Timeless
Goldie
1995
Album Summary
Timeless is the debut studio album by British electronic musician Goldie. It was released on 31 July 1995 and is universally regarded as a groundbreaking release in the history of drum and bass music. The album blended the complex, chopped and layered breakbeats and deep basslines of jungle and drum and bass with expansive, symphonic strings and atmospherics, and female vocals.
WikipediaIt is very rare that a 10+ minute track earns its length, even in classical music or jazz, much less pop, so when I saw that the first eponymous tune on Timeless clocked in at 21:02, I was like "Uh, oh." Uh, oh indeed. The track starts out with godawful, ugly orchestra synth swooshes before some breakbeats kick in. I've gotta be honest. This kind of dance music has to be really creative and innovative before I can enjoy it and this music is just nothing special. At least Goldie is lucky enough to have a decent singer in Diane Charlemagne, although the melodies are pretty remedial. Actually, remedial is a good description for the entire track and this goes on for 20 fucking minutes. Good God! Given that the title track is obviously the centerpiece of the album, it would have been a miracle if the rest of the album was an improvement. Alas, a miracle was not forthcoming. Goldie makes The Knack look cerebral and deep.
Yeah, if ever there were an argument for revising the list of 1001 albums you must hear, it's this unfortunately titled record from Goldie. From the opening 20-minute track that, surprise, does not need to be 20-minutes, it sure does sound like jungle-whatever from 1995. It would be easy to pile on to a genre of music that does absolutely nothing to me, but it's no fun being mean-spirited. I'll just say that there are records from this era that have really aged well, that sound like they could have come out any time in the past few decades, that I could see myself listening to in another decade. This is not one of those records.
Goldie's influence on D'n'B cannot be overlooked, but oddly enough his tunes have never been ones I've really loved compared with other producers. But I do recognise that if it wasn't for him, then some of the artists I prefer may not have existed. Was fun to listen to a whole album of his stuff as I wouldn't have if it wasn't for this.
It was a day at work today, but you know what is great for cranking through the inbox? This album. Put it on, let the drum and bass set the groove, and zone into what needs to get done. This is adult adderall. I put it on when driving to lunch, and it wasn’t so interesting. But that’s not the point. This is an album with a specific purpose. And when heard through that acoustic lens (it’s a thing…and it sounds cool), this album deserves recognition.
This is, indeed, Timeless. What a FANTASTIC album to just put on and forget about everything else. The first track is over 20 minutes long; the second is over 7. This is a LONG album that you can just keep playing. Also, definite heads-down coding music, which will always push it toward 5-star territory for me.
Classic album. Created the foundations of an entire genre. You can't knock it's importance and you have to remember it's over 25 years old! Also, important to remember Rob Playford's involvement! Plus RIP Diane Charlemagne. 9/10
Man, does this take me back. Most of the 90s music that has come up so far have been things I have heard at least a bit of in the intervening decades. I didn't listen to Goldie or drum and bass until 98/99, then listened to it a lot for 4-5 years, and then haven't touched it since then. But it sure is familiar - took me back to that time about as much as it could without drugs and JNCOs. My good friend, who used the unfortunate moniker DJ Goon, used the first track in one of his mixtapes. "Inner city life/inner city pressure" immediately felt familiar - and missed! "Timeless" works great as background, but it rewards closer listening. Just as it settles in too much and gets too repetitive, it hits you with a break that just washes over you. Drum and bass presented an incredible leveling up of ambient music. Brian Eno walked so Goldie could run.
1.6 - The type of bullshit Jeremy and Super Hans from "Peep Show" were into. "This is a Bad" by Goldie might as well be called "This is Outrageous" by Jeremy Osbourne. At best, some (2? 3?) of the tracks might work as background music for an outdated hotel lobby. The rest are junk. What a complete and utter SLOG. Shitty fucking album cover, too
What the actual hell did I just listen to? Two hours of pointless, repetitive noise is what. The first track "Timeless" (a 25-minute drum loop) is clearly the title track. However, it should be the fourth track that gave the album its name: "This Is a Bad." What a trash album.
I really don’t like Goldie as a person. Might be an irrational hatred, I dunno. But whenever I see/hear him interviews I think he comes across as a massive prick. So I’ve never really been that fussed about exploring his music. This album was good though, a lot more tuneful in places than I thought it would be. The first track is pretty self indulgent in length, but Inner City Life is a tune so I forgive.
Yeah, I dig this. Great beats, inventive sounds, clever mixture of instruments. A nice add to my collection.
‘Timeless’ is a staggering record. It’s widescreen in every sense. The production is amazing, and on a proper system it will blow you away. It still sounds vital, alive, and important all these years later. It’s not perfect: it’s way too long, and parts of it haven’t aged well, but you certainly can’t fault it for its sprawling ambition and cinematic scope. It’s smooth, silky, slinky, jazzy, dubby and warm and succeeds for the most part because its sound is so accessible. ‘Timeless’ was the record that made jungle/drum & bass sound legitimate to the masses, and in its best moments it’s mesmerising, well and truly transcending its club roots.
Yet more British ephemera that seems to just characterize so much of this list. The beats are really good, complex, and the drum textures just make is sound so expansive; but that’s not why I listen to music. This would be great at a party or in the background of a modern JRPG. Favourite track: “Angel”
Best enjoyed with illicit drugs or after suffering blunt force trauma to the cranium. For very low IQ individuals only
Surpreso com a qualidade de produção e por ter gostado de muitas músicas, mesmo não sendo um estilo que costumo ouvir. Álbum enorme, com músicas de 20, 12, 10 minutos. Músicas destaque, principalmente as com vocais femininos: - State of Mind - Sea of Tears - Angel - Inner City Life
Yes. I enjoyed very much. A little stale THIRTY years after it was released, but a great respite from the traditional sounds on this list. What happened to this guy?
Oh boy, this is good. I went through a short DnB phase as a teenager, but that led me into breakcore, then IDM and techno. There's only so many rabbit-holes you can go down, so I never really made it back to much DnB or jungle. All the beat arrangements and the bass lines are great here. There's not a huge amount of melody on top - some occasional piano loops, etc. What Goldie largely does is layer up ambient textures. But instead of making ambient music with beats, the end result here is really lively and drum-driven, with the ambience giving it a floaty, cerebral quality. For many of these tracks, I felt like I was just a brain and a pair of ears floating in a jar of music. There's some bassy, noisy elements as well, to give some rougher edges. For me, the only weak point is the lack of variety in the vocals or vocal samples. Sometimes they verged on the cheesier side of house music for me. But they normally fit with the track and are arranged really well in the track, so it's a small grumble. For this corker, a solid 4.5*.
I quite liked listening to this! It was a total departure from what I'm used to, but I totally got into the groove. I had never heard of 'drums and bass' music before and I liked all of the other sounds (water, women moaning, you know) that came along for the ride. I do have to say that I was a little dispointed when I read 'Goldie' as 'Blondie,' but wouldn't you be?
A pioneering album that flipped the underground to the mainstream, Goldie hit gold with the chopped up drums, foreboding bass, synth strings and exquisite vocals from Diane Charlegmane (RIP). The scale and scope is ambitious and the album as a whole feels symphonic (no wonder Goldie’s interests turned to classical orchestral music later in his career). It may be overlong and perhaps a little dated but it is an extraordinary record, an example of a musician having a sound in his head with few predecessors and bringing it into life. It’s a really impressive record and whilst it won’t be universally beloved, it deserves its place on this list for its influence and impact.
This was one of those albums that still holds up well, and I think I appreciate the long opening "symphony" more as a grown up. It's a groundbreaking album that took drum n bass in a new direction that blended ambient, ethereal sounds with soaring vocals. A few tracks don't live up to the rest of the album, but overall I loved revisiting it.
Wow, one of these ridiculously long and bloated 90's electronic albums was actually... good?
Classic EDM album. I definitely dig atmospheric/liquid D&B, and this is the daddy of all of that stuff. It's a bit over long for sure, but it's perfect music for focusing/work, which I use it for regularly. A very solid 4, almost 4.5.
Muitas influências de eletrônica moderna, DnB, jungle. Me lembra bastante em especial SBTRKT, Squarepusher e Four Tet. Uma barreira alta de entrada, mas o ouro está mesmo no recheio do disco.
I'll be honest. I've heard the name Goldie before and simply assumed that it's a random female pop singer. That should tell you more or less how much I know about D'n'B. That said, I really enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected. Especially the first half. My favorite track was State of Mind. eventually I found the album dragging on for too long however. And it being a bit samey, it started to get boring eventually. Therefore rounded down from 3.5.
Well, that was certainly unexpected. This group and album, and pretty much the whole genre they're in (not sure what to call it; "electronica," I think? but it has vocals, so not really sure), are all so new to me, and not what I usually listen to. There are some very interesting things going on here. Don't like all of it, but I really like 'Inner City Life.' The vocals are so soulful and soaring, with a really great bassline and beat under it. I don't usually like a lot of synthesizers but some of these tracks are really good. I think it's the rhythms they use, and, as mentioned, the vocals.
Very bold choice to open this album up with a 20 minute song. Almost to say, either you're going to like us or hate us. Well, I'm here to say I'm in the middle. For this being a pretty cool electronic album that came out in the mid 90's, I think that's impressive. For it being as long and repetitive as it is, that makes it less impressive. I don't know the history behind Goldie (maybe a cousin to Blondie?) but I'm imagining they inspired a lot of future electronic artists. It's a very intriguing album, it just runs way too long on every track.
From what I understand, this is an important album from the genre of Drum and Bass. Drum and Bass is a pretty niche genre, so your mileage will vary with how much you like the genre. For my money, I thought it was enjoyable enough. I like the atmospheric elements and how it enhanced the Drum and Bass (reminded me of Parkour Fortress. If you know you know). The obvious drawback is that it's an overly long double album. 105 minutes is a lot for any genre.
I'm sorry, I get drum and bass but it's just not for me. I really don't want to rate this one star because it's good, I'm just not the person who would enjoy 2 hours of this. Unless I was on something.
I like beats and drums, but unfortunately I was not high enough to enjoy this on a weekday. Maybe once murphy figures out how to sell weed in New Jersey I can come back and reassess.
I was not expecting to like this, but lay that melancholy upon me! This album luxuriates with infinite sadness, like you're heartbroken but you're lying on the beach in Rio so it's not wholly bad. Each song takes it time, taking the listener one step deeper into sadness. There is no solution, not upbeat "you'll get over it" vibes. No, the album leaves you on that beach with tears in your eyes and the realisation that being there means nothing when there's no one by your side.
Drum and bass for outsiders like me. The pretty guitar loops and sound effects signify pop, while the female voices add emotional depth. But as the ambience sets in and the sense of time dissipates, it gets increasingly tedious, though never so specialist that it feels hostile.
You might remember his full mouth of gold teeth from such films as ‘Snatch’ and ‘The World is Not Enough’
slower and more chill than I remember, but loving it, laid back beats taking me back to a time and a place!
love this. Have heard bits bit never the whole thing. definitely on my play again list
Crazy that this was released in '95. Quite ahead of its time. Heavy 90's action sci-fi vibes. I enjoyed this a lot.
When I first heard this when it came out, Timeless was like entering another world. There were echoes of trance and jungle but this was so much more. The depth. The build ups. This was punk as f**k and furious cloaked under a veneer of something Mellow
Amazing album, I wasnt sure if I would like it from the first 5min of the opening track, but it sounded stellar. My parents listened to Goldie a lot growing up so i knew what to expect, it still impressed me. its a kind of genre I termed myself called trackmania music. Felt like I was floating with the stars
Yeeeew. Rolling drum and bass perfection. There was the occasional one that didn't fire for me, but overall, fantastic.
Ambience. Je moet er maar in de stemming voor zijn maar dit is geen slecht begin van het genre
Feels very spacey in a good way. Easy to listen to while relaxing or working.
Reminds me of the music they play in british tv shows for when they are clubbing. It's an early drum and base album.
Att lyssna på DnB i två timmar i sträck är inte njutning i min bok. Trots det kommer jag på mig själv med att bli både lite nyfiken och imponerad vad jag hör. En och förmodligen den enda fördelen med riktigt långa låtar är att de kan berätta en historia på ett sätt som en 2 min popdänga inte riktigt mäktar med. Fastnade framförallt för Sea of Tears. Första 1.5 min målas ett dystopiskt &metalliskt ljudlandskap upp. Efter det ngt oinspirerande introt slängs trummorna på och efter hand även ngn jazzig gitarrslinga, vi lyssnar nu på klassisk DnB. Jag är på inget sätt imponerad, men ngt har satts i rörelse och jag vill veta vart vi är på väg. Så händer det. 4,5 min in i låten fadar trummor och ljud ut och ersätts av skriet från en fiskmås, vågskvalp och en kvinnoröst som viskar ordet tears. Från den här punkten har låten mig totalt hypnotiserad och det är inte först 7,5min senare när låten är över som jag väcks ur min trans och inser att det kändes som att jag färdats till en annan dimension och tillbaka. Vet inte vad som hände men jag vet att jag behöver mer av Sea of Tears
I like it! Now I'm wishing I would have been a raver in the mid 90s...
Música electrónica con voz de vez en cuando. Me ha gustado, pero disco larguísimo.
In keeping with the album being such a breakthrough for dnb, it’s more of a collection of ideas than a cohesive whole. This, in combination with the excessive length (which Goldie somehow managed to surpass for his next album) makes for lopsided whole. The tracks themselves, however, I have no issue with
dnb fever. soundscapes. vox. when the filter sweeps across the drums \<.<\
This album is a mini-symphony of hardcore techno that uses breakbeats to construct atmospheric music. (7/10) FT: Timeless
It's not just all about the bass, it's all about the drum and bass. It is also a great sonic landscape and if you like a an intense breakbeats with synth overlays with more conventional R&B and jazz elements, this will work for you. I can't listen to this "genre" all of the time, but when I want to, this is one of the few I reach for.
I love how dated this sounds. Adds to the charm of an already awesome record.
Liian vähän tulee kuunneltua tämmöstä melodista elektro-settiä. Hyvä levy! 4/5
So, it is a DnB album, which means it is gonna have bloat. But honestly? Some of the stuff in here was unique enough to actually push it to a high 4 with me, especially Sea of Tears.
8/10 there’s some really good stuff here but it starts to feel a bit repetitive considering this album is 2 hours I would definitely consider myself a fan of DnB but I prefer more modern examples of the genre like sewerslvt
Not Timeless at all, however an important album in moving Jungle/DnB to the mainstream. Again scoring based on how much I actually enjoyed listening to this album right now and that surprisingly was quite a bit - almost more of a Pink Floyd album than a DnB mix with beautiful vocals against some sounds taking you on a trip.
Þetta drum'n'bass dæmi úr mið-níunni er eitthvað svo déskoti gott! Er samt með hausverk eftir svona langan drumbeat-concert á tennurnar á mér.
Is not the kind of music i like, some parts of some musics are interesint, psicodelic...but the rapid parts are not the kind of EDM music i like it. However, i must say that the production of the album is quite good.
Välistä ihan tempaavaa biittiä, mutta oma maku on enemmän melodisen kuin bassolla pelaavan mmmtsin puolella. Kagonen ala- ja kolme yläkanttiin
Nice background and driving vibes, but felt the pace stayed the same a lot of the time
De zangeres hadden ze thuis mogen laten. Verder leuk om een keertje Drum ‘N bass voorgeschoteld te krijgen.
Interessante en met tijd en wijlen spannende muziek van naar wat ik las ern van de eerste drum 'n bass acts. Vond het toch een iets te lange zit en was ik datzelfde ritme steeds wel beu.
First track of the album is 21 minutes long... The album is about 2 hours long in total. A lot of the tracks has some really nice parts and is very inspiring, but in total it seems like there could have been some darlings that got killed. Good Drum'n'Bass and Jungle, but the vocals not so much.
really interesting to have a glimpse into this time capsule from the 90s! who listens to this today?
Me gusta el D&B pero este se me hizo demasiado repetitivo. No acabe de escuchar el disco.