Into the Blue (Moby song) explained

Into the Blue
Cover:IntotheBlueMobysingle.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Moby
Album:Everything Is Wrong
B-Side:Shining
Released:[1]
Length:
  • 5:45 (album version)
  • 4:10 (single version)
Label:Mute
Producer:Moby
Prev Title:Everytime You Touch Me
Prev Year:1995
Next Title:Bring Back My Happiness
Next Year:1995

"Into the Blue" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released on June 19, 1995 by Mute Records, as the fourth single from his third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995).[2] American musician Mimi Goese co-wrote the lyrics with Moby and provided the vocals. The song is slow and melancholy, a stark contrast to the first four singles from the album.

The single peaked at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart. In one of the remixes, the "Spiritual Remix", Joy Division's song "Atmosphere" is prominently sampled and sequenced. Jon Spencer, frontman of American alternative rock band Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and a friend of Moby, contributed the blues-influenced "Into the Blues Mix" to the single, and in turn Moby remixed one of the band's own tracks.[2]

Critical reception

The Stud Brothers of Melody Maker complimented the song as "Mimi Goese's cosmic ballad, a melancholy collision of Joni Mitchell and Chimera and probably the straightest track on Everything Is Wrong".[3] Another Melody Maker editor, Simon Price, felt that "this sounds like Enya".[4] A reviewer from Music & Media commented, "First he's raving, then he's pop as pop could be. "Into the Blue" belongs to the latter category. It would almost be MOR material if the beats weren't that prominent."[5] Brad Beatnik from Music Weeks RM Dance Update wrote, "What an oddity. The original album mix is a beautiful haunting cut featuring the soaring vocals of Mimi Goese – as brilliantly showcased on Later with Jools Holland recently."[6]

Johnny Cigarettes from NME remarked "the rich, dark female voice warbling over "Into the Blue"'s aquatic ambience".[7] Another NME editor, Ben Willmott, opined, "This time, he's shunned his normal gay-disco-meets-techno hybrid in favour of a distastefully dated and uncomfortably melancholic shuffling ballad about flying off into the sky."[8] Also Barry Walters for Spin complimented the "etheral tones" of Goese, "with a ghostly grace that's truly startling after so much excitation."[9]

Track listing

  1. "Into the Blue" – 7:45
  2. "Into the Blue" – 8:19
  3. "Into the Blue" – 8:46
  4. "Into the Blue" – 6:14
  1. "Into the Blue" – 4:10
  2. "Shining" – 4:49
  3. "Into the Blue" – 7:20
  4. "Into the Blue" – 5:38
  1. "Into the Blue" – 6:14
  2. "Into the Blue" – 8:59
  3. "Into the Blue" – 6:13
  4. "Into the Blue" – 5:49
  5. "Into the Blue" – 4:52
  6. "Into the Blue" – 7:45

Charts

Chart (1995)Peak
position
Europe (European Dance Radio)[10] 25
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[11] 14

Notes and References

  1. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 31. June 17, 1995.
  2. Web site: Moby: Into the Blue. Mute.com. March 1, 2018.
  3. The Stud Brothers. Albums. Melody Maker. January 6, 1996. 30. May 9, 2024.
  4. Simon. Price. Singles. Melody Maker. June 24, 1995. 34. January 25, 2024. Simon Price.
  5. New Releases: Singles . . 12 . 18 . May 6, 1995 . 13 . May 18, 2021 .
  6. Brad . Beatnik . Hot Vinyl . Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert) . June 17, 1995 . 10 . May 9, 2021 .
  7. Johnny. Cigarettes. Long Play. NME. March 18, 1995. 49. January 7, 2024.
  8. Ben. Willmott. Singles. NME. June 24, 1995. 52. January 28, 2024.
  9. Barry. Walters. Spins. Spin. March 1995. 93. January 27, 2023.
  10. European Dance Radio Top 25. Music & Media. 12. 31. August 5, 1995. 12. April 24, 2023.
  11. The RM Club Chart . Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert) . May 6, 1995 . 6 . September 6, 2021.