Timeless (Goldie album)

Timeless
Studio album by Goldie
Released	12 September 1995
Recorded	England
Genre	Drum and bass jungle intelligent/ambient jungle
Length	105:47 (2xCD) 75:04 (CD) 54:46 (vinyl)
Label	FFRR Records
Producer	Goldie, Rob Playford
Goldie chronology
Timeless (1995) Saturnz Return (1998)

Timeless is the 1995 debut album by British electronic musician Goldie and a groundbreaking release in the history of drum and bass music.^[1] The album blended the complex, chopped and layered breakbeats and deep basslines of jungle and drum and bass with expansive, symphonic strings and atmospherics, and female vocals, creating a crossover hit. It is listed as one of the best albums of all time in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[1]

History

Goldie was joined in the studio by engineer/producer Rob Playford (aka Timecode), 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 Dego and Marc Mac of 4hero. Diane Charlemagne contributed the bulk of the vocals.

Released on Pete Tong's FFRR label, the album reached No. 7 in the charts. 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. At the time Goldie was an active graffiti artist and his paintings are featured in the album's artwork.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	C+[3]
Almost Cool	7.5/10[4]
Spin	9/10[5]
NME	9/10[6]
Sputnikmusic	[7]

• 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.
• 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..."^[8]
• The Guardian - Described the release of the album as one of the "50 key events in the history of dance music" in 2011. ^[9]

Track listing

2xCD pressing

All songs written and composed by Goldie, except where noted. 

Disc one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Timeless: Inner City Life/Pressure/Jah" (Goldie, Diane Charlemagne, Rob Playford)	21:01
2.	"Saint Angel"	7:14
3.	"State of Mind" (Goldie, Playford)	7:05
4.	"This Is a Bad"	5:56
5.	"Sea of Tears" (Goldie, Playford)	12:03
6.	"Jah the Seventh Seal" (Goldie, Playford)	6:36

Disc two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Sense of Rage (Sensual V.I.P mix)" (Goldie, Playford)	7:05
2.	"Still Life"	10:50
3.	"Angel"	4:56
4.	"Adrift" (Goldie, Justina Curtis)	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

1xCD / cassette pressing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Timeless: Inner City Life/Pressure/Jah" (Goldie, Diane Charlemagne, Rob Playford)	21:01
2.	"Saint Angel"	7:14
3.	"State of Mind" (Goldie, Playford)	7:05
4.	"Sea of Tears" (Goldie, Playford)	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.

Vinyl pressing

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Saint Angel"	7:14
2.	"This Is a Bad"	5:56

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kemistry (V.I.P mix)"	5:35
2.	"You & Me"	7:04

Side C
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Still Life"	10:50
2.	"Still Life (V.I.P mix) (The Latino Dego in Me)"	5:26

Side D
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Jah the Seventh Seal" (Goldie, Playford)	6:36
2.	"A Sense of Rage (Sensual V.I.P mix)" (Goldie, Playford)	7:05

References

1. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
2. "Timeless - Goldie | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
3. "CG: Goldie". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
4. "Goldie - Timeless - almost cool music review". Almostcool.org. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
5. 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..."
6. http://web.archive.org/web/20001014043320/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000327reviews.html
7. "Goldie - Timeless (album review )". Sputnikmusic. 2012-01-03. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
8. "Goldie – Timeless CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 13 January 2008. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
9. Richard Vine. "Goldie releases Timeless | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-23.

External links

• Timeless 2xCD at discogs.com
• Timeless CD at discogs.com