V2

In the liner notes for this Christmas-ready career-retrospective disc, Moby writes he's baffled he's had a career at all, claiming he's "just a weird bald guy who makes music in his bedroom." While that's true, he's also the one who helped propel electronica from club-only marginalization into a viable art form. Say what you will about his ubiquitous 1999 blockbuster "Play," but therein lie rock-solid melodies beyond those being sampled. If he'll never repeat "Play"'s success, it's because he's not interested in remaking it, and the 16-song "Go" demonstrates his ever-maturing range.
 
The title track and a live "Feeling So Real" showcase his early, loop-reliant years, while "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" remains a moving, majestic soundscape. The true new track here' "New York, New York," featuring Debbie Harry' isn't one of Moby's brightest moments, but as "Go" shows, he's not lacking in that department.
 
- Rod Lott