Goldie - Inner City Life

Certainly a must have for any mixer who is not afraid to mix the drums right along side another track that can be complimentary to the heaviness within. In other words I consider this tune a
"mixing tune" ! Songs like these are good for either playing by themselves or while mixing as much as humanly possible. I choose the later half personally. DJ's ,in my opinion are merely folks who
just simply wait to mix towards the end of the song. A true mixer or turntablist will ALWAYS consider the best approach to showing the skills he/she has obtained with epic songs such as "ICL"
and without distorting or mis timing great songs such as these.
Sincerely, the record cutter

Never really felt this tune like a lot of people did. Nice enough record, but it always felt like an Mtv record, I don't really remember hearing it in the raves or on the pirates. I've often seen it listed in various lits of greatest jungle drum n bass tunes, but could never see how. But then I was never as fussed by Goldie as many were, Terminator being my personal favourite of his back catalogue.

The 4 Hero mix is an absolutely stunning quality production with Niles Hailstone on the trumpet, truly classic timeless piece of music! Doc Scott's Kemistry mix is probably one of his best remixes so far in my humble opinion. It's deep and emotional synth pads are a nice addition to Diane Charlemagne's vocals wich are layered down in a beautifull warm break wich gives the listener massive chicken skin all around! Normally remixes are not my cup of tea but this remix can not be missed and is a worthy addition to the Kemistry original!! Jah is a serious classic piece of dnb funk with it's clever beat programming and detroit techno influenced bleeps 'n peeps. Must have for any serious dnb fan!

One of the best down tempo tracks made from Goldie's & Rob Playford & Diane Charlemagne's track: Innercity Life. Baby Boys Mix is Goldie's Inner City Life downtempo project with the help of Photek classic production trademarks. Photek's amazing studio skills can be heard and in my humble opinion is one of his best remixes so far! This is how drum and bass should sound; warm, deep, emotional and timeless. Flip over for the Goes To Miami Mix that clearly has some US influenced Hip Hop flava. Defenately a diverse record wich can not be missed in any serious drum and bass collection, even when it's not faster than 100 bpm!

In a documentary on google video - Pump up the volume, they mention this is the best drum'n'bass ever made. Well, given that is one of the first, it may be a bit far-fetched. I don't want to be too narrow minded, but it is hard not to agree that GOLDIE has struck pure gold with this one. The vocals and the beats are so well crafted. The rhythm is not too syncopated and not too "bassy" just right. I ask if this is talent or is this something you can learn...

Inner City Life is possibly the most famous tune in Jungle/Drum & Bass history, so it's no suprise that it's had its fair share of remixes. The 'Original Edit' featured here is not actually the 'original' version. It has been trimmed down length-wise to fit on the disc. As for the other remixes, everything is excellent! With artists such as Photek, 4Hero, and Rabbit In The Moon, you'd expect them to be. While this album is not intended for front-to-back listening, "Rabbit In The Moon's Return To Vocalic City" is a must have; it's a near acapella (there's a few strings and fx in the background) of Inner City Life, an extreme rarity! If you're a diehard Timeless fan, then you need to have this in your collection. Anyone else, feel free to grab the remixes on other compilations.

Concerning the B Side:

This tune (Sea Of Tears) is quite possibly Goldie's greatest work, even over Inner City Life. The tune begins off with some incredibly epic dark-sounding pad work, then adds some excellent guitar work by Adam Salkeld. The drums soon kick in in a very unusual manner that emphasizes live playing over sampled breakbeats. After a good five minutes, everything drops out, leaving only the sounds of the waves and the dolphins (or some sort of squelchy animal). A woman then ask 'What are you doing here', which is anwsered by a child saying 'Washing away the tears'. Adam Salkeld's guitar work then come back in in some very intelligent cord design. Lorna Harris' vocals mgradually work their way back into the song, which is followed by sampled breakbeats and a very heavy 808. Throughout the remainder of the tune, Lorna Harris' very convincing crying and at some times sobbing adds to an incredibly deep amount of emotional content. Not for a second does this tune become boring, or even seem to drag on. It is the most emotional of Goldie's tunes, and deserves a lot more than it is ever given credit for. Don't bother picking up the 12", though; opt for the Timeless CD instead.

I found this set of remixes fairly disappointing, overall. I'm a fan of most of the artists featured here, but most of these mixes are just plain boring, offering little in the way of new ideas or new directions for this "Timeless" classic (pun intended). The vocals really got on my nerves after awhile, and all of the remixes are spattered with them. My favorite remix of the ones featured here is the Peshay one, whose dissonant chords create a cold, dreamy atmosphere that doesn't feel like a mere rehashing of the original. The "Goes To Miami Edit" is good too; it's a well-produced hip hop version, which probably has the most original content of all the remixes. The Baby Boys remix doesn't really work; the vocals feel rushed, despite the lower tempo. It does have some really nice keys though; the sad part is, it would have been a really nice track if they had left out the vocals. Overall, a boring collection of sub-par remixes (of a ridiculously-overplayed and played-out tune) from otherwise talented artists.

This version of Goldie's inner city life had remixes from Rabbit In The Hole, who went for more of a dance remix than jungle. I felt their remixes were pretty good, but nothing compared to Doc Scott's and Peshay's.

Inner City Life for me was one of the first drum n bass tracks I had heard, and I found the beats very interesting, and the way Goldie had made the track so moody and emotional. I thought the remixes were cool too, 4Hero made a nice workout while Nookie went for more of a hardcore remix. Well produced.