Reprise is the 19th studio album by American musician Moby, released on May 28, 2021, by Deutsche Grammophon. It features orchestral and acoustic arrangements of songs from his career, performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra, a string quartet, along with multiple guest artists.[11]
| Reprise | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 28, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Studio | Moby's home studio in Los Feliz, Los Angeles East-West Studios, Los Angeles Budapest, Hungary | |||
| Length | 70:32 | |||
| Label | Deutsche Grammophon | |||
| Producer | Moby | |||
| Moby chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.7/10[1] |
| Metacritic | 76/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Independent |  [4] |
| Irish Examiner | [5] |
| laut.de | [6] |
| Musikexpress | [7] |
| musicOMH | [8] |
| NME | [9] |
| Uncut | 7/10[10] |
Background
editThe album originates to when Moby attended a Bryan Ferry concert in Los Angeles, where a booker for the Los Angeles Philharmonic offered him the chance of performing live with the orchestra. This led to Moby's first ever concert with an orchestra, which took place in October 2018 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with conductor Gustavo Dudamel and Mayor Eric Garcetti on piano.[11][12] A representative from Deutsche Grammophon approached Moby backstage with the idea of making an orchestral album, and he leapt at the idea. About the idea of his own songs re-recorded the classical way, Moby said, "Sometimes you just want direct, honest communication. Using acoustic and classical instruments allows you to increase the chances that direct vulnerable communication will be there. I don't know if I achieved that with Reprise, but that was the goal."[11]
After selecting a group of songs from his discography and preparing basic orchestral arrangements to accompany them at his home studio in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, initial sessions took place at East-West Studios in Los Angeles where tracks featuring piano, guitar, percussion, drums, and from a chamber orchestra were put down. When it came to recording the final orchestral parts, orchestras based in London, Berlin, and Memphis, Tennessee were considered but decided against.[13] In the end, the Budapest Art Orchestra was chosen and Moby decided not to attend the sessions in Budapest in person as he preferred to hand over his arrangements to a professional orchestrator.[11]
On March 26, 2021, Moby announced the album, and released "Porcelain" on his YouTube channel on the same day.[12]
Critical reception
editThe Independent critic recalled that “the original tracks felt as though they were recorded under the adrenalin of artificial lights, but these reworkings are flooded with daylight. It’s as though Moby is opening the curtains after a party, smoothing down the soft furnishings and carefully placing the crockery in the sink. The tracks lose their tension but gain an orderly, classical frame.”[14]
According to Gary Ryan of NME, Reprise is “full of dignified reworkings that don’t offer too many surprises”. “By drilling down to the compositional basics of his songs and then divesting them of their interesting production flourishes, [Moby] perversely makes them feel more like aural wallpaper.”[15]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Moby, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original versions on: | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everloving" | Play (1999) | 3:18 | |
| 2. | "Natural Blues" (with Gregory Porter and Amythyst Kiah) | Play (1999) | 4:30 | |
| 3. | "Go" | Moby (1992) | 3:44 | |
| 4. | "Porcelain" (with Jim James) | Play (1999) | 5:54 | |
| 5. | "Extreme Ways" | 18 (2002) | 5:00 | |
| 6. | "Heroes" (with Mindy Jones) | 5:18 | ||
| 7. | "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" (with Víkingur Ólafsson) | Everything Is Wrong (1995) | 7:42 | |
| 8. | "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" (with Apollo Jane and Deitrick Haddon) | Play (1999) | 4:38 | |
| 9. | "The Lonely Night" (with Mark Lanegan and Kris Kristofferson) |
| Innocents (2013) | 5:43 |
| 10. | "We Are All Made of Stars" | 18 (2002) | 6:01 | |
| 11. | "Lift Me Up" | Hotel (2005) | 5:22 | |
| 12. | "The Great Escape" (with Nataly Dawn, Alice Skye, and Luna Li) | 18 (2002) | 2:51 | |
| 13. | "Almost Home" (with Novo Amor, Mindy Jones, and Darlingside) |
| Innocents (2013) | 5:28 |
| 14. | "The Last Day" (with Skylar Grey and Darlingside) |
| Innocents (2013) | 5:13 |
| Total length: | 70:42 | |||
Notes
- All tracks are noted as "Reprise Version".
Personnel
editMusicians
- Moby – bass (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14), guitars (1, 2, 5, 6, 8–14), piano (1, 3, 6, 8–10, 13, 14), synthesizer (2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 13), percussion (3), vocals (4, 5, 10, 11, 13), organ (5, 9), Rhodes (5), synth bass (10)
- Joseph Trapanese – conductor
- Tripp Beam – drums (1–5, 8–11, 13, 14)
- Budapest Art Orchestra – orchestra
- Apollo Jane – background vocals (2, 10), vocals (8)
- The Samples – choir (2, 8, 10)
- Jason White – choir conductor (2, 8, 10)
- Alex Acuña – percussion (2–4, 8, 10)
- Amythyst Kiah – vocals (2)
- Gregory Porter – vocals (2)
- Jim James – vocals (4)
- Mindy Jones – vocals (6), background vocals (9, 10, 13)
- Víkingur Ólafsson – piano (7)
- Deitrick Haddon – additional vocals (8)
- Kris Kristofferson – vocals (9)
- Mark Lanegan – vocals (9)
- Daron Murphy – background vocals (10)
- Laura Dawn – background vocals (10)
- Alice Skye – vocals (12)
- Luna Li – vocals (12)
- Nataly Dawn – vocals (12)
- Darlingside – vocals (13, 14)
- Novo Amor – vocals (13)
- Skylar Grey – vocals (14)
Technical
- Moby – producer, recording engineer
- Jonathan Nesvadba – co-producer, recording engineer
- Joseph Trapanese – orchestra producer
- Mark Wilder – mastering engineer
- Alan Meyerson – mixer
- Sturla Mio Þórisson – recording engineer (7)
Charts
edit| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] | 32 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] | 4 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[20] | 20 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 8 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 30 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 4 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[24] | 23 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[25] | 24 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26] | 40 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[27] | 37 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[28] | 4 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] | 10 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] | 1 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[31] | 21 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[32] | 49 |
| US Top Classical Albums (Billboard)[33] | 2 |
References
edit- ^ "Reprise by Moby reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ "Reprise by Moby Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "Reprise – Moby". AllMusic. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Helen (27 May 2021). "Moby review, Reprise: Reworked songs are a graceful opportunity to take stock". The Independent. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ Power, Ed (27 May 2021). "Album reviews: Moby does downtempo beauty, while Olivia Rodrigo shows her goth soul". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Hennig, Toni. "Zu viel Pathos fährt den Karren an die Wand". laut.de. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Overbeck, Jochen (28 May 2021). "Moby: Reprise" (in German). Musikexpress. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Devlin, Ben (28 May 2021). "Moby – Reprise". musicOMH. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ Ryan, Gary (27 May 2021). "Moby – 'Reprise' review: 'Mr. Advertising' doubles down on the background sounds". NME. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Price, Andrew. "Moby – Reprise". Uncut. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Moby. "Moby - Reprise". Moby. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ a b Peacock, Tim (March 26, 2021). "Moby Announces New Album, 'Reprise', on Deutsche Grammophon". UDiscoverMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ Benitez-Eves, Tina (June 3, 2021). "Moby: A Perfect Life". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ "Moby offers us a chance to take stock with his new album, Reprise – review". The Independent. 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ Ryan, Gary (2021-05-27). "Moby – 'Reprise' review: aural wallpaper from 'Mr. Advertising'". NME. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Moby – Reprise". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Moby – Reprise" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Moby – Reprise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Moby – Reprise" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 22.Týden 2021 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Moby – Reprise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Tops de la Semaine – Top Albums – Semaine du 4 juin 2021". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Moby – Reprise" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 22 (dal 28.5.2021 al 3.6.2021)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Moby – Reprise". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Moby – Reprise". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "Moby Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ "Moby Chart History (Top Classical Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 8, 2021.