Coolmixes

Elektra lived through Moby's wild musical mood swings only to have him jump ship to V2 Records where, on first try, he produced a genius, groundbreaking album that made him a household name. What's a hapless major label to do? Why, put out a quickie compilation attempting to cash in on his newfound fame, of course. Moby Songs is a veiled "Best of the Elektra Years" collection of the techno wizard's singles released under the Elektra umbrella. The problem with this disc is that Moby's discography is Babe Ruthian in its homerun-to-strikeout ratio. Furthermore, his best work occurred before and after he signed with the label. That leaves Elektra pulling 6 of the 13 tracks off of Everything Is Wrong (Moby's only consistent work while signed on). The rest is culled from his famously awful alt-rock offering Animal Rights, his collection of soundtrack work I Like to Score, and the title track from the Move EP. Moby Songs only serves those who are more morbidly curious with a snapshot of the man's scattered track record. Those who are interested in his finest should stick with his self-titled debut (which includes the rave classics "Drop a Beat," "Everything," "Next Is the E," and the original version of "Go") and Play. --Beth Massa

11.98