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Truth, the halfway point in Mother, Believe, Crystal Clear, Chico, Letter of Fate. I first rated this CD 2 stars about a year ago. Just buy it. Everything that Goldie fans are looking for. Then after listening to it over and over again, I realized that I was so wrong. This CD is amazing.
While it's technically a remix album, all the tracks that are revisited are also improved. For that reason, I would recommend trying to find it used for a good price because it's just not worth the money. Number 1 - it assumes that approximately 30 minutes of vocal work by Goldie himself is a good idea. Goldie's vocals are barely sufficient for a track like "Temper Temper" and anything more is just inappropriate.
After living with the album for a while, I have come to the conclusion that it's just not that good. As a fan of Goldie's music and a supporter of any electronic artist who works to break the boundaries of generic convention, I'm sad to be giving this CD a negative review. That includes a heavily abbreviated mix of "Mother", which works really well as a hardcore, dark drum 'n bass track.Here's the breakdown of my final rating. It's a solid effort, but the whole thing still seems rather self-indulgent. I'm not sure why he abandoned his winning formula for this album, but he did. "Dragonfly" also has some nice moments.
The fact that he was abandoned by his mother at a young age is sad, but it's not enough to say "I was abandoned by my mother" and then make an hour-long track assuming some sort of emotional connection. I wanted it to be great and I wanted to like it. I fully intended to find something the reviewers had missed, something to make me love the album. It's around 15-minutes long, but it cannot sustain interest. Unfortunately, "Chico - Death of a Rockstar", clearly intended to be a substantial track, is just sort of bland. "Temper Temper" is sort of rocking and is an obvious standout track. Goldie fans would do well to skip this in favor of the superior "Ring of Saturn". As always, I would give this 2.5 stars if I could.Courage factor ***** (5 stars)Effort ****** (4 stars)Self-indulgance * (1 star)Execution ** (2 stars)Success * (1 star)Overall **1/2 (2.5 stars)
I give Goldie props for a great effort, but it's ultimately unsuccessful.The first disc is rather staggering - an hour long drum 'n bass "tribute" to his mother. Upon listening to "Mother", it seems like it was made more for Goldie's personal edification than anything else. I'm sure the very idea of a track like "Mother" will be interesting to some. The idea is great, but it makes a few assumptions. It actually feels a little bit polite, when it should be gritty and in-your-face.I knew "SaturnzReturn" had mixed reviews when I bought it. Goldie has already proved he can work with extended tracks because "Timeless" was, well, a timeless album. Number 2 - it assumes that Goldie's personal journey is inherently interesting. Once the drums kick in, things improve considerably, but since it's sandwiched in between long, vaguely "orchestral" (in the most diluted sense of the word) arrangements, it's just not worth the effort.The second disc is stronger, but it's still no "Timeless".
More rythmically complex than his first one, Goldie put his heart into this. I have followed Goldie for quite some time. Excellent spin. David Bowie lends his voice to Mother and Drangonfly is a trip hop wonder. Drangonfly and Mother MAKE this 2 disc set worth your while. It is the last of this particular phase of Goldie.
The album may have floped in the sales charts, but I praise the day it became a part of my music collection. Personnaly, I prefer this album than the hugely hiped 'Timeless', which is also an excellent album, but lacks some of the emense variety that 'Saturn' has to offer. Goldie - you rule. This is an album which has everything - Mellow, floaty tunes, such as dragonfly/believe, aggressive up-tempo beats such as Temper Temper/Chico, and emotional, powerful pieces such as Mother/Letter of fate. Fans of any musical genre should find at least one track to suit them.
He's at his best when he combines his Drum n' Bass style with some very catchy R&B melodies. The bass beats are the key to Goldie's music and the ones on this CD are super-groovy. The results are truly astounding. This is the third Goldie album that I have purchased and while it is not as good as "Timeless" (few CDs are) it is still pretty amazing. This two CD set has everything: Jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and even more experimental classical-like arrangements contained on the first CD.
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