To Truly Connect With
A Duke Lover | Bristol, United Kingdom | 01/31/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" is one of my favourite songs of all time. I'm not religious, I'm not even a Christian - but this song can be connected with on any level you like. It's very simple (Gospel Choir, piano chords, gorgeous beat) but extremely effective. The lyrics follow the same line of simplicity, in fact there's only really three lines ("why does my heart feel so bad? / Why does my soul feel so bad? /These open doors, These open doors...") It's somehow uplifting, and I never get sick of hearing it."
Kind of weak.
deephymn | Fort Collins, CO USA | 04/04/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This single re-releases the radio edit of "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?", along with a new hip-hoppy take on "Honey", and a previously-available B-side. The whole CD clocks in at less than ten and a half minutes."Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" is truly a good song. Built around vocal samples from an old recording by the Shining Light Gospel Choir, it is a great example of the richly harmonious bluesy style that permeates Moby's album _Play_. WDMHFSB was already released as a single one year earlier, complete with good remixes and better B-sides. Given Moby's staggering backcatalogue of unreleased tunes (to say nothing of his environmental stance), this redundancy seems inexplicably needless.The second song is amusing. "Honey" is overlaid with a simple drum machine beat by Fafu and silly vocals by Kelis. After quoting lyrics from "Bodyrock", Kelis admonishes listeners to get on the dance floor and acknowledge that Moby is "the disco king". The resulting song is worthless, yet fun enough to break out at a party or two. This tongue-in-cheek music is reminiscent of Moby's goofy self-effacing antics with Gwen Stefani in the "South Side" video."Flower" is down-tempo and earthy, similar in style to the album version of "Honey", but slower. It's a good track that many people will recognize from the opening credits of the 2000 movie _Gone In 60 Seconds_. Previously available on the motion picture soundtrack, "Flower" also appears on the much-sought-after _Play: The B-Sides_ limited edition 2CD box set. As with some other Moby songs based on Alan Lomax recordings, its exact lyrics will likely be a subject for perpetual debate among fans. I'm a bit disappointed that the hand clapping introduction (present in the movie) was removed for the CD releases.Overall, I see this CD single as somewhat of a lame gimmick, lacking in good new content. A different song should have been released instead, with new B-sides and/or remixes. "Machete", "The Sky Is Broken", "Find My Baby", "Everloving", "Rushing", and "If Things Were Perfect" all come to mind. The Kelis collaboration I don't mind so much, but I believe that Moby and Mute Records could have offered better value for the money spent on this CD. Taken alone, however, this single is fairly decent, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to get ahold of "Flower"."
Track Listings (3) - Disc #1