I mentioned last time out that singles released across multiple CDs usually meant one of, or a combination of, three things.
1. Loads of different songs as b-sides across the 2 x CDs
2. Loads of different remixes of the single across at least one of the CDs
3. Live tracks to pad things out across one or both CDs
Natural Blues, the fifth single to be lifted from Play, which itself was Moby‘s fifth studio album, combined options 1 and 2.
CD1
mp3: Moby – Natural Blues (single version)
mp3: Moby – Whispering Wind
mp3: Moby – Sick In The System
It feels quite surprising that Moby still had some unreleased material to issue this single given that it was the fifth to be lifted from the album and that all the previous singles had all featured at least two otherwise unavailable tracks, which only goes to show just how much material he had written towards the end of the 90s. Whispering Wind is a slow, almost-ambient number while Sick In The System is a bit more uptempo in nature, but not fast enough to be thought of as a club number.
Oh, and the single version of Natural Blues is just over a minute shorter than the album version, with various edits, all quite seamless in nature, making it really tailor-made for radio play.
The second CD does exactly what it says on the cover
CD2
mp3: Moby – Natural Blues (Perfecto Remix)
mp3: Moby – Natural Blues (Mike D edit)
mp3: Moby – Natural Blues (Peace Division edit)
Perfecto was the name used by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osbourne, a very highly successful team of British producers who had been doing such things for years, with one of their earliest efforts being their take on Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays.
And yes, the middle remix is the work of Michael Louis Diamond, one-third of the Beastie Boys.
Peace Division is the name used by Clive Henry and Justin Drake, two UK-based house music remixers/producers.
In addition to the 2xCD releases, Natural Blues was issued in the UK on two separate 12″ singles, across which you would find the Mike D and Peace Divison remixes, as well as a Perfecto Dub version and a remix by Katcha, a trance/house DJ.
Natural Blues was released in March 2000, some ten months after Play had been released. The album hadn’t sold all that brilliantly during 1999, spending just one week in the Top 40. But it really took off in early 2000, re-entering at #72 on 9 January, and going on to spend the next sixteen months in the Top 75, including five weeks at #1 in April/May 2000. There is no doubt that the decision to license all 17 of its tracks to films, tv shows and adverts paid dividends in the long run.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 