Natural Blues

"Natural Blues"
Single by Moby
from the album Play
B-side
  • "Whispering Wind"
  • "Sick in the System"
ReleasedMarch 6, 2000 (2000-03-06)
StudioMoby's home studio (Manhattan, New York)
Genre
Length
  • 4:12 (album version)
  • 3:03 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Moby
Moby singles chronology
"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?"
(1999) 		"Natural Blues"
(2000) 		"Porcelain"
(2000)
Alternative cover
German CD maxi-single
Music video
"Natural Blues" on YouTube

"Natural Blues" is a song by American electronic musician Moby. It was released on March 6, 2000, as the fifth single from his fifth studio album, Play (1999). The song is built around vocals sampled from "Trouble So Hard" by American folk singer Vera Hall (1937). "Natural Blues" was one of several songs on Play produced by Moby based on samples obtained from albums of American folk music originally compiled by field collector Alan Lomax. In the United Kingdom, "Natural Blues" peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. In Iceland, it peaked at number one.

Background and composition

"Natural Blues" was produced by Moby for his fifth studio album Play, and contains samples from "Trouble So Hard" by American folk singer Vera Hall.[1] Moby obtained the samples from a box set of folk music compiled by field collector Alan Lomax,[2] and Hall and Lomax receive co-writing credits on the track.[3][4] "Natural Blues", described by Moby as a "quite ethereal and mournful" song, is built around loops of Hall's vocals from the original recording.[5][6] Moby had difficulties mixing the track and as a result he considered not including it on Play, but he eventually produced a satisfactory mix with assistance from the British duo 1 Giant Leap.[6] English electronic music group I Monster are also credited with mixing duties.[1]

Critical reception

The Daily Vault's Benjamin Ray described the song as "a better example of the blues lyrics-meets-electronic pastiche, with a quietly insistent beat that slowly builds up to a climax of keyboards and voices."[7] Johnny Cigarettes from NME wrote that "on 'Natural Blues' the old-school blues crooner sounds like he always had a live rave PA element to his music. This is when Moby's much-vaunted eclecticism works brilliantly, sounding more godlike than Jesus Jones-like."[8] Scott Marc Becker from Salon stated that it is "among the album's best tracks". He added that singer Vera Hall is "as potent in Moby's hands as she was a cappella, the ghost of her voice resonating as if she were still alive."[9] Vickie Ilmer from Star Tribune called it "a hymnlike introspective discourse questioning hard times and retaining spirituality".[10]

Music videos

Photographer and filmmaker David LaChapelle directed the accompanying promotional music video for "Natural Blues".[11] LaChapelle had first indicated his interest in directing the video, and Moby, while a fan of his work, expressed hesitance at the idea due to the "bright and flashy" nature of his prior work, which he felt would not suit the song.[11] However, LaChapelle reassured Moby that his vision for the video was "something quite subdued and earnest".[11] The video depicts an elderly, wheelchair-using version of Moby in a retirement home watching video clips of himself as a young man.[12] Fairuza Balk plays Moby's girlfriend in several of the clips.[13] Eventually, an angelic figure, played by Christina Ricci, appears and carries him away.[13]

As a child, LaChapelle made frequent visits to a retirement community where his mother worked as a nurse.[14] He directly took the inspiration for the video's concept from a nightmare in which he found himself elderly, needing to use a wheelchair, and left in a hallway with many other senior citizens, unable to move.[14] LaChapelle interpreted the song as sounding "like someone at the end of their life, reconciling with being at the end of their life" and felt that the retirement home concept suited the video.[14] He added: "I was thinking that you can have this fabulous life, young and having fun, and in 60 years, who the hell knows where we could be? We could all be forgotten, warehoused somewhere."[14] Extensive make-up was used on Moby to give him his elderly appearance in the video.[11] The video later won the award for Best Video at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards,[15] while also receiving a nomination for Best International Video at the 2000 MuchMusic Video Awards.[16]

An alternate animated music video was also directed by Susi Wilkinson, Hotessa Laurence, and Filipe Alçada in the same style and featuring the same characters as in the music video for Moby's prior single "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?".[17]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[54] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States 14 December 1999 Alternative radio V2 [55]
United Kingdom 6 March 2000
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Mute [56][57]

Covers

A cover of "Natural Blues" performed live at First Avenue by American musician Mark Mallman was released on his 2003 album Live from First Avenue, Minneapolis.[58]

References

  1. ^ a b Play (liner notes). Moby. V2 Records. 1999. 63881-27049-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Leiby, Richard (August 9, 2000). "Reused Blues". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ Play: The DVD (liner notes). Moby. Mute Records. 2001. 7243 4 92573 9 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ "Natural Blues (BMI Work #5028465)". Broadcast Music, Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  5. ^ Knopper, Steve (August 4, 2000). "Bernard Allison, Otha Turner jam in totally opposite ways". Knight Ridder. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Weingarten, Christopher R. (July 2, 2009). "'Play' 10 Years Later: Moby's Track by Track Guide to 1999's Global Smash". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  7. ^ Ray, Benjamin (August 19, 2006). "Play – Moby". The Daily Vault. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  8. ^ Cigarettes, Johnny. "Moby – Play". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  9. ^ Becker, Scott Marc (June 8, 1999). "Sharps & Flats". Salon. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  10. ^ Ilmer, Vickie (August 20, 1999). "Moby hopes his sonic vision will 'Play' with mainstream". Star Tribune. p. E3.
  11. ^ a b c d Raushenbush, Paul (May 2000). "A Talk with Moby". Beliefnet. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  12. ^ Robinson, Joe (October 19, 2012). "Christina Ricci in 'Natural Blues' by Moby". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Sandstoe, Jeff (March 3, 2011). "Celebrity Cameos in Music Videos: A Primer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d "David LaChapelle: Superstars and the Divine". Beliefnet. May 2000. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  15. ^ "MTV Europe Music Awards Winners 1994–2000". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 45. November 10, 2001. p. 50. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
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  19. ^ Natural Blues (UK CD1 liner notes). Moby. Mute Records. 2000. CDMUTE251.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Natural Blues (UK CD2 liner notes). Moby. Mute Records. 2000. LCDMUTE251.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  22. ^ Natural Blues (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Moby. Mute Records. 2000. L12MUTE251.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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