Timeless (Goldie album)
1995 studio album by Goldie
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Timeless is the debut studio album by British electronic musician Goldie. It was released on 7 August 1995 through FFRR Records. The album is widely regarded as a groundbreaking release in the history of drum and bass music.[1]
- 105:47 (2×CD and 2×MC)
- 75:04 (CD and MC)
- 54:46 (2×LP)
| Timeless | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 August 1995 | |||
| Recorded | England | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | FFRR | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Goldie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Timeless | ||||
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History
Goldie was joined in the studio by engineer/producer Rob Playford (founder of the Moving Shadow label), who did most of the programming and production, with Goldie generating the musical ideas, rhythms and arrangements. Additional engineering and production came from Dillinja, and Dego and Marc Mac of 4hero.[2] Diane Charlemagne and Lorna Harris contributed the bulk of the vocals. The title track of Timeless includes what has become the most recognisable and crossover hit from the album, "Inner City Life". Tracks such as "Angel", "You & Me" and "Kemistry" (dedicated to DJ Kemistry) appeared in remastered form from their original 1992/93 versions.
Released on Pete Tong's FFRR label, the album reached no. 7 on the UK Albums Chart. Timeless was simultaneously released as a double album and single album. The single album removed four tracks and featured the original mix of "Sensual". The US release of the double album appended two bonus remixes.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [3] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | C+[4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [7] |
| Music & Media | Favorable[8] |
| Muzik | 5/5[9] |
| NME | 9/10[10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
| Spin | 9/10[12] |
Timeless is listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[1]
- Spin (12/95, p. 63) – Ranked No. 17 on Spin's list of the '20 Best Albums Of '95.'
- Spin (12/95, p.81) – 9 – Near Perfect – "A fall of light into the urban endzone... Goldie has taken jungle to a more expansive level here, fusing its ominous bad-boy polyrhythms with gorgeous diva vocals, rich piano playing, and upbeat jazzy chords that dissolve into ambient clouds...brings jungle to a new level of cross-fertilization..."
- Alternative Press (1/96, p. 80) – "Starting with the increasingly familiar... palette of jungle/drum and bass music, Goldie and his Metalheadz sculpt expansive sonic constructions that elude the linear confines of descriptive language."
- Melody Maker (12/23-30/95, pp. 66–67) – Ranked No. 8 on Melody Maker's list of 1995's 'Albums of the Year' – "The jungle underground's figurehead... Massive and jaw-droppingly ambitious."
- Village Voice (2/20/96) – Ranked No. 23 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
- The New York Times (1/6/96, p. C16) – Included in Neil Strauss' list of the Top 10 Albums of '95 – "The frenetic break beats of Great Britain's jungle dance-music rub against lush ambient music, live instruments and a technology-addled sense of soul..."
- NME (12/23–30/95, pp. 22–23) – Ranked No. 10 in NME's 'Top 50 Albums of the Year' for 1995 – "An astonishing...symphony of whizzing breakbeats, fluid soundscapes and mind-warping moodswings..."[13]
- The Guardian – Described the release of the album as one of the "50 key events in the history of dance music" in 2011.[14]
Track listing
2×CD edition
All tracks are written by Goldie, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Timeless: Inner City Life/Pressure/Jah" |
| 21:01 |
| 2. | "Saint Angel" | 7:14 | |
| 3. | "State of Mind" |
| 7:05 |
| 4. | "This Is a Bad" | 5:56 | |
| 5. | "Sea of Tears" |
| 12:03 |
| 6. | "Jah the Seventh Seal" |
| 6:36 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Sense of Rage" (Sensual V.I.P mix) |
| 7:05 |
| 2. | "Still Life" | 10:50 | |
| 3. | "Angel" | 4:56 | |
| 4. | "Adrift" |
| 8:29 |
| 5. | "Kemistry" | 6:48 | |
| 6. | "You & Me" | 7:04 | |
| 7. | "Inner City Life (Baby Boy's edit)" (US bonus track; remix by Photek) | 3:34 | |
| 8. | "Inner City Life (Rabbit's Short Attention Span edit)" (US bonus track; remix by Rabbit in the Moon) | 4:20 |
CD/cassette edition
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Timeless: Inner City Life/Pressure/Jah" |
| 21:01 |
| 2. | "Saint Angel" | 7:14 | |
| 3. | "State of Mind" |
| 7:05 |
| 4. | "Sea of Tears" |
| 12:03 |
| 5. | "Angel" | 4:56 | |
| 6. | "Sensual" | 8:13 | |
| 7. | "Kemistry" | 6:48 | |
| 8. | "You & Me" | 7:04 |
The cassette release is identical to the single CD release, with three songs on the first side and five on the second side.
2×LP/vinyl edition
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saint Angel" | 7:14 |
| 2. | "This Is a Bad" | 5:56 |
| 3. | "Kemistry" (V.I.P mix) | 5:35 |
| 4. | "You & Me" | 7:04 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Still Life" | 10:50 | |
| 6. | "Still Life" (V.I.P mix; The Latino Dego in Me) | 5:26 | |
| 7. | "Jah the Seventh Seal" |
| 6:36 |
| 8. | "A Sense of Rage" (Sensual V.I.P mix) |
| 7:05 |
Charts
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] | 46 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] | 22 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[17] | 7 |