Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Why so long?
2/5
This was OK but I found most of it pretty average and forgettable.
An hour of early drum and bass music almost feels like I’m being punished for something.
Boring and generic drum and bass. 2/5
My hot take for electronic music is that the harder it is to reproduce, the better it is. This is music for a movie heist scene, and the reason it works in a heist scene is because the scene generally ends within 5 minutes or so.
Good ideas on there. Would listen to that on a hot summer day while drinking in a bar if it's in the background but not on purpose.
Ok
Roni size Another English electronic album from the late 90’s. Hard to keep my attention with electronic music. The grooves are cool but hard to dig an entire album of this. I liked some Squarepusher and Aphex Twin albums that are more I teresti g compositionally. Prefer songs with vocals like heroes.
5 hours is too much of the same
Remember this being a towering influence at the time, a true drum n bass classic. And at times it scales those heights still today. At times it also sticks around longer than necessary and feels very dated but in fairness, it wasn’t written to be listened to while unwinding in my lounge after work.
I wanted to like this more than I did. Just too long, man. The problem with digital technology in music production and reproduction is that what used to be a creative constraint, being the amount of material the artist could reasonably add to an album. Because tape was EXPENSIVE, took specialized knowledge to work with effectively, had a finite physical capacity, and took up physical space among other things. The artist and producer needed to be super selective about what they committed to tape and by extension the record they made. You had to rehearse as studio time was also expensive and in limited supply. A lot of effort had to go into song selection, recording method, it all adds up. Only the best performances make the cut from a purely practical and financial perspective. But with digital all that went away. On the positive side, now anyone truly can make professional sounding work, and make recordings anywhere (dorm room, backyard shed, etc.). Digital distribution has further democratized the industry, and most barriers to creating, publishing, and marketing music are gone. Additionally, recordings can be ANY LENGTH without constraint. This lack of constraints allows artists (who are in love with their own work as if it were more important than their own offspring) the ability to publish everything they make, regardless of quality of the performance, whether it's a unique or novel expression, or any other reason to prune. This lack of constraints is especially detrimental in electronic music, where an artists ability to play a musical instrument is another constraint that no longer matters. Just sample something, loop it, add some beats, boom - done. Now there's too much. This Roni Size album has some good stuff on it! But too much. Too much of every song contains recycled elements of the last, and the next. Pop clearly eats itself here, but not in a self-referential post-modern way (like Boards of Canada). An example of the post-vinyl digital abundance and ego stroking that is now de rigeur.
Repetitive beats, nothing noteworthy.
An hour and 20 of drum and bass is too much for me. Fun tracks, but this isn’t my idea of a good time.
Clearly a very strong album, and it was teetering on three stars for me. I'm just not that into drum and bass.
It was fine as background music. But a lot of the songs sounded the same. It's not really a genre that does anything for me. I typically give a 2 to stuff I don't like. It feels harsh here. I'm not sure that this music was really created to be judged as an album, in the same way that Abbey Road or Dark Side of the Moon were. But that's what this rating system compares. So on that scale it was long and boring.
Look, it wasn't *bad*, but it was LONG af. 20 songs at 6 minutes a piece that all sounded the same. Like, I genuinely couldn't tell you one song that stood out from the rest, so much so that I imagine this was a 2-hour glimpse into what purgatory must be like. Oh, and to top it all off, the album cover was giving me serious "90's business suite software that you need a 300 page manual to start using" vibes. The one "plus" of this album was that it wasn't terrible to listen to as work background music, sort of like lofi. Maybe if there was a Lofi Girl equivalent for Drums and Bass I'd find this album more endearing.
According to the wiki, the original album was over 2 hours long but the only options I had were an hour long or 5 hours long. Unfortunately I could barely even stomach the hour long short version. I’d say that I don’t like drum and bass that much but I swear I’ve reacted positively to this type of electronica before—even the radio after the album wasn’t bad. This one just happened to suck balls and was incredibly annoying to me despite being considered the opus of the subgenre apparently. Very low two
i truly expected to absolutely hate this, and while I didn't, i did also go out of ny way to make sure i listened to the album as originally released (not the one disc version the spotify link here leads to) and good lord there is no album that can justify a 2 hour and 20 minute length, and certainly not when that album is entirely drum and bass. I'll toss it an extra star for not making me 100% bonkers which is an achievement, but if I'm grading this as an album listening experience than holy shit you will never ever catch me putting this on again
When I saw that the 20th Anniversary album was FIVE HOURS LONG, I instantly had a 'ain't nobody got time for that' moment. I decided to listen to Disc 1 before going back to the rest of my backlog (which is currently full of bangers, a nice juxtaposition to what I've listened to lately). The initial drum and bass combo on Railing and Brown Paper Bag really work quite well, but from there the tracks are entirely too long and too repetitive, and this would have benefited from some level of restraint or curation. As is, it was even hard to zone out to. That said, acknowledging that this was a first of its kind and really paved the way for drum and bass music, it's spot here makes some sense. But given how niche it is, did I really need to listen to most of this before I die? Probably not.
Ganz ok und ganz schön lang
This album is so bipolar. Half of it is lovely raucous and rambunctious drum and bass and the other half you can imagine the artists passing around a blunt in the studio and repeating the word “Deep” with meaningful emphasis.
Good for background noise
Too long and boring, but I guess it functions ok as background music.
It was okay
Yet another one that, for fuck’s sake, you’d never expect to see on a list of essential ‘must-listen-before-you-die’ albums :-(
Holy cow this thing is long. Okay listened to the first disc and had to call it quits
What's worse than finding a new electronic assignment? Finding out that it's a double album! >:-| I actually didn't hate the first track when it started. The guitar break down in the middle was cool, and the jazzy bass at the end was too. I stupidly got my hopes up. And the beat kind of reminded me of the Blade soundtrack — which should've been my first clue, because the reason the music works in that movie is because they only use a 40-second clip of an 8-minute song. This is elevator music for people who think they're cool. Is "Digital" the most annoying thing ever recorded? Maybe. No, I stand corrected. “Morse Code” is worse. This isn't even enjoyable as background music, because every time you get in the zone they introduce some new annoying klaxon or droning sound that can drive you insane. 2/5 because at least it has vocals. It’s not the worst electronic album I’ve gotten, but I still hate it.
Some interesting sounds being created here although I’d trim a lot of the songs because they get too repetitive. I understand that’s kind of a trademark of the genre though. Not the kind of music I tend to go for.
Not as bad as I thought it would be after the first song. But not my style, never liked electronic music
2nd disc is better, a lot of stuff is almost what i like but really just not quite good to me
Afro funk psychedelia electronic dance grooves. Not for me but also not too bad.
I like it a lot more than I thought it would. I sort feel like there’s a story being told by the music, with changing environments and random characters added in. It would be a good background to a video game, sort of reminding me of Ratchet and Clank. But it is wayyy too long. Even if it was a normal length, I’m not sure I could have finished it but in reality I made it about 7 songs in and decided I didn’t want that noise in my life all day.
Uhhh wtf is this. Was not prepared for that opening song while driving home from work this morning trying not to fall asleep, it def kept me awake, so it had that going for it? I guess some of them were essentially just lo fi beats so that was ok but I hated the “talking” going on. This album really painted a picture for me of a sleazy underground British club with a bunch of sweaty pale British dudes, tea sloshing around everywhere. Not about that life. If Tom waits is the bar for a one then I can’t really put this that low but man it was close.
Too long. I was feeling it the first few songs, but I didn’t feel like there was enough variety to keep it going. I am fine with albums being consistent in their sound, but this album felt way too bland. If it were 20 mins it would be different. This is just too long. I think I would still like drum and bass though in general. You know what you’re gonna get with the drums, this album just didn’t have the accompaniment I would have liked. Shoutout toonami!
It’s any old 90s afternoon. I’ve got my Bagel Bites, a blue Kool-Aid jammer, and some Dunkaroos. Everything is lining up to be great except I walk into the den at my grandma’s and my brother already has the tv on Cartoon Network. That means I’ll either have to start a channel changing battle without the remote, or I’ll have to watch Toonami instead of Nickelodeon. To make matters worse, Sailor Moon hasn’t even ended yet and there’s still a half hour after that until Dragonball Z comes on. That’s what listening to this album is like. Some good, some bad, but ultimately it’s not really what you wanted.
Meh...
Slower tracks are okayish. The faster the beat, the more annoyed I got. I've listened to several British electronica albums from this list (maker of this list has some weird relationship with this genre) and sometimes I just think Brits should leave electro music to the French.
An hour and eighteen minutes of dum and bass feels like punishment. This is good music, I just need WAY less of it.
Robot rap. Not for me 3/10
i dont enjoy this
Put this on and go to sleep.
Not my style but still somewhat chill to listen to
english
Another pretty boring lounge electronic music. It has a quite original and unique style, but unfortunately it's not enough to deem it worthy of a listen. I've been to hotels with much better music, although it nailed one specific feature of this genre - it's really forgettable.
title track is alright
If I only rated this by how much I enjoyed listening to it, it would definitely be a 1. But I dunno, doesn’t feel right. I just don’t Get it, I have no reference point for drum and bass. Is it good? Maybe. Is it influential? I could imagine so, if not hear it. I don’t know. Giving it a 2, considering it an Abstain.
DnB. Looooong DnB. Two CDs worth of DnB. I need to be on Molly to enjoy this.
I listened to the two hour and nineteen minute run time of this album with my headphones on while working at my computer. It wasn't the worst album I've had from the list but next time I'm sticking with chill hop lofi for my background vibe.
Drum and Bass does nothing for me, but while I was writing some code this is was in the background, and I never been so productive before.
Nope
Not unlistenable as far as d&b goes, but not my thing either. Some interesting elements here & there. I much prefer a trip-hop or dub vibe to these frenetic beats though. Bottom line: my rating is based on personal enjoyment over talent or innovation, which in this case I don't dispute.
I've listened to drum & bass, jungle and breakcore that I've enjoyed quite a bit so I'm disappointed that I didn't get into this more considering the influence it had on fans of the genre. Tracks drag on for too long without much variation, and I felt that the samples often didn't mesh particularly well. You can see the jazz and hip hop inspiration. The brief acapella track was a fun idea. I just wish I found it more engaging.
Brown Paper Bag was a good single, favourite track is New Forms, I really like the almost spoken, close vocals. Bit samey elsewhere.
Was this even multiple songs? Because I could swear it's just one long, boring, song. I didn't even realize when the album started over.
Ik wil dit heel graag goed / mooi vinden maar bij elke luistersessie dringt de kwalificatie 'zenuwenmuziek' zich op. Niet mijn ding I guess.
It’s like twirky background music. Not a fan.
A drum and bass album. I for it to be justified to make the list, I really hope this is the very first drum and bass album or the very best. After listening to it, I am quite certain that it's not the latter, and after taking a look at the release date, I am also quite certain that it isn't the former either. So...
I just could not get through it. It was not in my musical taste group and I found boring and repetitive. I'm sure it has its place (perhaps as background music or a dance club) but did not interest me in the least.
Not bad. Some great beats and voices. Unfortunately the production doesn’t hold up to today’s standard. 2 stars
I didn’t love this the first time I listened, but I really don’t remember it at all so it’s basically like listening to something new. Speaking of albums that are too long, this is over 2 hrs and gets old fairly quickly. I wish the album was more drum&bass than trance, it’s at its best when the drums are constant and rapid and the bass is booming, but unfortunately that tends not to be the case on most of the album. “Matter of Fact” was a highlight to me.
Remember all the buzz about this when it came out. Honestly didn't get it then, still don't get it now
Interesting music for the background but not something I’m terribly interested in.
Another one that makes me wish this site wasn't created by a Brit who came of age in the 90s.
non capisco
Straight out of 'People just do nothing' but missing some Chabuddy G sauce
Notable tracks: Brown Paper Bag, New Forms, Heroes
Unts unts unts unts
Epilepsy for the ears.
Didn’t like this at first, but it makes decent background music.
Frenetic jazzish
För långt
Pas ma tasse de teh
D&B und dann klanglich eher schlecht, habe durchgehalten aber war musikalisch nicht das Wahre
Not bad at all. Seemed to be primarily electronic/synth vibes with very little vocals. Enjoyed overall but the album was over 5 hours long, so I didnt listen to the entire thing.
Nope
Decent for focus work
Not a bad background album, but probably won’t listen again. Didn’t hear anything in this that genre defining. 2/5
There was both drum and bass, so I can't complain too much.
I get that it was genre defining, I understand there's a thing. But this is over two hours of one idea over and over again. Someone now could make this with Logic Pro loops. It's of almost no musical merit. But it's not impossible to listen to so it doesn't hit the floor vote.
not hugely into drumnbass or jungle, so slick as this is, it hasn't grabbed me and there is no way I am sitting through 53 tracks! Okay, if you like that sort of thing
Meh. Very similar to the prodigy and some others
I’m not the type to listen to a whole drum and bass album. It’s too repetitive for me. I did like the bass on Brown Paper bag and thought the first three songs were good
At the start I was fine, but by the end I was exhausted. It's a 5 hour album on Spotify - you're going to need to make some choices.
I really don't like DnB. Let's just get that out of the way. I also have little patience for songs >6min so I skipped most of these at the 5-6min mark. All in all, I probably listened to about 65min of this album, as 140min is way too much. Even though I dislike this genre, there was little enough singing that it was tolerable. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it.
Way too long
Je peux comprendre l'importance de cet album pour la musique électronique, je peux comprendre que la prise de drogue bonifie l'expérience, j'admets que de temps en temps il est intéressant de suivre l'évolution des "boum tchaca boum chac" et voire dans quel ordre les boum et les tchac seront dans le titre d'après, mais ça dure plus d'une heure, c'est souvent insupportable voire ridicule ("Beatbox", "Morse code") et ce qui est censé être le tube ("Brown Paper Bag") est aussi horripilant que le reste, puisqu'identique. Deux étoiles parce que parfois, peut être, un peu.
I wasn't even a fan of drum and bass even I went to raves in the 90's.
My friends were dropping acid and listening to this. I was the designated driver and trip sitter for their safety. They LOVED this while they were tripping. It made me want to fall asleep. Sitting here while working, it's not repetitive in a way that helps me focus. It's more like an itch. I could imagine this hitting different if I were high. It's good for its genre. Interesting enough. I'm sure it has a cultural significance. But I'm not from the UK, and this wasn't my scene, so I can't get the cultural import and why, exactly, I needed to hear this before I die.
Can music be jumpy and woozy at the same time? If so, this is it. On the whole finds this a little interesting but not at all engaging. Seems liike it should either trance out or be more like a regular song. One doesn't mind the distance of it, just the dullness. If one were forced to dance, one would prefer this to traditional house music. The singing feels secondary. "Mad Cat" might be best song. The genre is very well named. But one gets the feeling that drum and bass might be better off with a good bit less drum and bass. And just less overall; this is way too long, especlaly given how much runs together.
Really tough one for me, I respect the originality of this and how influential it is. Yet the whole British 90s electronic, drum and bass, etc doesn't have a huge appeal to me. Maybe something that I'd rather experience in person, feel like it would be much better then. Gonna go for 2, feel like this is a 2.5/5 for me
Meh. This was not some sort of groundbreaking album for me as all the people in the UK thought. It was just repetitive, uninteresting background music.
Meh. Kind of like electronics and jazz had an average baby.
Nah this is not a thing I needed to heard before death. Lol
Very very repetitive and many songs are much longer than they need to be. With that being said it's not the worst album I've listened to from this list and I can't in good conscience give it 1 star so this gets 2 stars from me.
Boots cats, boots and cats , boot cats, boots and cats. Boots cats, boots and cats , boot cats, boots and cats. Boots cats, boots and cats , boot cats, boots and cats. Doiiiiing.
Not really my jam but a couple of good songs.
big old meh
I have tried my best to appreciate drum n' bass. Nope. This album is exactly why. It is minimalist to the point of dull with the occasional rap thrown on top. It's music for machines and maybe a sci-fi soundtrack. One might possibly use this as background music. Otherwise, it's sleep inducing, but not in a good way.
No.
Spotify has only the Anniversary Edition but aint no way i bumping 5 hours worth of drum n bass, electronica whateva... Disc 1 2/5 had some bops i like. Its not really my genre but i enjoyed it much more than i expected! Disc2 2/5 hard to not skip sometimes ngl i love and have no problem with long songs but its actually hard when theres a 1 minute time frame where nothing happens! Disc 3 1.5/5 Vocals carried the downfall of this listening experience yet. but only for brown paper bag and few other. Disc 4 1.5/5 Doesnt need remixes imo and i wont listen to it again 1-2 songs with vocals was nice but the rest... had some skips cuz 5 hours is way too much wtf...
There's a lot of good stuff going on here, but god damn is it way too long, feels like i've been listening to it all day and there's still a couple songs left. With a big load shaved off of it I think this would be a pretty good listen, but it all blends together after an hour or so. I don't think the average song length needed to be like 7 minutes either.
It's better than a 2. It's good. But it's not at the level of other 3s.
Olen teoriassa ihan mukana tässä. Teorian suhde käytäntöön on ongelmallinen. Käytännössä jään miettimään, olenkohan kuunnellut jo koko levyn, vai pitääkö minun vielä soittaa LP kaksi, kolme, neljä ja viisi.
Un LP interesante. En primer lugar, un trabajo sumamente repetitivo; cada una de sus canciones podrían durar fácilmente la mitad. En segundo lugar, es un éxito sumamente local, siendo influyente solamente para la escena británica de electrónica. Y en tercer lugar, demasiado largo, el trabajo se beneficiaría de una edición que elimine las pistas menos innovadoras.
15 seconds in and I new I was in trouble.. It got better but not my thing.
Super repetitive and very long. Not really my thing.
Not for me. I felt like I was trapped in a 90s British Indie film. Also super long - made it through about an hour and there was still close to an hour left. Good to listen to if you want to feel like your being chased by Robert Carlyle though - hence 2 stars instead of 1.
I found this exceptionally boring and repetitive.
Meh
bass, e bass and drums. high intensity
Jeez I like drums and bass as much as the next guy, but I like other instruments as well… Top Tracks: 1) Heroes 2) Watching Windows 3) Share the Fall
A lot of my feelings about Logical Progression by LTJ Bukem are echoed here. I think drums and bass is just not my style of music. Every song feels like it could be 1/3 of the length that it is and people who want to could repeat it three times. 2 stars for me as it is sonically inoffensive but a slog to get through. Song going on my "1001 Songs" Playlist: Heroes Songs Going On My "1001 Albums Savelist" Playlist: None
I’ve never been a fan of the core sample used in drum and bass, so this was a harder listen. It was good as background music, but I really struggled to actively listen for some songs, and nothing really caught with me.
I only listened to a portion of the album. The version on Spotify is like 5 hours long (!!). I gather that for it's time this was a genre-defining album (drum n bass), which is something I respect but it's not a genre I spent a lot of time with. I got some hints that are related to other music I'm a little more familiar with, like Morcheeba or Prodigy. There were also some tracks that made me feel like I'm shopping at Banana Republic. On the whole it was fine, but I'm not sure I'll be returning to this one.
More interesting than the other DnB album we listened to, but still DnB. It’s like an all or nothing genre. Either you love it and listen to it ravenously, or it’s just something that was in 90s movies. I did not enjoy it.
Take this with a grain of salt because 1) I know next to nothing about be genre and 2) sitting on the train listening to this is definitely not the ideal experience for it Much prefer the LTJ record on this list. For me these cuts are too minimalist; 7-8 minutes of drum track with some light sampling just isn’t enough for me. I’m 1000% sure it would be a better experience if it was played in the proper setting ( a club, etc)
Drum n bass, meio monótono
There were a couple moments that appealed to me, but overall it wasn't great. My first reaction was horror that I would have to listen to such grating noise for so long... But it went uphill from there.
Dull and repetitive, Mr. Roni simply pushed "90s fast drum beat sound effect" on his computer and accidentally forgot to stop for 2 hours.
Peut-être que cet album est considéré important dans la scène électronique et plus spécifiquement dans la scène drum & bass, mais pour moi c'est toujours la même chose d'un pièce à l'autre. J'ai honnêtement de la difficulté à voir l'intérêt. Je vais lui donner des points à cause de son impact musical, mais cet un album vraiment trop long avec des pièces qui s'étirent interminablement pour rien. 3/10
I was blown away by how hard-hitting the opener’s lyricism was by the end, but that energy quickly fell off into typical 90s dance floor tracks. There have been ~10 albums like this so far on the project and I honestly couldn’t tell the tracks apart if I did a blind listening test.
There's this youtube playlist of songs from Playstation 1 games called "Playstation jungle mix" and it sounds exactly like the songs in this album. So, quality-wise, this is videogame music. Not saying it's bad, but it's just not very remarkable.
So much energy. I need to drink some red bull. This version that I have is over 5 hours long. The original version is over two hours long.
Damn was this long. I really do not understand why this is on here outside being a niche thing. The music is bland and similar and once you've ever heard about 3 songs you've heard them all. Yeah I guess if you were in the club high on some drug you'd like this but sober it is boring and repetitive and way too damn long. I don't want to give it 1 star (since those albums are straight up unlistenable to me) but this isn't impressing me at all. 1.5/5
Yet another D&B album that I "must" listen to
How are snoozefests like this on the list but so many amazing albums like Combat Rock, Wheels of Fire, and Rejuvenation are totally ignored?
Too much noise
Dit ging maar door en door en door en door. Boem piep krak boem piep krak.
Long, repetitive. Best songs: Heroes 2/5
I dunno. Don’t really like this music but some of it isn’t bad. I like the standup bass parts. Really a genre that just reminds me of Ali G.
Don't know... thought that I'd like it but I just don't.
Not my style
I had no idea "drum and bass" was a genre of music. Not sure why it is, but apparently it is. This is okay, but I hate the repetition in this type of music. Also, just a pet peeve of mine, but I hate when artists put out twenty different versions of an album so there is no definitive track listing. Some artists need a good editing function - pare this down to 40 minutes and it would be a decent album. But no way am I listening to the 5 hour/53 track edition. 2 stars.
During lockdown, I was reading up about various Bristol music scenes, and hadn't heard Roni Size before, so listened to this album. It's one of those "in the right setting, it'd be awesome!", e.g. late at night when you're half cut. But listened on a weekday during school half-term, not so much. 2.5
I'm not sure whether the album format is a notable art form in drum 'n' bass circles. Either way, a 2 hour 20 minute long record with 8 minute long tracks isn't really compatible with how I listen to an album. That said, a wise man once enthusiastically exclaimed "I can't understand how anyone doesn't f****n' love drum 'n' bass". And he's right, in a sense. When you're standing below a massive industrial fire breathing spider, with music blasting out at 120 dB, D'n'B is pretty irresistible. Even outside of that context, there is something about the boldness and simplicity of a beat that is easy to pick up and get involved in. Who needs melody when you have rhythm? It is a strange decision, therefore, to add the awful vocals. As an example of drum 'n' bass, this is probably very good. It's not designed for the album format, though. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: Brown Paper Bag Date listened: 28/05/23
Golf is a good walk spoiled, and this is a good d'n'b workout befouled
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (Disney, 2003). Timestamp: 1 hour, 33 minutes, 40 seconds.
Uninspiring, boring, redundant
Here's a little personal story that took place during the nineties, at the time this album was released. In those years, I knew a guy who had ditched or sold all his indie-rock records (that he had bought at the start of that decade) so that he could buy all those expensive drum'n'bass vinyls (most of them "white label", as people said in those years). To give you the overall context, both of us were radio hosts at the local radio. I was listening to all sorts of music back then. He, on the other side, was only listening to "jungle stuff and the likes, and wouldn't discuss any other music styles anymore. He was pretty active: hosting a drum'n'bass show on said radio, DJing in the local bars and clubs. He was a nice guy, but I couldn't help noticing that he sort of looked down upon people attracted to different music styles. You could tell that he was thinking drum'n'bass was the music of the future, and that us proles were out of touch with what was really going on in the world. Oh, the irony. That bloke left town after a few years. I wonder where he is now, and what sort of music he's listening to... Does he still have all those expensive vinyls at home? Did he ditch those to follow yet another "trend", electronic or otherwise? I'll probably never know. To be fair with him, he was not the only one who fell for this drum'n'bass craze in such a extreme manner. David Bowie fell for it as well, for example (there are some good songs on his drum'n'bass-laden *Earthling* album, but there's just no way you can say that record has aged very gracefully). The Mercury Prize jury also fell for it (hence why they gave their 1997 prize to *New Forms*). Forward-thinking people easily embrace new modes of artistic expression, which is a good reflex in itself. The thing is, barring a few exceptions (such as German 'Kosmische' Music in the seventies), one should always be cautious when proponents of a new style label the latter as the "music of the future". It's often a sure sign that very quickly, said music will look incredibly dated... Don't get me wrong, I *like* drum'n'bass, generally speaking. I like this idea of an accelerated breakbeat pattern being the foundation of a dance record. I even own Goldie's *Timeless* and *Saturn Returnz* at home, and if I would never listen to those double albums in a single sitting now, I can still enjoy playing a few tracks from them here and there. I have the same overall feeling about Roni Size's *Reprazent*: The first three tracks are great, and they even go to very contrasted directions, which helps you finding them fresh and interesting. And the iconic upright bass sound in "Brown Paper Bag" is pretty iconic, I remember it from back then. That upright bass thing is a trick that Roni Size uses to nice effects in many parts of his own double album here, along with some sparse (but also subtle) shiny jazzy arrangements. So the album gets off on a great start at least. That being said, let's face it, folks: that record is also long, VERY long. I've just read there's even another LONGER version of it available on CD (and not on streaming services if I'm correct). But honestly, I don't have the heart to look any further. Blame the borefests that a lot of those lengthy tracks turn out to be after two minutes or so (minus an occasional exception here and there). Also, blame those absolutely corny, overaffected female vocals right in the middle of the tracklisting. Those two or three cuts were singles, I hear, and honestly, they're pretty embarrassing. Goldie's *Timeless* had its share of awkward moments as well, including through its use of female vocals, but there was also an epic ambition to his sonic constructions that could help you swallow such a pill. And this is the sort of ambition that is cruelly lacking in the case of the jazzier Roni Size. I understand he's going to a smoother direction here, compared to Goldie. But the outcome of this is that most of his music sounds bland as a result, instead of "groovier". Speaking of "directions", the two last tracks of *New Forms* fare better than the corny stuff found elsewhere on the album. One of them, actually named "Directions", even adds latin/tropical colours to the proceedings, capping this lengthy thing in a satisfying way at least. But at this point, it's too little and too late... Drum'n'bass is (was?) an interesting music style. But I can't help feeling that it's the way it influenced *other* genres, from big beat to rock and jazz, that makes it something to write home about. Maybe it's unfair. But hey, there are tons of non-western traditional styles that are not represented in this list either. Even with 1001 references, you just can't cram in all the music in the world. Number of albums left to review: 556 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 216 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 104 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 128
I have no idea how to review this. This is an album that is highly regarded in a genre that I know nothing about, have no particular interest in, don't particularly like, and is far more niche in the US than it was in the UK. I believe it when drum and bass fans say that this is an important album, but I have absolutely zero basis to agree or disagree. I don't particularly like electronic music, but I've heard a few things during the listening project that I enjoyed in fits and starts. Maybe that's the big issue with this album - it's over two hours long, which makes for a repetitive listen. I won't say it's bad, but it's also something I will never go back to again.
New Forms doesn't hit for me, lasts too long and doesn't stand out in what it's doing where it should. 2.
Yeah, this is not my cup of tea, but I don't think it's even a particularly good example of what it is? Other than Brown Paper Bag, the rest all sounds quite generic - this relatively minimalist music with no/minimal lyrics really needs to have something to give it an edge to be memorable, and the vast majority of this doesn't. Also, an hour and 20 mins of this is far too much when I'm not on something. 2/5, better than Goldie.
i find a lot of this music annoying
Ikke helt min greie litt rart
You know you're in for something fuckular when you check and see that the "short version" of the album is 78 minutes long. Well yeah, this was definitely a lot of D&B. Way too much D&B for one man in one day, to be honest. Obviously very important historically and the hits slap, but... 140 minutes, man. That's insanity even for the late 90s (the era of the most bloated albums known to man). Highlights: The first three songs, "Heroes", "Destination", "Trust Me", "Electricks". That might seem like a lot but remember that this album is 23 DAMN SONGS LONG and only 6 of those songs are under 6 minutes. So basically in conclusion, this is awesome but I also fucking hate it.
very generic 90's trip hop elevator music
Pretty daunting at over 2 hrs long. Couldn’t tell if it was actually that long or just Spotify bonus tracks, but after reading more it is really about 140 minutes which is somewhat excessive. It’s definitely enjoyable and the songs are well crafted, but can’t see what made this standout enough to win a Mercury Prize over fucking OK Computer! (or over Dig Your Own Hole and Vanishing Point for that matter). Going to knock a star off for that royal fuck up. I feel somewhat bad at not really getting through the whole thing, but I’d rather listen to Massive Attack.
Drum and bass can be entertaining in small doses, but it was never meant to be listened to for over 2 hours straight. Probably felt fresh and daring in ‘97, mostly a drag now.
Couple of tracks that brought back some fleeting memories of ungergrad (a lot of my flat mates in the dorms enjoyed Roni Size) but over 2 hours of this was unnecessary
Pretty unnecessary on this list, but listening to it while doing work makes the experience less annoying.
These songs did not need to be 6 minutes long each, and there did not need to be so many of them, and they did not need to all sound the same. Otherwise, it had its moments
I did not need to listen to this.
It would be an ok road trip album, especially late night long distance driving, but not a home listen
First song slapped. Then it was just beats and stuff. Kind of cool, but not really my jam.
Was not expecting to come across DnB here. Anyway, not really a fan
I think it's close to a genre I would really enjoy but didn't quite click for me. The vocals that there were were a bit low energy, and I was often left feeling like I'd already heard that track before
90s electronic dance stuff. Sounds like the 90s.
I can't imagine the second hour held anything more than the first did.
I like drums. I love bass. The drums here are electronic of course, and not programmed at all to sound like anything a human drummer would produce. Can appreciate the artistry, and didn't hate the music, but I think this makes more sense in a London club at 3am with a bloodstream that has more than just a strong dose of caffeine keeping things moving. Here and now it's just too long and too glitchy.
Brown Paper Bag is cool. DnB isn't really my bag but sure I can work to this. Digitial drags. Heroes is okay. This album is pretty dull and repetitive midway through with the occassional bright spot.
Wouw… how the trip hop beats are annoying, when you get them repeated like this over and over.. nothing against ambient electronica, but here it is getting quite boring
Just OK. Too electronic and too long!
reminds me a little of something we used to listen to in the 90s called "Jungle Music". Makes me feel a little crazy to hear it now, a bit too all over the place.
It has glimmers of greatness, but the repetitiveness that was revolutionary at the time, drains me.
There a reason this was album 185 for me, and it's currently day 476.. 2 hours+, spotify version "about 5 hours" is a true testament to my attention span... To me seemed like liquid d&b, actually quite soothing and calm beats for most of disc1. The second disc was more uninteresting, literally just some drums and some bass (I guess that's where the genre gets its catchy name). I don't see a situation where im like.. fuck it, put disc 3 of New Forms by Roni Size on.
ravee
Har ju den, men var inte så förtjust i den då. Inte så förtjust i den nu heller. Väldigt hypad men mest ok lite här och där.
Dateringen är till dess fördel, annars dansar man inte så mycket nu för tiden.
Meh. This could have been one long form song. Or a bunch of shorter songs. It drags on like someone who likes to hear their own voice.
Прослушано! Нудно, долго и скучно.
Starts off pretty good but wears thin after about 2 songs for me.
It's okay, but very samey and way too long. If this had been 40 minutes I might have enjoyed it.
2.5 It isn’t bad, but kind of boring.
Intéressant le mix D&B et hip-hop R'N'B. Ça tourne un peu en rond à la longue. Il n’y a pas beaucoup de recherche dans les beats.
Oh my. The range of emotions on seeing this as my album and then starting listening. “Roni Size? Do I know them? (Start listening) oh yes I do know them! (Keeps listening) quite like this (continues listening) oh no (looks at length of album) oh no no no (turns music off)”
At half the lengte it would have been 3 stars.
Okay I was expecting a lot worse from something Ryan said he likes
Meh
Nice beats
Electronic is definitely not my jam. Can see how it inspired other bands, but didn't dig the sound.
2 stars. Just more electronic music that I must be too old to understand (although this released when I was 5). It’s alright for the background, but that’s all
Booster, performance review, trivia, kinda eventful day, no?
All sounds the same, boring
The only version I can be bothered to find is disk 1 and I’am really not that bothered in going into another hours worth of music… The first song railing kinda reminded me of the streets in the whole talking/rapping chatting style the track has it’s nice but I don’t love it. Brown paper bag is way too long for what it is but it’s a fun instrumental after railing… I was originally gonna track by track the rest of the album but I think this sums up my thoughts across the album… The guy that programmed in the drums only knows like 5 beats I swear and the vocals are so disconnected from the music being played with the way their recorded. The album shows moments of hope jn all of the additional textures added but I still nearly fell asleep 2/5 (but it’s very close to a 1).
War nicht soooo schlimm aber nicht mein genre
drum & bass, drum drum & bass, drum drum bass, drum & bass, I am very bored
Mostly repetitive.
Drum and Bass doesn't do much for me. I understand the appreciation for fast, danceable rhythms but I'm not really that kind of guy. A lot of this album feels very samey and not all that interesting outside of the sort of jazz influence. This reminds me a lot of the music I'd hear in Parkour Fortress servers that I would play on when I was younger, which was a fun soundtrack for running around to. I'm going to go play that now.
Didn't mind this one at all and there were some fun bits here and there (Beatbox especially) but it did not need to be so long
Didn’t like this one very much. Was able to get through it but I just didn’t care for it. I thought it was kinda creative at times and it made me feel nostalgic for the 90s, but that’s about it.
Batshit
All drums all bass but gets repetitive
Sounds like a soundtrack to a third party racing game for dreamcast
This is a weird one to review. I didn't hate it but I also didn't notice when the album was over and Spotify autoplayed an unknown number of other drum and bass songs. Good background music. It's possible Roni Size influenced those additional tracks but my untrained ear doesn't know it. Favorite: Brown Paper Bag
Too long! I’ve lost patience and given up before Ben the first hour is up. The drum and bass is good enough, but too much airy-fairy ambience and electro blips. What’s wrong with distilling it down to under 60 minutes of proper songs - even Brown paper bag and Heroes out stay their (admittedly enjoyable) welcome. Another reason to see the Mercury Music Prize as pretentious, overblown and a bit snooty really. I do appreciate that they are trying to be cool, edgy and relevant by praising black music, but really?! I would have given 3 if it was under 60 minutes!
A bit mediocre, dissappointing. I was hoping for some decent edm stuff
Jollain tavalla kyllä lämpesin ja genre jäi rullaamaan videopelin taustalle, mutta ehkä kolmonen on kuitenkin liikaa.
Tää tais olla sitä junglee. Erittäin jepa muutaman biisin annoksina, mut kokonaisena levynä käy tylsäks
Ovo bi slušali u Zionu na partiju u Matrix reloaded. Dosadan mi je. Previše basa i bubnjeva.
Brown paper bag would make very good telephone hold music.. ..and that's about it for me. Lots of strange noises, beats, electronica - nothing of any interest. Mad cat sounds like a modern version of The Waiting Room from The Lamb.. and that predates this by 45 years - so not as new as he'd like to think.
Jungle DJ has too much rhythm to trip himself up while finding his feet.
Very repetitive. Each song sound like a repetitive loop, played over and over again - repetitively. (Notice how repetitive I was there?) Not one song really stood out as unique or interesting. It is worth playing in the background when you don't care what you're listening to, so, I give it a 2 of 5
I remember absolutely hating this when it came out in 1997, I was a guitars-and-bucket-hats indie kid and this was just painful, particularly Brown Paper Bag which was *everywhere*. People were raving about this album and I just didn't get it. 25 years on, and my musical horizons have widened, and although I don't hate it quite as much, I don't really get the fuss. It seems to be the same beat all the way through with noodly moogs. I won't turn off Brown Paper Bag in disgust anymore these days, but I don't really want to listen to a whole album of it. Especially one that goes on for 78min.
Hmmmm. Yeah this is a strange one... there's some musical stuff to be heard on here, but I just don't understand the purpose of this music. Is it techno, is it soul, is it pop? Whatever it is, it sure ain't for me. Strange to deem this one of the 1001.
Outdated raver stuff from the 90's. This was hard to get into, the tempo was too fast and the samples outlived their usefulness and were way more repetitive than necessary. Was bothersome to listen to, I felt like I was on the It's a Small World ride at Disneyland or inside a microwave on a carousel that wouldn't stop.
I had already listened to this on a road trip in November based on it being part of jkav’s musical journey. Its looong and I don’t need to hear it again although I tried for about 10 minutes.
Although I could appreciate the quality of this album, no studio release should be over two hours long. I had to skip the final five tracks as it felt as though the same one was continuing indefinitely. This would get a 4 for the quality, but as a listenable album it just makes a 2.
Mais de duas horas de batidas que se perdem.
Not a huge drum and bass fan. Unless you are I think you will find this album too long and too repetitive.
D&B isn't really my style of music, so I wouldn't have listened to this on my own. It was mostly not unpleasant and totally fine in the background, so I guess it was a good experience to expand my general music knowledge. That said, it was never much more than "not unpleasant" and there were a couple of unpleasant parts or tracks, especially on the first disc. Speaking of multiple discs, this album was definitely also way too long. I'm pretty surprised at myself that I finished it, I wasn't expecting to when I started listening to it. Some of the individual tracks were too long considering how repetitive they were and the album quality would certainly be higher by just cutting some of the less interesting tracks.
I will confess I didn't get through the whole album, but with about half I think I heard enough to rate. I haven't had a lot of exposure to drum and bass so it was nice to be able to check some out. It was entirely inoffensive but didn't do that much for me and wasn't really very interesting to actively listen to.
Its just not really my thing
I wasn't feeling it.
I found this grating and unedifying.
Not my style. Chose to listen to this album first thing in the morning. Wrong choise, couldn't get into it. Feel like album would click with me if I listened at night.
A couple songs were interesting. They all kind of started blending together after a while
Is this what they meant by repetitive beats? It's ok but long-winded. At least Jazz and Prog kind go places. This just plays the same riffs over the same drum patterns without going anywhere
How can something be mysterious and devoid of character?
couldn't finish
Not my cup of tea
Okay I guess.
Could have been a few hours shorter. I appreciate that not every genre can or should appeal to everyone. If it did, it would be so generic and lowest common denominator that everyone would rate it as 2 or 3 at most. While I'm sure this isn't a very popular album on this list, the idea that there are people out there, throwing down the 5-stars and rave reviews, to me, is a good thing. I'm glad you like it!
Tämä oli aika turha levy, ylipitkä konemusiikkipläjäys ja ei mitenkään erityisen kiinnostava. Levyn alussa olin positiivisella mielellä, että nythän on mukavia rumpurytmejä, mutta innostus lopahti hyvin nopeasti.
Tylsää jumputusta ja vaikka luultavasti onkin jonkinlainen genren pioneeri, en saa tästä oikein mitään irti. Lähinnä häiritsi työntekoon keskittymistä. Kax.
Amazing how certain places can spawn so much in a certain genre - another electronica group from Bristol. I didn't hate it. Well, at least the first 4 tracks, which had cool bass lines and beats (I really enjoyed Railing). But they did get a little too repetitive and monotonous for my liking (don't need 7min of the same bass line and drum beat). I couldn't stand Digital (9min of repetition and not even good beats) and that started a steady decline of electronic junk. So I guess I liked a third of the album. Maybe.
Quite dated...excessive break beats, monotonous keyboards, boring vocals. This is interesting only as a representative of its period. I'm giving it two stars to be generous but it's really a 1.5
Back in 97 this drum and bass album may have been very influential and innovative but 2 hrs of it, really? I could only listen to a few tracks before boredom set in.
Not really for me.
Musically this album is fine. You've gotta really love yourself some drum & bass to want this much of it. The beats are pretty repetitive and samey, if fast-shuffling and energetic. It would make for some decent workout music. I really liked "Hi-Potent," but most of the others kind of blur together. And yes, this album is overly long, so very, very long. I wonder when I see these long debut albums if the artist feared they would never get another album, so they throw in all the things. It rarely pans out and Roni Size really needed to pare this down. If the album were half this length, I might have given it a 3, but I don't really see myself revisiting this one at all. Fave Songs: Hi-Potent, Trust Me, Morse Code, Electricks, Paper Bag
Drum & Bass genre album that sounds very typical late 90s. The album is quite long and sounds somewhat experimental. Not really my thing. 4/10.
My complaint about this album mirrors my complaint about David Holmes' body of work; There is just nothing here that warrants a second listen. The album sounds fine and would work well in a movie soundtrack, but there are 1000 artists who do similar music and do it better,
Ok, drum&bass isn't my thing. It's ok and fine as background music. Actually surprised me that there are some good, interesting tracks in there. But TWO HOURS LONG. Seriously.
Bij de eerste geluiden dacht ik " Yes, jungle!" maar het werd toch wat tragere drum'n bass met weinig leuke geluidjes. Heerlijke muziek voor een zaterdag nacht na een avond wild stappen. Verder valt het me wat tegen. Het nummer "Heroes" heeft wel wat. **
Uh, okay. Don't hate. Don't like. It kinda sounds like my computer is skipping and that's not a comfortable sound.
Fun intro to techno but not my favorite.
kinda okay
Hmm, this would be a 2.5 if I could do half stars. Of all the electronic based music I listen to, this would go at the bottom, so I suppose that's a 2.
Not as bad as I thought it would be
Erg oldschool drum&bass. Dit is niet hetzelfde op album als in een zaal of op een festival. Nu werd het al snel wat langdradig en zeer veel van het zelfde.
this has some interesting ideas but it's grating more often than it grooves, and it's honestly pretty audacious to make a 2 hour 20 minute album with such little variety throughout. 3/10
Listened to about half. What. 3
3/10. Much too long to listen to this whole album. The music itself wasn't terrible, but was a bit too frantic to be great background music, and a bit to samey to listen to actively.
Drum&Bass simple "New Forms"
1.5 fine - jungle not really my thing
I listened to a deluxe version of this album. Still only really liked one song.
Drums and bass. Vamos, música máquina. Fría, sintética, repetitiva, coñazo.
I love electronic music in general, and Aphex Twin, Squarpusher, and Autechre in particular. That said, I found this album to be boring.
Liking this a song in - sample based? Sounds like it could be contemporary. Defies genre a bit, which I appreciate. 2hrs 20 minutes? Good Lord. Meant for hookah bars and Amsterdam coffee shops with that kind of length. Halfway through getting a better sense of the "genre." This is what 2am feels like when you're trying to rally but you know you're too damn tired. The first two tracks were great, the other 21 left me wanting.
Way too long and boring. DNF.
Der 2. Song ist zu lang. Der 3. Song ist zu lang. Die Synthezizer-Figur im 6. Song nervt kolossal, nach ihrer Ausblendung wird er aber auch kaum erträglicher. Ich habe nach dem 7. Song aufgegeben. Drum 'n bass ist irgendwie doch auch immer nur dasselbe: irgendwo rasselt eine snare, kick, hi-hat oder alles zusammen und das war‘s dann.
My initial impression is that it's alright - I do like drum n' bass, and there are some great beats, but I just don't know if I'm feeling it all that much.
Not really my bag
Not for me
More scungy UK electronic shit... guess this is my punishment for complaining about it yesterday? And this time an hour and 20 minutes! About halfway in now and it all sounds exactly the same... ugh, fuck this. 2/5.
This is about the worst and incoherent "music" I ever heard, and I really have no clue why this album made the book. There is even a little bit of guitar on top of some stupid drum machine beats. Imagine you are a guitar player—why on earth would you want to contribute to this? I really don't get it. Sorry, I did not manage to torture myself for the full album, as this is a terrible waste of my time. Next, please. 1/5
Kan stanna i 90-talet...
absolute booty cheeks
There were a couple cool jazz infused beat moments but they were few and far between. The raps/vocals suck and I know that isn't the point of drum and bass but sweet baby Jesus why even add them. This was incredibly boring and it all bled together at some point. The songs were too long the album is WAAAAAY too long. I hated this and can find no reason that this should be included in albums you must hear before you die. This is the most boring shit I have ever heard, I would need so much drugs and lights to find this remotely interesting. Is this really in the book or is this a fan submission?! It is so bad and I am only half way through, I am going to keep listening but this is really testing my resolve.
Really tame edm music.
hvad er det her
At the end of the day, this album is just too repetitive. It is also too repetitive at the start of the day, but it is at the end of the day as well.
I can see ONE of these tracks working in a very specific context. You'd hear it and think "wow this is retro and underground but upbeat...these people must be cool" but an extended listen is an entirely different experience. Cheap and hollow.
Lasted two “songs” - boring and shallow
Sorry don't get this at all. It's the same beat thru out the song on almost every song. How did this reach platinum. The best cuts are with the singer on them. Also entirely too many songs.
Definitivamente, no estoy en mi drum-n-bass era :(
A very cruel end to my happy four-star streak! Not my kind of electronic music – it doesn't do anything or go anywhere, and it all sounds the same. Every track is five to nine minutes of relentless bugger all. It's not unlistenable, but it is interminable. Just a rare kind of music that I struggle to see much point, appeal, talent, fun or beauty in. One disc was enough to drive me slowly simmering mad, so I skipped the other. It's an incredible act of debut hubris that there was ever a two-disc version with another hour of this. There's absolutely no need.
At first glance I thought the cover was a glitch in the 1001 system and the real cover couldn't be shown! Some tracks start off well like Heroes and Morse Code when I thought "oh great - not just incessant boring drumming on this one" but a few seconds in and I am proved wrong again. I could probably take some of this in very small measures but it was so repetitive, so repetitive, so repetitive, so repetitive, so repetitive, so repetitive, so repetitive, so repetitive... It seems the Mercury Prize judges don't always get it right then! I won't castigate them completely though because they have been instrumental in introducing me to some great music and I listened to the Small Changes album by Michael Kiwanuka after this. It was a great way to come down and join the real world again. What a contrast. I understand there are different types of music for different people in different moods but I cannot imagine myself being in the right mood ever to enjoy this output. I just yearned for some relief from these bloody drum machines. Sorry, Roni Size but good luck to you as you obviously had success with it. Unfortunately the only drug I ingest is a statin so perhaps that is why I couldn't appreciate this.
Never heard of, which shows my experiences of drum and bass as it’s a platinum album, and mercury award winner. As a form it seems to rely upon its repetitive nature to hypnosis you and draw you in. To lose yourself in its long circling tracks. It’s urban feeling of well whatever it is. If it doesn’t it’s a pile of grade A shit. The vocals, and that’s a loose term are literally most of the time just like someone speaking. Again just not my thing, let others like. But strengthens my view on the mercury prize and their panel, against my music tastes. I have heard it, so I at least now know what prime drum and bass is, so there is that. Won’t ever hear it again 1 Star
Man oh man, I've got a lot to say about New Forms and just how awful it is. Roni Size is often considered a pioneer in the drum and bass genre along with Goldie and LTJ Bukem and this album is also considered Reprazent's magnum opus which makes me dread what all their other stuff is gonna sound like if this is their best. This sounds like just a bunch of unfinished demos which were stretched out into 2 hours of 2 identical halves which made me think that only one of these halves should have been this album because i would have gotten more than enough of my fill from that. So, this album gets docked 2 stars for sounding like a bunch of unfinished demos, it gets docked another star for having an unnecessary second half and it gets docked another star for being 2 hours long. Best Song: Morse Code Worst Song: Change My Life
So, this album had the misfortune of coming right after a much more interesting drum and bass album yesterday ("OK" by Talvin Singh), and I can't avoid that coloring my opinion of this album. "New Forms" commits the cardinal sin of being just kind of boring. There's not a lot here but things that are done over and over on other albums. This may be a bit ahead of the curve - it did release in 1997, and I'm not sure exactly what the electronica scene looked like back then. I don't think it is going to change my opinion much if I look back at other albums, and "OK" released in 1998 so these two are pretty much contemporary. This album does not feel original, and so it does not seem to be essential listening to me. Another issue I take with this album is that it is way too long. I'm fine with some of the longer tracks, because I do think they evolve in interesting ways across their runtimes, but the runtime of the album as a whole is grueling. I generally enjoy this style of electronic music and even so I was tired of listening to this album by about halfway through. Add to that some rather dated vocals and we have an album that I don't much care for and that I don't think deserves to be anywhere near this list. There is a lot of newer electronic music that could be here instead of this album, music which has stood the test of time much better and is more deserving of recognition. Maybe I would feel differently if I heard it at a rave, but I've also never been to a rave so who knows if I would even enjoy that experience. Favorite track: "Brown Paper Bag"
There are genres that are just like the opposite of musical to me. This is one of them. Couldn't be bothered with it.
Schizo music
I did not enjoy this much at all. 69 Love Songs by Magnetic Fields gets a bad rap from this list, but I would argue at 2 hours 20 minutes this is a much harder listen, it's certainly more repetitive. The length of 69 Love Songs is part of the experience, here this seems like Roni Size had produced 2 hours and 20 minutes of music and he was going to release it all. If this had been half or even a third the length I might have given two stars out of five for my personal enjoyment, but this is an endurance test, like being trapped in a metal bin for hours while a drummer practices on it. I found the sounds surprisingly low energy - a bit trip hop and flat and toneless. The tracks lurched from sample to sample and the vocal samples and even original vocals were not well integrated into beats. Heroes was where I finally snapped. If this had been a third of the length, with the best third of the songs chosen, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I don't dispute that this should be on the list, though. Everyone saying this is not important or influential can get out of here - D&D needs some representation on this list which is otherwise completely oversaturated by bands which are fours white guys with two guitars, a bass, and some drums. I didn't enjoy this listening experience but it was edifying. More offbeat stuff, please.
I would give this an automatic 1, "not my kind of music" and it is a very long, boring version of "not my kind of music". But it must be here for a reason - I'll save my judgement and listen. Well then. It is all builds without payoff. New Forms, I like the vibe, mellow, bass notes on the keyboard, get the drums working up and fast, and then - changes into eerie restaurant bathroom music - and then it ends. Let's Get It On is such boring drum and bass, then moving back through the pretentious restaurant toilet. The songs with vocals are pretty poor too, the singer(s?) don't sound remotely engaged, topics are half-baked. Matter of Fact starts well with the random drumming, loads of different and interesting patterns, and then - GET BACK IN THE BATHROOM.
Drum and bass just does not do it for me, it’s too repetitive of ideas that to me were never interesting in the first place and 78 minutes is way too long
Jesus, OK, I'll release the hostages...
Just looking at the album cover I knew I was in for some Drum & Bass, but not the good Drum & Bass like Lightning Bolt (You know a band with just a drummer and base player), but that English Drum & Bass. I don't really dislike Drum & Bass but I really only like it when there are vocals. The "let's make as high of a a BPM song as possible" tracks on here is not worth it. Some the tracks just go on too long and I'm not even close to being done with the original albums first side. Let's talk about that too, you don't need 2 CD's worth of this shit. Too long songs, too many tracks (Fuck they put out a 20th anniversary that was 53 tracks). Drum & Bass like this is just not good enough to hold my attention for very long especially when I have to listen to the same fucking high hat fill on EVERY FUCKING TRACK.
nope
Almost considered 2 stars, but no.
"Do you think you can hold on when the beat gets too strong" Thankfully this record will never test for that. It's just really shit drum and bass, and I think most drum and bass is shit.
Hey, Marshall, You up for some super loud, repetitive music that hasn't changed since the mid-90s? Ted Mosby Architect
‘Brown Paper Bag’ is a good song with an infectious hook, but man it’s long. Over lon songs are clearly this album’s thing and only serve to make it migraine inciting. Even the more chill moments like ‘heroes’ just grated on me, but in general (despite owning a different Roni Size album) this isnt my sort of music.
I need a medal, a Nobel Peace Prize, and a Blue Peter badge for persevering through every one of those horrid 139mins. This might take the biscuit for the worst thing I have ever heard. I felt like I was in that episode of Father Ted, where Father Stack plays jungle music all night, and drives Ted and Dougal to the brink of insanity. Except I actually did go insane.
I often get really annoyed by the (seemingly mostly) Americans complaining about a British bias on the 1001 Albums list written by a British author for a British market, given how so much media is US centric.... and then the generator links to a Bristolian 5 hour 14 minute drum and bass album from the 90s and I think "yep, fair enough". 1/5
Bara låten heroes som va helt ok. Resten skit
Electronica, 92eme album =>1/5 Je n'ai pas passé la barre des 10 mn, aucune chance que j'arrive à la fin (140 mn !!!). Terriblement répétitif, sans aucun intérêt pour moi.
Not at all something I'd listen to, think I put in forty minutes but tapped out.
again new newness very different, big freQuency drum-n-bass energy it's ok, just very samey and not really my thing good background noise but that's not music lol glad i opted for just disc 1 and not the whole 5 hours 😓
😐
Колбаса колбасит соло
Is this on the list just to make people like me angry? Bang bang whap whap beep beep buzz = garbage. I could NOT listen to the whole thing, so there's a teeny tiny chance it redeems itself, but I would vote hard that it doesn't.
This album was a slog to get through. Way too repetitive
Nope
This is garbage. In no way does it belong on any list of good music that someone should hear.
1 idea strung out over more than an hour. I was really bored by about the 2nd track, but I persisted to at least do the whole 1CD version. If you think I’m doing the whole 2 CDs, you’ve got rocks in your head.
My life was not meaningfully changed by this album.
Bad form
More mindless techno
not my thing at allll