Goldie – Timeless (1995)

Drum and Bass music, often seen as a niche genre, became hot property after the release of this album, very much seen as a classic of its own sort. It launched Goldie as a well respected pioneer of the music here. Let’s take a retrospective listen of this album and see if it is, indeed, timeless. This is no doubt hugely influential in the EDM and Drum and Bass scene, so let’s hear it.

We begin with the 21 minute piece Timeless: Inner City Life/Pressure/Jah. It begins with some ethereal textures and symphonic sounds which are a little eerie. Some vocals then enter, which are original and different. A fluttering section of sounds gradually emerge, and this track begins to get underway. This is a sonic trip throughout the realms of Electronic music, it sounds beautiful, yet surreal. A real soundscape for one’s ears, this is somewhat like a movie soundtrack experience here. Eventually the intro sounds get quieter and more suspenseful, before a sonic rush enters with some basic Drum and Bass beats. The female vocals here are really fresh and amazing, and this piece is a really fresh and energetic sounding piece of original EDM. It’s a bit like Pink Floyd in some ways, except with a female soul singer singing emotionally here. The stuttering beats are nicely crafted and awesome. The singing reaches a climatic point of its own, and the beats stop during this piece. A really gorgeous and understated piece of music, the next section enters with some nicely cut up Drum and Bass beats that are finely edited and deployed. An Asian wind instrument enters, showcasing a proto-Dubstep (if you can call it that) edge and a great sense of musicality about it. The beats become more prominent here, and this whole piece is definitely worth your time. This is music for those who like their EDM intelligent and punchy, a very awesome and fine listen. The female vocals return, sounding somewhat Opera like in their intention. The percussion cuts out for some time here, with the Gospel vocals sounding magnificent here. The piece restarts with the awesome Drum and Bass beats, and Goldie is our crafter of fine music here. The whole thing is somewhat Psychedelic in intention here, and the beats are edited nicely with that intention in the middle of it, along with some nice subsonic bass. A great and wonderful piece of expertly crafted sound, this is very much owing to the traditional of trippy, Psychedelic sounds. Before long, the Drum and Bass beats return nicely. A really awesome and great piece of sectionalised music, there are liquid sounds and beats here to grab your attention. The Acid style sounds and subsonic bass here are really quite awesome. A fresh and great listen, this is neither dull nor boring throughout the length of the piece. There is a strange and somewhat dark feel to this piece of music, but is an original craft nonetheless. The beats stop once again with the eerie string sounds returning, before the Gospel vocals return once again. A really excellent and monumental piece of extraordinary music, this is nicely crafted. The multitude of beats and rhythms return shortly into the mix, sounding very well done and created here. Not bad for a 21 minute piece of awesome and artistic music here. Very good, and different. Perfect music for a long drive through an urban city, this is super fresh sounding and cool, too. The energy and passion is easily heard here. Towards the end, a rather odd and ethereal combination of sounds emerge as the beats are halted. A truly awesome and wonderful way to end this album, the Gospel vocals resume sounding glorious and magnificent. Just killer stuff, blowing a lot of conventional thought of artistic music away in 1995, and today as well. It ends with delayed vocals and a very smooth fade out. Excellent music.

Up next is Saint Angel begins with some dark sounds and mesh of Drum and Bass beats here. With a rather repetitive intro, it quickly goes into a somewhat dated piece of music. Still, it is nicely crafted and done all the same, but seems to lack a long term Electronic music magic that other artists had around this time. It’s still good though. The breakdowns here are very odd and insane, and there is a lot of good energy. The Drum and Bass beats here eventually sound pretty cool, and the track eventually progresses along nicely. Still, this sounds like a drug influenced head rush, which it likely is. Catchy enough, it goes into a strangely suspenseful midsection with some heavily edited vocals and vocal based sound effects. Very cool, you’ll need some super dark shades to hear this tune. A great piece of forward thinking music that is very consistent and quirky, this is a really top and inspiring listen. Clever usage of sounds, samples and textures here make this a strong listening experience. In the second half we emerge into a fast paced and dramatic sounding piece that is very strong indeed. A different and interesting piece of craft, this is superbly done. Good effort. It ends abruptly.

State Of Mind follows next. It begins with a processed harp part that sounds majestic. It sounds extraordinarily good and soulful, more in line with the twenty minute title track. Some subdued funky bass is here, giving this track a Jazz like feel to it. The female Gospel vocals exhibit romanticism and passion here, and this whole piece sounds very optimistic. A very lovely and beautiful piece that isn’t really Drum and Bass, it’s more like Gospel Pop actually. This is a terrific and awesome listen, and just sounds really awesome here. A good addition to the album, although this is clearly not really pure Drum and Bass EDM here. Very funky listening and incredible to hear, it does sound really cool though. A really great and inspiring listen, this is definitely different and nicely delivered. Some cool reversed drum beats are here in the second half. This is a really great piece of music that sounds incredible to hear, and is really wonderfully amazing. A great and intense listening experience, all the way to the end. Nice and different.

This Is A Bad is next, it begins with a nasty sounding answering machine message, before launching right into lush textures here. This is a very interesting introduction to this track. Soon enough, some original sounding Drum and Bass beats enter, making this piece come alive. An excellent and listenable piece which is over six minutes long. Be aware that this is very Progressive EDM, and that if you are looking for shorter pieces, this is not for you. Still, a fun, fresh and interesting groove based piece to listen to. The pounding beats, textures and structures keep this one going nicely. In the middle are some nicely mixed and edited sounds that are really interesting, before going straight back into the beat heavy sections. A very intricate and interesting listening experience is here. Very unique and different, the sounds here are wonderfully different. A very good cut up vocal leads towards the end of the track, which is a good piece of instrumental sound. Some awesome editing finishes off this piece, good overall. It has a delayed fade out.

Next along is Sea of Tears which begins with some of the most unusual and eerie sounds in the history of recorded music. It sounds so warped that it is kind of freaky in a listening sense. It is a 12 minute long piece, with some beautiful guitar parts that enter. These guitar parts sounds like quacky Fender Stratocaster tones. Shortly into it, some nice Drum and Bass styled beats join on in. A very odd and quite Psychedelic piece of music, this has an interesting array of sounds and sonic ear candy for the listener. Before long, we hear some seagulls and waves in the background, whilst the rest of the track plays nicely alongside different sections of each other. Some dark and funky bass playing enters, adding to the ambience. It then goes into a gorgeous instrumental section with select sounds and a calm backdrop that you can close your eyes and listen gently to. A dialogue then commences, likely sampled from a film. After some time, some awesome guitar playing and lush backdrop which is image evoking is here. A great audio visual experience is here, much unlike any other. In the second half of this track, some really beautiful female singing, beats and relaxing textures kick away here. It then builds up into a gorgeous piece of music that has the sound of a lady crying in the background. It’s not depressing and not designed to be, it is just a great audio visual listening experience. A frenzy of sounds and sections with some great textures are here. Definitely a highlight of this album, this is a really great effort. Nice and gentle listening for those who like Progressive Drum and Bass EDM. It goes into a finale with some more beautiful sounds and samples, before ending with a gentle fade out of ocean waves before segueing into the next song. Great effort.

Following is Jah the Seventh Seal which continues from the last track and is a co piece with Dillinja, and has some interesting and odd electronic sounds and beeps. It is obviously a very inspired and clever sounding piece, and sounds nicely constructed, with some slowed down distorted sounds. Without warning, Drum and Bass beats that are expertly constructed hit you with a lot of punch. A really excellent piece with a load of suspense in it, this is one of the better pieces from this album. A really wonderfully crafted listen with many different unique and different sounds, it goes into a really weird midsection that is super awesome. There are some sounds here that aren’t really found anywhere else. A really cool and wonderful piece of craft, this is so different and surprisingly good to hear. Towards the end the drums and percussion sound really interesting, with some awesome stereo panning here. Very nice and wonderful to hear, and a valuable listen.

A Sense Of Rage – Sensual Vip Mix begins with an ethereal string section, before some Acid style Roland TB-303 enters, along with some ghostly ethereal sounds. This is pretty cool stuff to listen to, and just sounds wonderful, beautiful and uniquely different. Some cool beats then enter, and this piece gets underway. This is quite a decent mixture of groundbreaking (for the time) music and a mixture of different genres that is truly unique. Towards the middle, a delayed vocal sample and some interesting digital sounds continue to propel along nicely here. A really nicely crafted and delivered piece of music, and has somewhat of a Classical music structure to it, although this is not in any way like Classical music. A very beautiful and original piece of lush listening, this is a really cool and incredible listening experience. Wonderfully done, and a fresh and interesting listen from start to finish.

Still Life is next, a 10 minute long piece. It begins with some odd oscillating sounds, and to be fair, this is a little slow to start with. Some subsonic bass kick drums gradually enter, before the beats get kicking and we are on our musical journey. This is excellent, sounding quite unlike anything else out there musically. Some expertly cut up Drum and Bass beats enter, and this piece sounds like a futuristic romp more so than a lot of music out there today. Brilliant music, and sounds like something out of a warped science fiction film. It gathers pace and energy along the way, with some totally intricate and awesome cut up beats and textures throughout. This is akin to some forms of Techno. Towards the middle, we hear some cut up sounds and textures that are very good, before the Drum and Bass beats get going. A really cool piece of music, this is very wonderful listening, and often indescribably so. The sounds here are definitely Techno influenced, but all the same, are completely original and different. The subsonic bass here is subtle and awesome, too. A really forward thinking and original piece of music that is a rewarding listen, this track alone should be in your music library for many good reasons. Great music and a highlight of this album, a real joy to hear this track. There are some nice cut up frenzied beats here towards the end, which are interesting. All in all, a really great track from start to finish, and definitely worth your time. Genuinely great, and a killer listen.

Following is Angel which begins with some ethereal string sections and backwards sounds that are really divine. Some female singing here is magnificent and beautiful, before launching into a nicely crafted piece of Drum and Bass originality. This is very clever music, appealing to many out there and sounding fantastic as well. A really excellently crafted piece of superb music, this is awesome. The midsection has a bunch of awesomely made sounds, before going into a downpitched sound and a neat breakdown. This is only five minutes long too, sounding ridiculously good. The beats and sounds here are dynamic and unique. Brilliant music, and a good sample of what Goldie did best here. Good tune.

After that is Adrift which features Rob Playford. It begins with some eerie chime based sounds and textures, with some saxophone thrown in for good measure. It is a very good listen from the start, and just sounds terrific, particularly with the saxophone and wordless harmonies here. Some very decent sounds are here, which sound interesting and very amazing indeed. This is a really refreshing listen, but to be fair, this is not really a Drum and Bass record, or song for the matter. It is more accurate to describe this music as Electronic Pop/Soul. Eventually singing emerges that is really awesome, along with some definitely unique and awesome textures to hear. Brilliant music to listen to, and very reassuring to hear. The singing here is really touching, although there are zero beats here. Good and decent listening, but this isn’t really a purely EDM record, which is a misnomer for this kind of music. In any case, it is very good and original listening. Good but to be honest, it drags on a bit this track. It finishes up nicely though, with a good mixture of sounds and textures that are awesome. Good effort.

Kemistry is next with its ethereal strings and hi-hat intro, before launching into a very weird and oddly timed piece of music with more female Soul style vocals. This one sounds a little awkward to be fair. It’s good, but is super weird. Really interesting listening though, it progresses fairly naturally here. This is a really different listen, with a strange mixture of sound and electronic experimentation. Good to hear, but it sounds like some of the energy and passion of this album is beginning to run out here. Probably not as great as you’d expect. This is a really excellent and wonderful piece of music despite its flaws, and much of the album follows this format. The beats in the second half are really quite fantastic here. Interesting to hear a piece like this all the same. It concludes with a long fade out.

You & Me is the very last track here. It begins with piano and string sections, sounding a lot more retro than you’d think. An interesting listen nonetheless, it is very musically accomplished and decent. Something different, yet definitely not Drum and Bass, that is, until the beats kick in. This is another seven minute long piece that sounds excellent here, it is very beautiful in many ways. A refreshing and different listening experience, and a good way to finish off an interesting album. More female vocals are here for a refreshing change that is more unusual than expected. Excellent stuff though, just simply a track to close your eyes to and make your imagination take you elsewhere. The singing here is quite excellent, showing that Goldie definitely had a good ear on him. Fresh and well delivered, it gets a little weird with some strange cut up sounds that are flavoursome. Some really distorted Techno style sounds emerge towards the end. Good finish to this album, it definitely is a one of a kind. More a minimal piece than previous tracks, it concludes this album nicely. The reversed sounds at the end here are freaky.

Okay this album is quite overrated. Why? It is far too long, too unusual and experimental to be classified as a gold standard Drum and Bass album. Yes, it is a good listening experience but all the same it is a real challenge to get through nearly two hours of music that pretty much sounds exactly the same. Check out other releases by different Drum and Bass artists before you consider this disappointing and rather boring album, it’s almost a failure.

Boring.

6/10