Reviews (page 4 of 8)
Not my thing but I liked it.
One of the albums that made DnB mainstream in the late 90s. How did it do this? With a very modern production sound, it incorporates R&B pop to make the songs fun to dance to. You can get behind the groove of each track. I think DnB has its limits, and this album is no exception. Nearly every song is based around some gimmick that is built on a theme (from the track title), which is associated with an identifying sample and mood. What this means is that every track has something unique to offer, which is impressive for a record over 2 hours. However, I find this to be too gimmicky. "Western" is distinguished by the surf rock sample but has nothing to offer. "Down" inserts some psychedelic elements with the bright ethereal synths (like chimes or waterfalls), but it feels too disjoint and out-of-place from the beat. A lot of tracks suffer from this. There are plenty of strong tracks on here, but also many forgettable ones that rely on a gimmick but are far too simple or repetitive. And when these tracks are 6-9 minutes, that's the last thing you want. "Heroes" is the only track that tries too hard to be pop, but the rest are fine. I did find the 1st disc to be more creative and expressive overall, and that's not just because that's where all the pop tracks are. The length, repetition, and weak tracks weigh it down a lot. But I also feel disappointed even the highs are as good as the genre can typically get. I feel DnB is more limited than other forms of electronica. From what I've seen in Goldie and LTJ, it seems a perfect DnB would have to incorporate other genres like techno or ambient, or become something really different like some Big Beat albums I've given perfect scores too. Disc 1 Favorites: Brown Paper Bag, New Forms, Mad Cat, Watching Windows Disc 2 Favorites: Hi-Potent, Share the Fall, Ballet Dance, Electricks
good
I can see how this is an example of a certain ideal, but I'm just not into Drum&Bass enough to be into it for 139 minutes. This would be good BGM for chill activity. The version available on youtube music is the expanded version over 5 hours. I found out where the original endpoint was and finished there.
Ja klart, den havde ikke behøvet at være 2½ timer lang, men jeg er også ked af at erklærer at it slapped. Synes musikken var fed, blev faktisk ikke rigtig træt af det.
In small doses quite good. Listening to 2+ hours of drum and bass is just so tedious. I'd never listen to this unless I needed to focus for 2 hours. I'm tired after listening to the hour initial release. I'd never make it through the 5 hour extended cut
Sprawling drum'n'bass album that grinds its own groove. Accessible but I can see how some people find it a bit indigestible.
Solid dance album, still sounding fresh
Not a huge fan of electronica but it was a decent album, some of the songs were a bit long no memorable lyrics. I'm sure in 1997 it was new and different but all my brain could equate was that I was listening to a very boring (lyrically) Prodigy album.
This is not an album I'd ever expect to appear on this list. I knew nothing of the history going in but love some good drum n bass music/breakbeat footwerk style electronica and apparently this is one of the pioneering artists/album collaborations under "Jungle" which was the first wave of this style. Very cool jazzy style instrumentals. The bass being very prevalent for understandable reasons. There is a lot of variety. Bahamadia's feature is cool. She reminds me a bit of little simz with her rapping voice. There is a lot to digest on this album as the track lengths get long and, to a casual listener, it can slightly blur together. Regardless, pretty cool album.
Not my jam...
This has the real late 90's cyberpunk industrial house feel to it. Good background music for coding.
I was very unenthusiastic when I saw what today's album was. Something to do with the words 'Drum and Bass', I think! However, I was pleasantly surprised! Despite being another overlong album, it was fairly enthralling at times, and actually, without the trademark drum break rythmn holding it together, it wouldn't have worked so well. Reminded me a bit of the Mahavishnu Orchestra actually, for some unexplainable reason. Would I search it out to play again in my busy schedule? Probably not, hence the rating, but definitely worth a listen.
This was a pretty solid album, but it didn't have a clear direction to me. Is it instrumental? Is it a lyrical album? It was good for working, but entirely too long.
Repetitive but not bad
Cool old drum and bass, did enjoy. Probably won't listen again though, the songs are all way too long and a bit repetitive. Would make a great background album for doing work or something
I like the blends of future and instrument
I'm going to be a bit snobby about this one. I've always thought it's a bit overrated. 'Brown Paper Bag' is a tune, no doubt ... but the rest is a bit meh. That's the nature of the beast. 1993-97ish was amazing in the way that hardcore rave rapidly and continually reinvented itself time and time again. There was creativity all over the place, going in so many sonic directions. Contantly pushing the avaialble tech beyond it's limits into crazy sounds that still sound awesome. This album showcased a fraction of that sound to a mainstream audience. It's great that it got the attention, it's great that it shone a spotlight on the scene ... but I've never been convinced it's actually any good. It suffers from he classic issue of DJ dance music producers by having long intros, and then equally not knowing how to finish tracks. So everything feels long and drawn out. There's nothing really explosive. That jazz infused 'intelligent' sound had been around for a while and had been done better. It's fine ... but yeah, never loved it.
Not really for me even though I like a decent amount of DnB and electronic stuff. 2.5/5
quite an exhausting listen that i nodded appreciatively over in the late 90s
it's a classic d+b album, but just not for me.
Way too long and repetitive.
This is album is reminiscent of the work Morcheeba put out around the same time. I liked a couple of the tracks: "Heroes" and "Watching Windows". Other tracks got a little tiresome.
So this was nice, i enjoyed some tracks a lot, but not something i’d listen to every day.
2.5
This would have been a lot cooler without the vocals I think.
I bought this on CD when it first came out and it seemed pretty groundbreaking stuff at the time - I guess the first exposure of drum n bass to mainstream culture. But I'm not sure it holds up that well in a modern context. It's fine, but it's a little samey, even if you restrict your listening to just the first disc of what is now a 5 hour deluxe release on streaming.
Lot of people dislike this album here in reviews, something like 'can not listen to the end'. But, have we ALL hear for the name Roni Size!? Oh yes! We have. So I understand influential power of Roni Size music back than, but is it for me? No and never was. Nevertheless, it would be disrespect if I gave less than 3 just because I am not into this jungle-clubbing-beat...
OK
Impressions: Favorite tracks: Railing, Brown Paper Bag, Watching the Windows Rating: 3/5
Didn't listen, but it's probably good. Who knows, not me
Good for running. 5/10
3 stars
Maybe great for a club but not for just listening. Also with drugs. See also: Soundtrack to every scene of the Skids on Letterkenny.
I listened to the 2 disc version. This music wasn't meant to be listened to at home on a quiet day. I'm sure the repetitive nature or endless thump would be perfect somewhere people are dancing. As is, its just ok and maybe a little long.
Here's one I had never heard of before-interesting collection of music on this album-and an example of why I love the One Album A Day generator. Liked it-not my usual music of choice, but this is a good album.
I don’t tend to enjoy this genre, I really don’t. However, I found I quite enjoyed this, despite its EXTREME length. Nice listen.
Nice sounds and good beats
Not my thing
Super musique d’ascenseur, mais ca tombe vite sur les nerfs
I had never heard this before! It was a slog getting through only because of it's length. I kept picturing it as a soundtrack to some unrealized sci-fi movie (à la Jodorowsky's Dune)
Good album that probably seemed better at the time, and could stand to be cut down to one disk.
Definitely worth a second listen. It was good
Not my cup of tea. Some interesting tunes but I'm not big on the drum and bass though.
oontz. repeat. 3 stars.
These beats move at a breakneck speed. I guess drum ‘n’ bass is dance music but, man, you could have a heart attack if you try to keep up with these songs. This is an epic album too. I broke it into chunks — two-plus hours is a lot when every song has more or less the same fast drum loop. I liked the songs without vocal hooks the most. Highlights: “Let’s Get It On,” “Mad Cat,” “Morse Code,” “Destination,” “Hi-Potent,” “Trust Me,” “Share the Fall”
I've been loving liquid drum n bass lately and it's cool to get a new album here. The album art really threw me off- it looks very modern. The type/fonts, the weird little seemingly random icons adorned next to the artist name, the spacey imagery... i dig it. I liked my listen through. 3/5. It probably could have been shorter or tighter structurally which hurt it.
good background music
Ik ben al fan van drum 'n bass/breakbeat-achtige toestanden sinds ik als jong mannetje voor de eerste keer "Freestyler" van Bomfunk MCs hoorde en ik ben verbaasd dat er een dnb album in de lijst staat. Aan de andere kant is dit natuurlijk wel erg UK en UK = Goddelijk volgens de maker van deze lijst. Eigenlijk heb ik hiermee wel een beetje hetzelfde als met hele oude hiphop: Het is voor het genre essentieel geweest dat het er op dat moment was, maar inmiddels is het genre (of de genres eigenlijk) flink doorgegroeid en kunnen we beter. Dit klinkt nog steeds goed, maar het is ook wel wat beperkt en gedateerd als je hoort wat vele anderen inmiddels uit de computer hebben weten te toveren. Je kunt het haast niet vergelijken. Dat gezegd hebbende: ik kan dit zonder enige irritatie luisteren. Liever oude drum 'n bass dan nieuwe Suzan en Freek zeggen we hier thuis altijd. Ik vermaak me ermee, het is lekkere werkmuziek en het is een keer wat anders dan klaagzang uit de 80's. De tracks zijn wat lang maar dat maakt het ook wel lekker dromerig en geschikt voor op de achtergrond. Realistisch gezien denk ik een 3, al zou ik voor het genre graag hoger geven.
Better than i hoped it would be
Pretty good sound but repetitive at times
Gosh this came the day after a migraine when I was tired and headachey and definitely was not the vibe! Thinking back to my post apocalyptic orgy music vibes. But some of them were fun and I would like to party to them. So a mixed view on this one!
Ermmmm, fine I guess. Very repetitive and not something I'd choose to listen to but I guess it was pumping and fun in places.
I can understand that this might have been fresh and exciting at the time it came out, but it feels very dated now. Which is fine, but the songs are so long and feel like a slog at times. Not my cup of tea. I don't know that I agree that it's really essential listening.
Its OK, but not like an essential album or anything. 3/5
Drum ‘n base zou zoveel fijner zijn zonder zang. Vind ik dan, hè?
Actually really enjoyed this as a soundtrack for the work day
Another I will just have to write off as that I do not get this whole style of music. Just monotonous interminable repetition to my ears.
New to me. Good learning.
It's just... 2 hours is a bit much.
Experimental edm. Feels like the songs are 3/4 complete. Not my cup of tea.
Broke new ground and outstayed it’s welcome within one album.
Langt síðan ég hef hlustað á Roni Size. Sumt eldist vel, annað ekki.
first listen it's cool but definitely too long
Enjoyed it but it sounded just like every other drum and bass music I've ever heard.
I like a bit of drum n' bass, but it's really a music to be out dancing to. That said, the first half of this is great, in a head nodding, trance-inducing kinda way. I'll listen to the second half sometime perhaps.
Litt langdrygt. Jeg liker denne typen musikk for litt intensive skriveøkter.
Интересная работа, но как будто для музыкального альбома сыровата. Очень хочется добавить сюда вокал или флоу. Если же подойти к этому как к некоторым формам, которые нужно дополнить, то смысла у неё чуть больше; но в таком случае она больше интересна музыкантам, чем просто слушателям.
Эта музыка звучит примерно как записанные на носитель диджей-сеты. Причём не танцевальные, а такие типа... ну, в духе "Лагеря", не знаю правда, насколько это очевидная ассоциация. В общем не подэнсить, а скорее покачаться с коктейлем в руках. Подзадалбывает немного к концу... опять же, альбом сидя слушаю, ну вы помните. Я думаю, если эта музыка в клубе фоном играет - она не будет так сильно "бесить" к 9-10 треку. Маловато развития... но большой пласт для потенциального будущего творчества: семплы, коллабы, ремиксы, всё в этом духе.
Ну чутка забавно. Иногда прям ухты, но это прям редкие временные всплески среди белого шума остальных звуков. За счёт этих Ухты 3
I can’t say it’s bad… I can’t even say I disliked it.. but goddamn if it’s not an absolutely mission to get through this whole thing. Many of the songs could’ve used something unique to differentiate them from each other since it feels like you’re hearing almost the same 7min song on repeat 15 times. I did enjoy the more jazzy second half quite a bit more as well so I might come back to that. 6/10
something id hear playing in an early 2000s club scene
Some bangers. Some background music. Good, but not his best.
Good. Not great.
WAY too long (listened to the 2 disc album on spotify) but some songs were pretty good
3.5 - As background music I actually enjoyed this better than I thought I would. Definitely suitable for this rainy day grind session. I like the upright bass sounds and breakbeats.
Música electrónica con ritmos sencillos, sin ser demasiado estridente. Un tanto chillout
Again, never scrobbled. I can appreciate this. I can hear the work that went into it. The stuff with vocals was cool... I just don't know
Not bad but nowhere near the best in this style.
Interesting sounds, though it is not my style at all I did enjoy what I heard for the most part. Nice discovery.
not my taste
Sånt här hade ett rätt snävt bäst-före-datum när det begav sig men icke icke förty: Lite mystrevligt att lyssna på igen
Took a while to grow on me but generally I liked it. I definitely preferred tracks or sections of tracks without vocals. I know nothing of how this album is situated in the music universe so the groundbreaking nature of it is lost on me. Without that context I don't think I can realistically go above 3 stars.
Kinda peppy new wave electronic vibes with some east coast rap blended in at times. 3.5
Good background music.
Solid DnB, decent variation although nothing mindblowing
For a 2 hour jungle album, this flew in. Not much to dislike on here
Je connaissais ce nom, mais je crois que c’est ma première écoute d’un album entier. C’est un album important pour le Drum n Bass. Il y a plusieurs moments intéressants sur cet album, mais étant à la base un style répétitif, 2 disques c’est très long. Ça a nuie à mon appréciation globale du disque. Les pièces avec du vocal sont les plus intéressantes. Ayant remporté le Mercury Prize, pour ce genre de musique, je comprends qu’il soit sur la liste. En session fractionné, ça se prend mieux.
I know this is considered the essential drum and bass album, but two hours is just too long. At its best, the album is fantastic, highly layered, and frenzied, but it just goes on for too long.
I was vaguely familiar with Roni Size and this album before listening. I went through a phase where I listed to a lot in this genre but it's all a blur. Regardless, I liked it—would have to be in the right frame of mind to toss it on.
Well, getting a bad feeling just from the album title... But I like it just fine. A little speedy for first thing in the morning! Overall pretty good, though I like more melody or more aggro in my electronic music.
Good instrumentals
Such an interesting mix of hip hop and jazz. Great sound engineering
Listens: 1 Enjoyed: not really The beats alone would be pretty good, not something I'd actively seek out though. I also think the music was stronger in areas where there were no lyrics Probably a very low 3
I think I liked the second part more than the first, I don’t know if it was part of the original album or not, these electronic artists seem really into themselves. 5 hour 20th anniversary release, who are you? Wilco!? There is some ok stuff here, I really want to hand out a 2 but as much as this album annoys me there is some decent music here.Morse Code was an assault on my ears and I hate the man for it. Fuck this prick, 3/5
non tanto il mio genere però ci stava
drum'n bass particolare, molto pop. brani diversi tra loro
I was a little scared of this album going into it, but it's actually alright. The problem is the average song length is 6 minutes, making this album over two hours long. I like a lot of the beats, but they didn't need to be six minutes long. It's a slog to get through. My favourite song was Brown Paper Bag.
Prefs: Railing, Brown Paper Bag, New Forms, Morse Code, Destination, Hi-Potent, Trust Me, Change My Life, Jazz, Ballet Dance Moins prefs: Beatbox, Hot Stuff
Not for me - a bit too repetitive. I guess I'm not a Drum & Bass fan!
This album was a mixed bag for me, ethereal and atmospheric but also some of the relentless repetition nearly tipped me into moments of temporary insanity.
probably fine but it didn't move me
New Forms is the debut album by British EDM group Roni Size & Reprazent. It's a drum and bass album that earned a lot of commercial success, including the 1997 Mercury Prize and being certified platinum in the UK. This is one of the first albums centering on drum and bass and it's considered the group's magnum opus. I loved the energetic drums combined with the booming bass, in addition to the nostalgia factor of hearing old school EDM. This is a great album for any EDM lovers, or music history buffs that want to hear one of the albums that blossomed the electronic dance craze.
A really interesting genre, the bare-bones D&B tunes aren't really my thing, but add some melody and some of these are really good.
got the sb leak yesterday so I couldn't listen but I will tomorrow
The Drum and Bass album it's ok to like. Phat (yep, phat) beats, use of double bass and and faceless waif vocals. It's bloated as a double album, and could be the argument needed when saying some doubles should be trimmed down to one disc. Best Tracks: Brown Paper Bag; Heroes; Hi-Potent
Meh. Some synth. Some samples. Mid 90's. 3 stars
Fast paced fuel for driving through the city streets late at night in your 93 bmw. Good stuff
Oh, that nineties sound! Generally speaking, I like that type of music, but I do think there are better choices when it comes to the genre and the period (say, Fat Boy Slim?). Regardless, I could do with worse background music, I guess.
I'd have liked this in 1997 but I never bothered with it. Much of it made me feel anxious today. Too much clubbing in 1997.
This album feels so ahead of its time I feel like I heard one or two songs that sound a lot like modern dubstep, while the rest sounded like modern drum and bass. I guess the lesson that I learned is that these specific EDM subgenres are actually older than I realized. This album was fairly standard as far as drum and bass goes, but I really like drum and bass, so this album was enjoyable for me.,
Too long
Jiggly but it's all on cruise control. Choose one for a short journey or both for the longer trips.
I really don't listen to this type of music. Said another way, I really don't take these kinds of drugs anymore but this album was very pleasant to have on as background while working.
After 5 songs it all starts sounding the same.
Not too bad for electronic/drum & bass music.
Schiebt von Beginn gut an, hievt mit „Brown Paper Bag“ gleich mal die Latte hoch, hält ein unfassbar jazzy-grooviges, dichtes Niveau und franst vielleicht aufgrund der Länge zum Ende hin ein wenig aus. (Auf Kopfhörern seltsamer Weise etwas dünner als im Auto, wobei die Stereo-Spielereien erst damit bemerkbar werden) Goulish 3.4
Fand ich 1997 langweiliger als heute, und ich mochte Drum'n'Bass damals sehr. Heute trotzdem spannender, was ja nichts schlechtes ist. Vom Hocker reisst es mich aber auch nicht.
So 1001 provides multiple listings for hardcore and grunge, but only one for drum and bass - and this is it. I'm not an aficionada of D&B, but I'd say Roni is more melodic and less minimalist than most of what I've heard. The addition of Onallee on vocals is a big plus. Heroes and the other tracks she's involved in are standouts IMO. It would be nice to condense the best stuff down to a single LP.
In general, I find listening to double albums a chore, and this album is a good representation of that. I was ready to be done at the end of the first album, and then here is a full other album for me to listen to. I thought I was going to like this more. I'm a fan of DnB in general, and I remember listening to some of these songs when I was younger, but it didn't really do anything for me this time around. Part of the problem may be that I prefer more modern DnB, and this is pretty true to the roots of the genre 3/5
Pretty cool, but ran out of steam and interest very quickly. Probably belongs on this list but not one to return to much.
Probably amongst the worst things from the house of darkness malarkey. I might need to get some drugs in.
Hard to rate. Probably the best drum and bass album ever but it isn't a genre that suits albums. Brown Paper Bag is still amazing
i feel like this one suffers from the general musical malaise of the late 90s...but it's still interesting, in its way. it holds on hard to the old jungle beats - from back when that term wasn't as problematic as it is now - which i enjoy, since it's such an insect-in-amber thing. but overall, it's just not for me. didn't like it then, don't really care about it now.
Overlong and a bit samey but still sounds better than expected.
Long album but good beats.
I can appreciate that this was somewhat either ground-breaking or genre-defining, but DNB isn't really for me. And the vocals didn't make up for anything. A good album, well produced.
Cool techno lounge
Encyclopedic, a little repetitive (not within tracks but in the tracklist, too, and in neither place self-referential), long but driving toward its telos. That destination feels a bit hollow, but the music does not: Parts of it are positively live.
I'd give this album a 4-star rating if the songs were shorter. It's 139 minutes, over two hours of music, which is not necessarily bad, but this kind of compositions can get very repetitive very quickly, even though it's some pretty outstanding, classic drum'n'bass. "Lo bueno, si poco, mejor".
Classic drum and bass, decent tunes
I didn’t find this enjoyable, but I can recognize that it’s good. Because it wasn’t my thing I skipped through a lot of tracks after the first minute or so. I really thought I would enjoy some songs based off of their opening riffs, but found they were lacking.
interesting. album art screams 1997 to me haha. its longggggg. first thought: radiohead music but some dude rapping on top instead of toms pitiful singing lol. it's been like 40 minutes and i've liked everything minus that first track. i dont have a lot to say i simply like this type of music. but it also wasnt the absolute best. just pretty cool.
Drum and bass, but jazzy enough to enjoy without the full bass experience. Some of the 7-9 minute tracks did drag on
Good fun drum and bass. Long run time. Consequently, a little repetitive by the second CD.
Good for raving ngl
A estas alturas reconozco que da un poco de pereza, pero no está mal.
A bit monotonous
90's electronic. chill dnb and jazz vibes. I actually digged this album even though im not the biggest dnb fan. A good album for ambient sound
Not bad, but not the best house/jungle/rythym-n-bass album I've heard either. Also, way, way, too long.
I gave this more of a fair shot than I might have otherwise because I have a good friend named Roni. I still dislike drum and bass, but this band does it real well
JUNGLE IS MASSIVE. Excellent former dnb producer that managed to shapeshift the sound in the 90s with legendary producer like Goldie.
Some funky, cool sounds, but I can't listen to two hours of this.
3.3
Okay 👌
Interesting but real long
D&B, 3/5
53 tracks, 2 hours... this is supposed to be my jam but there is no way this brings people into dnb. I guess this is progressive dnb and I'm sure the heads will be into the production but I just want some mainstream dancefloor dnb, sorry. on as background to pottering which was fine, wouldn't have wanted to actively listen (but how often do I do that anyway). ultimately I wanted to like it but got BORED.
Right Ronnie - thanks for popping over... sure you need to head off to beat the traffic ...no? You can stay a bit longer .... great... (not my type of music unfortunately, far too long and pretty much unlistenable. Solidifies my view that the only benefit to the Mercury prize is to highlight crap records. Also deducting a star for upsetting my cat.)
Incredibly ‘90s, about eight times longer than it needs to be, but it’s fine, kinda floats on by without much fuss. It just makes me think of people ten years older than me on pills. Also, the drum n bass album that should actually be on this list is Saturnz Return by Goldie, but it won’t be, will it :/ (The album art is superb)
Break the mold and never use again.
I feel like Drum and Bass falls into the category of music that is not necessarily meant to be consumed an entire album at a time. Eventually it just becomes relentless noise.
How tedious. I don't object to the basic D&B rhythms etc and if it was the first album to really do this I can hear how influential it must have been. But jesus those tracks are so long and repetitive.
I listened to the single disc version of the album, because it's bad enough I have to hear drums and base, but I cannot listen to drums and base for over two hours. I hate myself but not quite that much. This is certainly a lot of drums and bass, even if I didn't listen to the double disc set of these songs. The beats per minute never change on any of these songs. Heroes starts off slow, but like an addict who just needs that fix, the beats per minute are immediately ramped up to the same bpm that plays across this whole album. There was a low chance I was going to like bass and drums, yet I do like to go into an album with an open mind. My mind never became closed, but only because I was astounded the pace never really changed during the 80 minute listen. The only chance I would ever listen to this album again is if I am at a CIA black site either being interrogated or doing the interrogating. I would blare this music at top volume to get the information I need. Eventually, my subject would spill what I need to know. If I were being interrogated, I would break after two listens, not because this is terrible music, but because it. never. changes. pace. The songs are 6-8 minutes long and while the first couple of songs were not so bad, it became very repetitive after a while. I am not surprised this album won the Mercury Prize, because I am starting to realize the British have bad taste in electronica. It beat out OK Computer and Coming Up (by Suede) for the prize. That's all I have to say about that.
Trummor och bas. Skivan känns för lång. Repeterande musik. Inte min kopp te. Brown Paper Bag bäst trots 9 minuter.
Weirdly experimental. A few cool things on there, but gave musicology vibes.
New Forms... but of what I ask you?! I never got into this at the time and whilst I can listen to it now and think it's ok background music, I don't really get why it was so popular at the time. All sounds very much similar to me which is not what you want from a 140 minute album! I prefer the Me & You cover of Brow Paper Bag, which I'm mentioning purely so I can mention the brilliant Tru Thoughts label: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tgR74Ab99c
Been a good few two hour drum and bass or techno albums on this list, appropriate if you're off your nut at a clubs not so much made for the commute. My last two days have been solely soundtracked by Roni, been a bit odd. Musically I tend to like the first minute of a drum and bass track but it's never designed to build or change, tends to plod along and then end. And this was the case here, a lot of decent ideas, nice repetition, and then apart from a few bells and whistles no change. So can't say I enjoyed but with a shorter run time and better structure I might have done. 2.5.
Didn't mind this in the background.... Not sure it's list worthy. Probably right time and place type thing but doubt I'll be back. Think I recognised a couple though. I remember a track with Roni Size and Zach de la Rocha which was good back in the day
Over two hours of this?! Punishing.
Maybe they should have stuck with the old forms ...
Never listened. Expectations: None - Verdict: Not For Me - The opener feels generic and I'm not a fan of the vocals. Brown Paper Bag is a big switch up that is much more interesting and it slightly recontextualises the opener. I find the sound gets a tad boring after a while even on the longer more expansive tracks. At the end I found that it was a very long album to sit through for very little reward.
Sometimes quite o.k. in terms of background- music. But way too long and too repetitive. 1,5
I had this CD in college, it was boring then... still boring.
Better than others of this ilk but still repetitive and did not hold my interest.
How is this album essential listening? I'm not even saying its bad, I just don't understand how it made the list of albums you MUST hear before you die. Drum and bass is such a niche genre, and the songs on New Forms, to me at least, all share the same backing beat. I'm sure there are people out there for whom this album is amazing. I'm not one of them. The same backbeat from track to track just makes it seem like one never ending song, to its detriment.
1,5
It’s soooo weird bro and too long
J dilla with no soul
Just… so long….
Pepperoni nipples
I like the electronic music of this era, but this specific kind of drum and bass is so boring and tedious to listen to. Begrudgingly sat through it all.
Waaay too repetitive. May be good in some clothing store. A couple beats were ok, but….2.5
Let's talk about double albums (this one is arguably a triple). Some are understandable - not excusable or a good idea, just understandable. George Harrison's solo debut comes to mind. The man must have been on the brink of insanity near the end of the Beatles. So, we can understand his desire to release a double album. However, had he cut that album in half, he may have had the best solo career of the Beatles. Most double albums are from a pretentious and mediocre band that gets in a studio (usually for the first time in their lives) and just blows their wad all over. No direction. No purpose. No message. Just volume (mass, not sound, but sometimes both). These are the bulk of the dozen or more doubles on this project. Some are the product of every song being about twice as long as necessary. This is what we have here. We don’t need the Ramones’ approach every time, but we also shouldn’t go to the opposite extreme. I’m pretty sure that Brown Paper Bag song is still going on. And on. And on. . . . Then you have the precious few justifiable double albums. Songs in the Key of Life and Physical Graffiti are the only two that come to mind. Stevie was clowning the world; Songs was his EIGHTEENTH album. I swear he made it a double just to prove he could write that many good songs. Graffiti is probably the worst Led Zep album, but they covered so many different genres of music that you just had to listen to the whole thing. Oh yeah, this album. Well, I now believe that 1,001 Albums is in itself a double album. 500 or even 101 albums is probably all you have to listen to before you die. This album is just filler to get you to 1,001.
This kind of music was briefly popular for a reason.
Electronic, not terribly interesting
Molly called, asked if she left her spleen in the fridge last night. I asked around, but the walls stopped talking this morning, and the fridge is still puking in the shower. Dope! Be over in 5!
An unremarkable snooze fest.
Here's another surprising one: a DNB album that won the Mercury Prize! That's probably something that won't ever be seen again, because electronic music is rarely given the time of day at stuffy, pompous award shows like those. What's a little less surprising is that the Mercury Prize would go out to an electronic album as ordinary and conservative as this. You won't find any drastic innovations in any of the 78 minutes that make up this album. And with a genre as samey as DNB, whose small intricacies are key to keeping the genre fresh and relevant, this release really feels like a slog by the time you're halfway through it. So much of it is the same old same old - the sped-up Amen Break combined with whatever minimalist trip-hop instrumental they could fine, with a distorted voice or 2 thrown in for good measure. There are a few highlights but this album will generally feel in one ear out the other. It doesn't help that the songs are mostly 3 minutes too long; it's clear they were trying to capture that dancefloor feel, but the songs are too jazzy and subdued to really work as backing tracks for a strobe lights and glowsticks rave. That's not to say the album is all bad, as there's at least a couple of noteworthy pieces on here. Most of them are in the first half though, and you'll be waiting a while to catch some memorable moments for the rest of this already overlong album. All I can say is the inclusion of Mercury Prize winners no one remembers speaks a lot of the UK-centric bias this list can have at times. It's not always there, but it's kind of glaring when it is...It's the musical equivalent of putting every Best Picture winner in a list of seminal movies: some of them just aren't as great as they were at the time.
It's hard to find a use for this album. It's a bit too boring to just sit and listen to, irritating while running, and demands too much attention when you're trying to focus on something. Spotify has a 5-hour 20th Anniversary Edition of New Forms, but I listened to the first two hours or so. That was more than enough.
This shit is always cool for a song or two, then it drives me crazy.
Disappointing. I remember the hype around this album and it winning the mercury music prize, back when that seemed like a true accolade. It was a bit messy & disjointed
Kind of hated this at first then I started to vibe with it a little. Needs more Bahamadia. Disclosure: I listened to the single disc "cassette version." It's an hour and goddamn twenty minutes already, I'm not doubling that.
Listening session: july 20th, while chilling at home Listened to before: no Thoughts: some beats were okay, but this is definitely not something special that belongs on the list in my opinion Favourite track: New Forms
Not for me. Two stars…
Yeah ok. But nah.
The Chinese Water Torture of music. I think if this was a backdrop to something interesting like tooling around a city in a Steampunk or Cyberpunk game it would be OK because it's not in the limelight. However, on it's own, it gets exposed to its own monotony.
Not my style
Drum and bass and drum and bass and drum and bass. I cannot believe Reprezent exists or that they chose to spell their name that way.
Drum n bass n a bit boring.
This would've been better if every one was 2-3 minutes shorter. Great for having on in the background while working though.
Soundtrack music to every PlayStation game. Inherently nothing wrong with this, but would never listen to this except as a gag.
I don't like Drum and Bass, but some of this wasn't terrible -- basically the rapping at the beginning.
Slow and a bit bland. This era of dance music isn't for me
I would've been fine if it wasn't 2+ hours long with some songs reaching 9 minutes in lenght. For some other music genres this wouldn't be an issue, but listening to drum'n'bass for so long just gives me anxiety. and even if we look over the fact that this is an anxiety inducing album, it has some great moments but most of it is just kinda okay.
I have to imagine that these guys achieved what they were going for, although it is not for me. I enjoy the sound of this album, but I think each song is too long and the vocalists don't do anything for me. As an album, I cannot see myself returning to it, especially due to its length.
Honestly, I was dreading this when I saw how long it was. But I'm committed to this project, so I put it on while I was doing things around my house.The music was not bad, but it was repetitive. I would say it would be good to listen to for a long night of dancing at the club. It also has a good atmospheric quality, so it does make decent background music. However, I have to rate it lower just bc of the length and repetition. I know I won't revisit it.
Heard bone-crushingly loud at 2AM, covered in other people's sweat, this may well be a life-changing record. As a headphone listen, it's just a waste of everyone's time.
A pretty boring collection of drum and bass tracks that, if played in a nightclub, would make me turn to my mates and say, "smoking area?"
After a while I thought I was just listening to the same song for 50 minutes.
I would really like to know what it is about this that warrants being on a list of 1001 albums you MUST listen to before you DIE. I'm sure someone working with samples has sampled these samples, yay. This is about as 2.5 as 2.5 can get.
I still don’t know electronica well enough to say if this is any good. But I know I still don’t love electronica. Didn’t hate this one, so that’s a plus.
5/10 Didnt really like it
This is a long ass album to be nothing but electronic drums and base. Got the gist after the first 3 hours. And i still don't get the hype.
Skjønner bare ikke hva denne platen vil meg. Fungerte sikkert kjempebra på et Rave i Luton 97.
not for me
I don't really need to hear this again. It's not like it's terrible music....it's fine as background music for a live stream or something... but I feel like I've heard much more interesting versions of this kinda thing.
I like Drum 'N' Bass, I even like Roni Size and Reprazent, but an entire double album is far too much. Like every double album ever, this would be better as a more curated single disc, and even then Drum 'N' Bass isn't a musical genre that lends itself to an entire album, it's just exhausting to listen to. Plus, the ideal situation to listen to this is at a club in the late 90s while ripped off your tits on Special Brew or something more illicit.
I didn't hate it but fuck, it just drags so much. Way too long. The man who wrote this list is obviously a Brit who was a teen/young adult in the 90s. Respect for tying his choices to a time and place but I never want to listen to this meandering double album again. Spotify has even more on there, five hours or more. Kill me.
Difficult to listen to
Yeah no
Just weird
Boring/annoying/bad rappers. But gives frutier aqua a little bit....
Duly noted: Drum and Bass is a thing. These works are not albums in the Album Era Sense, they are catalogs of tracks where more is always more. How about an album of a proper 60' set? A little DnB goes a long way, and this much DnB doesn’t really go anywhere. :( I've now finished the subset of records with 'roni' in their artist/titles: Synchronicity, The Chronic, and this.
So I didnt hate this, but, its too much techno for me. I did hear a lot of late 90s electronica sounds. A lot of it reminded of the soundtrack to the matrix, which is where most of my late 90s techno experience comes from.
Honestly as background noise this isn’t terrible or anything, it’s just absolutely punishing in its length. 140 minutes of more or less the same thing, with minimal variation, is a tough sell even if you love a genre, and I do not love drum and bass. If this is what new forms sound like I’m happy to settle for the old ones.
Not as bad as I thought, and I can appreciate the music style, just truly not as a sit down and listen to it as an album sort of thing. Thankfully Spotify only had about 85% of CD1 and I stopped there. Fine stuff but not best suited to the album format, in a conventional sense at least (best listened to as a mix)
It’s like dance or house music, but without any good riffs to make it interesting. Not fully 1 star, but definitely not for me.
Actually pretty fun but good fucking god is this motherfucker interminable, both in track count AND track length, like there are 20 tracks AND they all run 6 minutes (where they basically sound the same for the duration of any given track)
Not my thing. I can see why people would like it but it’s not something I’d listen to again.
The line "something you've never heard before" followed by some basic drumming and synth work really set the vibe for this listen. It's not that it is incompetent or not alright to listen to, but it's so disposable feeling. Maybe that's part of the appeal but in six months I could hear this again and be perfectly convinced I've never heard it and it sounds the same as 1,000 other drum and bass acts.
I had always heard about drum and bass and it's importance to British music. If this is an important album maybe it will help me understand. 3 tracks in I've lost all sense of time. I'm in a prison, a sound is pecking at my brain. I'm trying to escape my consciousness to a place without drums and bass. Track 5. A voice, a voice I don't want to hear. I might start to cry. Matter of Fact feels like a welcome escape. I took the garbage out, the sun washed over me. I'm reminded that I am in a different prison. The drums have returned. Will listening to this reprogram my brain? I'm scared, but maybe I won't know any better after this. Are those bongos? They are frightening. A cellmate has started to imitate the drums, or is this me? On and on and on a rhythm that my heart cannot comprehend. If I hadn't lost all sense of time back on track 3 I would be able to process the silence after the album better. I'm worried the beats might come back. I need time.
Nono off per me
None of the songs really make me feel like I wanted to listen until the end. hard meh
It was very 90’s and unremarkable
Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5
Fitting our second to last album is one of these. Way too long and uninteresting.
Well the best that can be said for this is that it was a passive background to my long run. There’s nothing great here. After five minutes you’ve heard everything it has, but on and on and it goes.
Bin im DnB nicht so bewandert. Ist das für das Genre ein wichtiges Album? Bei mir bleibt da nix hängen.
Could have been worse. Wayyyy too long
Ooof, I actually liked it for a little while, but then realized it was mostly just distraction free background music, but then realized how long the album was, but then realized how repetitive the album was, but then....
Not only do I not like this, but I also hate it. I don't even hate it passionately enough for a 1, because it's also uninteresting.
I thought it was just aight.
Was not the worst background music but definitely not for me.
Boring
Okay, so drum and bass isn't really my jam, and even after listening to this, I still think it was a total robbery that it won over OK Computer at the Mercury Prize in 1997. I get that Roni Size is talented and uses jazzy bass and real drums, but the "New Forms" here just end up feeling like a new kind of tired. At almost 80 minutes for just the first disc, and over two hours if you go all in to the extended version (and let's not even talk about the 4 disc, 5 hour marathon of a 20th anniversary edition), it goes from chill background music to a repetitive, anxiety-inducing slog that drags on forever. There are some cool moments, especially on tracks like "Brown Paper Bag" or "Watching Windows", where the jungle/jazz mix actually sounds decent. But for someone who isn't super into it, the same beats and looped vocals make it sound super old and kinda niche. It's important to the greater UK music scene, for sure, and it helped the genre get popular, but unless you're a hardcore 90s raver or need a long, boring soundtrack for work, it's hard to recommend.
Sigh of disappointment with another electronica pick and a very fucking long one, too. Listened to it in the car. Much better than I expected. More development and progression of beats and sounds than I think is usual, and I didn't feel like I needed a cocktail of drugs to get into it. Really not bad. But I can't really say I liked it or would recommend it as a musical milestone. 2.5/5
Fine DnB but too long to be listened to in one sitting
As a collection of individual songs intended to be mixed and matched, I get it. As an album it bleeds together in a way I found unpleasant even if I liked pieces in isolation.
Inoffensive and bland.
ME ABURRI, igual yo ya se que no me gusta este tipo de música je
While I can admire the commitment of the drum 'n' bass genre to an innovative aesthetic and sound design, it makes me anxious. It's like chugging too much coffee. While New Forms may be the most successful example of the genre, I think if I listened to the whole thing, I would never sleep again. I am also intrinsically skeptical of any album that wins the Mercury Prize. It's a marker of over-hyped pretention, and historically, the winners often have little long-term cultural impact. Applying that sweeping generalization to New Forms seems cruel (but fair).
I tried, but I couldn’t get into this.
Favorite Track: Railing
boooooringgggg mas pelo menos nos trechos que eu ouvi tem sua criatividade 2/5 / 4/10
The Brits are at it again. There is enough UK bias on this list that a bunch of reviews are going to amount to an unessential album that happens to be popular in Britain being dunked on by non-UK users and then a bunch of people who did coke or acid at the right time in history talking about how life changing the album was. Drum n' Bass is much bigger in the Uk, probably in no small part becuase it fit into the party culture over there in a way that is doesn't in the US. The actual music is fine, but this album is just way too long and samey to be enjoyed much in a sober mind. I'm sure it rocks if you're on molly, but that isn't really a huge credit to it. QVC rocks when you're high.
New Forms has a bit more personality than Logical Progression. I enjoyed some moments, but it blended into a more than two hour "ehhh" that joins the list of extremely long club albums that have barely any point to be here other than the editors thought it was important. Shoutout Anna Kendrick, she lowkey bad (4/10, 2/5 on this scale)
Hooray, another long and tiring DnB album. I'm sort of glad it's not a compilation, unlike "Logical Progression". "New Forms" still suffers from the same problems that "Logical Progression" had. It's an incredible slog to get through, but the synths managed to keep me sane. I have no idea how this album reached number 8 on the charts. 2 stars for "New Forms".
First song sounded like a more boring rip off of funk soul brother and the rest was weird boring ambient noise that turned into less ambient noise but still just noise. Why tf is this on the list?
Needs more bass and less drum 🤔
There have to be better drum n bass records out there. This isn't really it. Gonna rate it lower than 3 only bc of the length.
Jag orkade inte lyssna på hela albumet, det tog liksom aldrig slut. Jag minns att jag gillade Roni Size när det begav sig. I alla fall Brown Paper Bag och Share the fall. Men... Det låter likadant rakt igenom och jag tröttnar snabbt. Ett album som kanske passar bättre i 90-talet?
3.0/10 Pretty annoying overall... hard to get through the entire album
Only made it through disc 1. It’s ok, I just don’t really like this genre. I really don’t like that one track Morse Code tho I think I am going insane
Never been a big fan of "drum'n'bass" and this album does nothing for me.. overly long, repetitive beat tracks... DNF the album
I mean it’s fine I guess.
I’m on the verge of giving up on this list. It’s just defeating album after defeating album. I think it’s safe to say that Brit rap/techno, hip hop/drum and bass is almost all trash. Vocally that is. As far as the music goes, sans trash vocals. It’s decent. I actually really like the music for Digital. In fact, even the vocals hold up. Thank you Digital for pulling this one out of the trash heap. But that’s really it. You grow tired of the album before you crave more Choice cut: digital
The first impressions aren't good. And I definitely won't make it through the 5hr remastered version that Qobuz suggests...
okay
Man this drags. Can't say I hated it. I got through it, but it was challenging and I am sure I never will listen again. I understand why you would include a drum and basse album but this one feels dated and not creative
Sehr langatmiges Album mit gewöhnungsbedürftigem Grundrauschen. Vielleicht kein Album für einen Tag.
Nope
Et chill D&B-album. Den mest populære låta her, Brown Paper Bag, hadde sklidd ubemerket inn i Geometry Dash. Minner om Jamie xx, bare svakere. Top 3: New Forms, Railings, Heroes
ich hab nur die ersten drei lieder angehört, da war es leider schon langweilig, deshalb habe ich abgebrochen, es war aber nicht unbedingt schlecht
Kinda sounds like typical 90s electronic music. More odd than good.
Album 127. New Forms (https://open.spotify.com/album/2wa0kOg4mJ94Iw17Gcv4IL?si=8sSn-QlWSVKc5xzyIQ5O8w) — Roni Size (1997) I'm not really sure if I finished the album today, it's pretty long and I don't remember when it ended. Anyways, it's a strange mix of genres, not my kind of electronica. I enjoyed the song New Forms featuring Bahamadia. Basically, I found a part of hip-hop in the album and it's the only thing I really enjoyed. Okay, finishing this review, I'm adding New Forms to liked playlist. 2/5 Liked: — New Forms
Man, every time I see a double album come up, I get a little worried. It's a rare double that merits the form, unless you happen to be a hardcore fan. It's especially wild as a debut! This is a brand new genre for me. As with a lot of electronic music, I find it extremely repetitive. This suits my usual form of listening -- while I work during the day -- but rarely becomes so interesting as to break my concentration. That works well for productivity but isn't a real endorsement in terms of music. This might work much better if I were dancing in a club. As the breaks are fairly monotonous (though shifting, slowly), the occasional vocal content would be heavily leaned on for interest. Unfortunately, the MCs featured here don't have the flow to hold my attention. This isn't bad music, it's just not suited to my tastes and the contexts in which I'm usually listening. I'll try this again sometime when I'm zoned in, working on a project at home -- I imagine I'll enjoy it much more, then. I'll just have to take Dimery's word that this is an important album. The second disc is better than the first. 2/5 but you should check it out -- it might be your jam! Be warned: the 20th Anniversary Edition is doubled (remixes), so it's like five hours long. You don't need to put yourself through that.
meh.
I think this would be considered house music. Something along that dance vibe. I feel harsh saying this, but can't think of another way; I found it boring and uninspiring
Nah
Not bad driving music. That sound on Brown Paper Bag is interesting, but not as interesting as that song from the Flat Eric advert
I struggled to listen to this in its entirety when it was released. Yes, D&B was innovative, that didn’t make it a good listen. I don’t feel it’s aged well and it soon wears thin. Not one to revisit.
Det va heilt ok. Litt repetetivt, men kult te tider
This was boring and didn’t seem to have much to redeem it. I didn’t not listen to all of the special edition
This shit is too long. There's little variance within the individual tracks. Most of the tracks could be cut in half and still sound the same structurally. There's also little variance between tracks. They all blur together and could've worked as just one really long track. Several times I got baited by the opening of a track, and I thought that they were actually going to switch up the beat, but a couple minutes later without fail the track will have somehow devolved into the same type of beat as every other track on this album.
BBGM (british background music)
I don’t even think that this was groundbreaking for 1997. No reason for this to be here.
Didn’t really go it for me
More UK electronica? C'mon, mate! I sucked it up and listened to the whole (original release) album. Not the 5 hours, 15 minutes version on the YouTube music. (Who the hell could even do that?!?) Isn't the 2hr 19min version enough to get anyone's brain leaking out? This is exactly representative of this genre. (yes, I'm lumping d&b along with any of the various types of electronica here because they're all frigging the same!) Maybe that's why it's on the list. I saw something about it bringing d&b into the mainstream and a bunch of UKers saying that it was the soundtrack of their youth. So, OK. Cool. The problem with it and it's ilk is that someone comes up with a cool sound and then beats the living hell out of it for about 6 minutes too long. The repetition gets soooo annoying! I will give them a little credit for adding some flairs and dips into a few other genres, but it's not enough to make up for the constant beat beat beat and repeated hooks and lyrics. Usually, I go back in to listen to every album at least twice. This is only the 3rd out of just about 200 that I just couldn't bring myself to do again. It's all too same-y throughout AND did I mention it's repetitious? I'll give it a couple of points for being a good representative of the genre and I see that some folks really like it. So, I'll chalk it up to Different Stokes for Different Folks (Thanks, Sly Stone!) But it's a 2 for me!
I didn't make it all the way through this one, but I'm still giving it a 2. Deal with it.
Primera noticia. No sé nade ni de este disco ni de este músico. Madre mía me sale la edición 20 aniversario con 58 temas y casi 6 horas!!! He buscado en la wikipedia para escuchar solo las de la edición original. Aún gustándome esta música se me ha hecho bola. Mercury Prize a disco del año 97. Ha envejecido mal.
Album 1053 of 1089 New Forms- Roni Size (1997) Rating : 2 / 5 What did I just listen to? That was my first thought when it ended. This is a deep dive into drum and bass — layered beats, rapid-fire rhythms, electronic textures stacked on top of each other for well over an hour. It’s ambitious, no doubt about that. You can hear the craft. You can hear the production detail. You can tell this was meant to be immersive. But immersive and enjoyable aren’t always the same thing for me. There were moments where I caught myself appreciating the complexity — the way the percussion drives everything forward, the way vocals float in and out almost like another instrument. But just as quickly, it would slip back into long stretches that felt repetitive to my ears. It’s clearly built for listeners who want to sink into rhythm and atmosphere. I tend to want songs. That doesn’t make it bad. It just means it isn’t really made for me. I respect the artistry. I respect the ambition. But when it was over, I wasn’t left wanting to go back. More of an experience than a pleasure listen, in my world.
I’m kind of ambivalent towards this one. A double album of very similar isn’t normally something I’d go for. Bits and pieces were fine
É um Drum&Bass com elementos bem ricos. Só que devo ser sincero e dizer que não é um tipo de som que me apetece. QoA Adonis New.
As soon as I saw the length of this album I started dreading having to listen to it. After hearing it I stand by that, the songs just drag on without being very interesting. The title track is decent but that was the highlight. It never became grating hence the rating
My son enjoyed dancing to some of the songs, but the breakbeat is all the same, giving the album a lack of variety in sound. It’s also too long by 30-45 minutes, but most electronic albums are.
it is what it is innit
I think it's supposed to be this way but way too repetitive for me. 2 stars.
Don't really enjoy this type of music. Found the first half of the album quite repetitive but picked up in the second half. Still not for me
Nothing too horrible, but also nothing special
Too repetitive and kind of basic overall it felt like.
It started off heavy and thought it'd be a very long 2+ hours to get through it, but then it got better and could listen to the whole album. It's not my thing but I can see why it was so new in the late 1990s, and it still doesn't sound too dated. The thing is, that it is too much background music for me and it's not something I would actively seek out. It's also a very long album. 2 stars, but it's not a really bad album, it just isn't really my taste.
This is a joke, right? Cool, D&B roots....
Gave this a skip listen because drum and base very much isn't my thing but it wasn't too bad. Wouldn't play it again and a lot of it sounds very similar to me but probably a good entry point to this type of music.
It just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on... I don't care if it's impressive or innovative for its time, I don't want to hear any more of it.
This was one long song...right? Def not the only one on this list - but for sure an album where right away you go..is it bad? Not really. Did i need to hear it before i die? DEF NOT
Each track has its own odd, jazzy sounds and moody atmospheres - enough of it to fill exactly one or two minutes of interesting music per track. But with the average track length here being around 7 minutes, that leaves on average 5-6 minutes per track where the music just kind of rambles on, becoming a functional soundtrack to aid your study sessions at best. Not bad at all, but just imagine what could have been, if only these tracks would actually go somewhere.
I usually like Electronica and DnB to some extent. But this was way too long and too repetitive, even for Electronica.
Drum and bass is not my genre. There were some cool sounds and I can see why people get into it, but this felt pretty endless.
Drum and base is not my style of Techno. This had some interesting songs though, but overall i'd pass on it. 2.5/5