and have listened to the CD very many times. When I noticed that it was available on vinyl I just had to have it! Read more
Published on 27 July 2009 by Peter Ward
easy listening
i like this cd. i bought it specifically for a couple of tracks, but i was surprised how much i like all of the tracks, a mixture of easy listening and mysterious music that... Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2008 by Sara Moss
a little too "safe" for die-hard Moby fans
For lovers of older Moby, those album obviously comes as a shock - the songs don't have quite the same Moby feel to them. Nevertheless, I absolutely love this album. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2008 by Kirstie
Brilliant. Almost as good as Play
OK, I didn't like "18! at all. Compared to the changing moods of Play I found it rather depressing and monotonous. Therefore, I went in to Hotel with some trepidation. Read more
Published on 12 May 2008 by A. Dunn
He just doesn't stop does he?
For some Moby is a dirty word. Up there with Dido in the bland stakes - though you'd have to be a goth with ears of cloth to think that. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2007 by Mr. M. A. Reed
More of the same please Moby
This is what Moby should be doing more of!!! Some great songs, with Moby taking a stand forward and singing most of the songs by himself, and not the usual 2 or 3 he has done in... Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2006 by Mr. Clark Gillies
Brilliant
Like most people Moby first came to my attention when he brought out Play, since then I have been a fan of his and this double disc album is fantastic. The first disc is great... Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2006 by Mr. H. E. B. Leighton
A DIFFERENT SIDE OF MOBY
I GIVE "HOTEL" 3.5 STARS...THIS IS A WAY MORE AMBIENT/DOWNTEMPO PRODUCTION THEN HIS PRIOR RELEASES... Read more
Published on 29 May 2006 by marriediimuzik
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
it's not that bad, but it's not good either.
It seems that moby has been found out. I always had a suspicion the guy was too right on and had made a living out of... Read more
It seems that moby has been found out. I always had a suspicion the guy was too right on and had made a living out of... Read more
Published on 13 May 2006 by Mr. C. J. Crockford
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