Natural Blues

"Natural Blues" is a song by American electronic musician Moby. It was released as the fifth single from his fifth studio album Play on March 6, 2000.[1] 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.

"Natural Blues"
Single by Moby
from the album Play
B-side
  • "The Whispering Wind"
  • "Sick in the System"
ReleasedMarch 6, 2000
Recorded1998 at Moby's home studio (Manhattan, New York)
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

The single was first released in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. In Iceland it peaked at number 1.

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.[2] Moby obtained the samples from a box set of folk music compiled by field collector Alan Lomax,[3] and Hall and Lomax receive co-writing credits on the track.[4][5] "Natural Blues", described by Moby as a "quite ethereal and mournful" song, is built around loops of Hall's vocals from the original recording.[6][7] 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.[7] English electronic music group I Monster are also credited with mixing duties.[2]

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."[8] 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."[9] 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."[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-bound 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, confined to 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]

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.[18]

Track listing

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Silver 200,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Moby – Let Us Play!". NME. February 21, 2000. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  2. Play (liner notes). Moby. V2 Records. 1999. 63881-27049-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Leiby, Richard (August 9, 2000). "Reused Blues". The Washington Post.
  4. Play: The DVD (liner notes). Moby. Mute Records. 2001. 7243 4 92573 9 9.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. "Natural Blues (BMI Work #5028465)". Broadcast Music, Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Ray, Benjamin (August 19, 2006). "Play – Moby". The Daily Vault. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  9. Cigarettes, Johnny. "Moby – Play". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  10. Becker, Scott Marc (June 8, 1999). "Sharps & Flats". Salon. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  11. 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. Sandstoe, Jeff (March 3, 2011). "Celebrity Cameos in Music Videos: A Primer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  14. "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.
  16. Hay, Carla (August 26, 2000). "Matthew Good Band Leads MuchMusic Video Nominees". Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 35. p. 93. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  17. Go – The Very Best of Moby (liner notes). Moby. Mute Records. 2006. LDVDMUTEL14.CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. Keil, Jason (November 20, 2003). "Mallman remains focused on his own vision". OnMilwaukee. Milwaukee. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Moby – Natural Blues" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Moby – Natural Blues" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
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  23. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17 no. 13. March 25, 2000. p. 11. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  24. "Moby: Natural Blues" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  25. "Lescharts.com – Moby – Natural Blues" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Moby – Natural Blues". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  27. "Íslenski Listinn: Vikuna 19.8.–26.8. 2000 33. Vika" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). August 18, 2000. p. 10. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  28. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Natural Blues". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  29. "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 9 March 2000". GfK Chart-Track. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  30. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 11, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  31. "Dutchcharts.nl – Moby – Natural Blues" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  32. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  33. "Swisscharts.com – Moby – Natural Blues". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
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  37. "Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 9. February 26, 2000. p. 87. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  38. "Club Play". Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 22. May 27, 2000. p. 39. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  39. "Maxi-Singles Sales". Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 17. April 22, 2000. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
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  41. "Tops de L'année – Top Singles 2000" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  42. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 5, 2001. p. 10. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  43. "Danishcharts.com – Moby – Natural Blues (Lulu Rouge vs. Stella Polaris Remix)". Tracklisten. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
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  45. "Ultratop.be – Showtek & Moby – Natural Blues" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
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