by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Just as the rock mainstream was turning its attentions toward techno, Moby abandoned electronic music to refashion himself as an alternative rocker -- sort of like a cross between Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins -- for Animal Rights. Moby attempted rock on Everything Is Wrong, but on Animal Rights, his thin, psuedo-industrial guitar riffs dominate the proceedings, with his ambient soundscapes being pushed to the back of the record. Though Moby could be commended for having the courage to diversify, he simply isn't very good at alternative rock -- his voice is thin and undistinguished, his rhythms are too tight, his guitars sound anemic, and he can't write a hook. In fact, he even buries the hook in his ill-conceived cover of Mission of Burma's post-punk classic "That's When I Reach for My Revolver." Consequently, Animal Rights ranks as one of the classic failed albums, right alongside Sinead O'Connor's big-band Am I Not Your Girl?